Dinghy Repair

Status
Not open for further replies.
sailaway78

sailaway78

.
May 11, 2005
3,431
Seidelman S37 Slidell, La.
I need to reglue some seams on a PVC dinghy. Mainly the tabs, where the transom attaches to the top of the tubes. At this time not major, but want to stop it now. Overall it's in pretty good condition, even though it is getting along in years. Searching the net, I find a ton of different adhesives. One part, two part, you name it. Also find several references to using 5200, and PVC pipe cement. Found one thread where a guy stated the PVC pipe cement worked like a dream, another who said it lasted till he put air back into the dinghy. Many threads are advertisements, so have to take all of them with a grain of salt. Also many instructions are somewhat complicated, including not being in a high humidity environment, and a dust free area. Finding low humidity in New Orleans could be a challenge. Some say you cannot disturb a repair for a min of 24 hours. So, I wonder. Has anyone ever tried any of the super glues on the market. Everything I have ever stuck with super glue has held, no matter what the material, how clean it was, or how much pressure or moisture was present. My biggest concern is that if what I try doesn't work, how do I get it off and try something else.
 
Rich Stidger

Rich Stidger

.
Feb 10, 2004
4,184
Hunter 40.5 Warwick, RI
N&E-

I never tried any kind of super glue. I have tried contact cement- a dismal failure.

Having repaired a PVC dinghy (too) many times before tossing it, I can only recommend the Weaver two-part glue. And, yes, it does recommend low humidity and a 24 hour set before any manipulation. Do your best. I have done the repair in an air-conditioned room and also on deck in the summer. I have always adhered to the 24 hour wait. Every seam that I have glued with this two-part glue has held perfectly. The problem is that some other seam opens up, ad nauseaum.....

I agree that finding a low-humidity place in LA is probably as difficult as finding a dry towel on the Titanic.

Good luck.
 
G

Gary_H

.
Nov 5, 2007
469
Cal 2-25 Carolina Beach NC
I repaired my inflatable using the two part glue. I followed the directions to a tee and it worked great. Clean the surface good with Mek and coat both surfaces with thin even coat of glue wait 30 minutes, spread another thin coat, wait about five minutes, put another wait to no longer tacky to touch then press together firmly and evenly. I used a small roller to press out any air bubbles. Nice strong bond no air leaks. Problem now however is I have seams coming loose where the bottom fastens to the pontoons. Those are not as easy to get to. The two part glue works but I wasted a lot becuase once you mix it it only has a four hour pot life even with the top on. 24 Hours before moving 6 days untill fully cured.
 
zeehag

zeehag

.
Mar 26, 2009
3,198
1976 formosa 41 yankee clipper santa barbara. ca.(not there)
you will need lengths of dink material to make straps for the support and use 2 part glue if you can find it.
bostick is a one part glue for pvc dinks--also works well.
a friend who doesnt care how stuff looks but how it works uses 5200 to fix his pvc dinks...is way ugly, but it did work.
good luck.
 
G

Gary_H

.
Nov 5, 2007
469
Cal 2-25 Carolina Beach NC
I agree ...the two part is the only way to go. I just wish it wasn't so expensive.
 
Merlin Clark

Merlin Clark

.
Oct 26, 2005
2,057
- - Satellite Beach, FL.
Gary_H said:
I repaired my inflatable using the two part glue. I followed the directions to a tee and it worked great. Clean the surface good with Mek and coat both surfaces with thin even coat of glue wait 30 minutes, spread another thin coat, wait about five minutes, put another wait to no longer tacky to touch then press together firmly and evenly. I used a small roller to press out any air bubbles. Nice strong bond no air leaks. Problem now however is I have seams coming loose where the bottom fastens to the pontoons. Those are not as easy to get to. The two part glue works but I wasted a lot becuase once you mix it it only has a four hour pot life even with the top on. 24 Hours before moving 6 days untill fully cured.
Click to expand
Gary,
I've read where you can put excess mixed epoxy in the freezer before it kicks and thaw it out later and it is still good.
Might work with these glues.
 
Merlin Clark

Merlin Clark

.
Oct 26, 2005
2,057
- - Satellite Beach, FL.
There's a life boat shop at Port Canaveral that does inflatable repairs. I don't know how painfull$$ this is but it is an option if such a shop is local to you.
 
Chuckbear

Chuckbear

.
Jan 3, 2009
821
Marine Trader 34 Where Ever I am
We did a pretty good size repair on ours with 5200. The trick is to keep pressure on the repair until it dries. The repair lasted another 2 years and a lot of miles while cruising. We sold the the dinghy and it is still in service today. Chuck
 
soling42

soling42

.
Aug 9, 2005
825
Hunter 260 Sarasota,FL
There really isn't a simple fix that will last and 2part glue is the only real fix. PVC dinghy cement on all the joints will typically begin to fail at about 5-7yrs. One repair will then lead to another and another until you've inevitably had the whole thing apart for repair, at which point you will be a joint repair pro(albeit a frustrated pro).

The project dink was an 8'-6" WM special that only needed a couple of spots re-glued(yeah right) including some 5200 joints that need serious attention...now I'm an expert after eventually tearing the whole boat apart to fix the endless problems of aging glue:). live and learn.

Like others here, I found an A/Cd room(NOT IN YOUR HOME), prepped extensively(the true secret), 2part glued, rolled, cured 48-72hrs and at the end of a long smelly brain cell destroying road all was perfect but my confidence in the boat was shot.
Great repair procedure link: http://www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/INFO/INFOglue.html

Most professional life raft shops won't touch older PVC dinghy joint repairs because they become endless repair headaches. Our shop in Tampa advised me that if I can grab a joint and pull it apart that you should keep pulling until the joint will nearly destroy the tube. In other words it shouldn't come apart by hand without wrecking the dink.
Great professional shop: http://www.solutiononemaritime.com/

I eventually sold my rebuilt WM pvc dink for a nice used Achilles Hypalon version with an easy(now) to fix hole in the floor and life is now predictable. Pic below of old vs new ride. Good luck in your experience, Mike
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Andy1237

Andy1237

.
Jun 30, 2004
446
Hunter 340 St Andrews Bay
I have a similar situation and also looking for a solution. I thought you would be more likely to find a repair shop in N.O. or Mobile easier than I would find one in the Ozarks! I did find this place in Denver: http://www.raftrepair.com/
Check out there gallery of repairs and the ARC/Urethane coating. I've requested an estimate
 
Manureva

Manureva

.
Jan 14, 2011
243
tanzer tanzer 28 bathurst nb
i patched a seem on mine, the hole was big enuf to stick my whole hand in it(and i have huge paws(so says my girlfriend)), plus the front cover was ripped off for about 1metre, i used the zodiac 2 part pvc glue, fixed it and back to no leak, the glue was easy to use and i still have some left , id give it to you if it wouldnt be for the damn shipping charge for hazardous material
 
RAD

RAD

.
Jun 3, 2004
2,330
Catalina 30 Bay Shore, N.Y.
This is copied from another post today on the subject of a PVC dink I own

"After years of grief with this dink I'd been better off slitting my wrists

BTW I've been using a 25+ year old Achilles Hypalon dink and it performs like the day it was bought "
Click to expand
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top Bottom