inflatable repairs ?

[lee j]

i recently purchased a 93 zodiac express (8.5 ft)that the roll up floor had come apart from the tubes. i have purchased the 2 part glue for zodiacs from local rep and have read that i should clean off all previos glue, with mec(done), that i should roughen areas to be glued(done) and now i just need to glue the bottom to the tubes (useing 3 coats of glue and removeing any air, etc within so many minutes and within an air conditioned area.WOWany other advice before i under take the glueing portion, like should i do whole floor at once, or should i at least partialy inflate tubes first, etc etc etc.would love to hear from anyone who has successfully re-attached floor ingthankslee

 

[Steve O.]

advice

It sounds like this repair might be better left to a professional.

 

[steven f.]

super glue

I've heard that just plain old super glue works great on inflatables. I have an old West Marine inflatable (made by Avon I believe). The floor also came apart so I used; 1st time. two part glue with moderate success; 2nd time. some type of glue I bought at a boat show. It worked but only in some places. 3rd time. good old fashioned 5200!!!! By now I couldn't give this boat away so I figure I have nothing to loose. So far so good, guess we are calling the whole inflatable adventure a lesson in progress.

 

[Jim WIllis]

If your Zodiac is made vinyl......

If your boat is made of vinyl, it is difficult to get a permanent repair without welding. This is because the plasticizer "sweats" up under the glue. Older Quicksilvers had the worst reputation.If you have hypalon boat (feels like rubber rather than plastic) you can repair virtually forever unless things get so bad that the hypalon separates from the fabric underneath.Let me know, I have done such repairs and know others who do as well.ThanksJim WilliIGP

 

[Ron]

A caution

If your old inflatable had ever been waxed with a silicon based product, you might not get anything to stick.--Ron