Advice on pvc inflatable repair

[armchairsailor]

I’ve just picked up a cheap second hand dink. It seems in pretty good order apart from seam leaks on each sponson and on the transom to floor join. As mentioned, it seems in pretty good order - marked from mildew but otherwise not suffering heavy use. Professional opinion appears to be that pvc only lasts about 10 years before seams open up, but I’d like to give repair a go, since it seems worthwhile.

So, I was thinking of lifting back the seam at the leak, using acetone or something else more suitable and using a two-pack glue to reglue it. Does that seem like a reasonable ploy, or should I be thinking of using one of those glues that are poured in through the valve?

I can post pics if required. Thanks in advance.

 

[VicS]

I’ve just picked up a cheap second hand dink. .......................................................

Use the correct 2 part glue for PVC for any regluing you do, not any old two part glue.

Also use the recommended solvent / primer for cleaning and priming before gluing

https://polymarineshop.com/pvc-adhesive-250ml.html

https://polymarineshop.com/2903-solvent-for-pvc-fabrics-250ml.html

 

[prv]

A heat gun and a flexible scraper with the corners rounded to prevent them digging in, will be the best way to open up any seams. There's a particular temperature band you will find by trial and error, where the glue suddenly gives up but before the fabric starts smoking - with a bit of practice it's quite easy to dismantle parts of a PVC inflatable this way.

Pete

 

[TQA]

IMHO such efforts to reglue ancient PVC dinks are a waste of time. Maybe rekitting the dink and a complete reglue might work.

But I had an old dink with small seam leaks. I got another 18 months out of it by using SLIME.
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-maintenance/bike-puncture-repair/slime-bike-tyre-sealant
Try an agricultural supplier for larger amounts.

Squirt into tubes blow up dink and roll it over several times. It fixed my old dink.

 

[FulmarJeddo]

The biggest problem with seam repairs is the remains of the old glue. You can never seem to get it all off and it becomes the weak point of the repair. I spent many hours and lots of money on glue some years ago attempting to repair a Narwhal RIB. With that I would repair one section only to find somewhere else start to open up. I eventually gave up and sold the hull to someone that was going to retube it. That was a particularly bad case. I think there had been a faulty batch of glue or bad workmanship that started falling apart in the sun at about 6 years old. Narwhal inflatables disappeared about that time.

 

[Muddy Boat]

I have a not very old Seago that has been used about 3 times and the transom has detached itself. Spoken to a few repairers who say a) Very hard to repair and b) it's not worth repairing as, from experience, it's only a matter of time until the floor falls out.
By comparison, my Compass Hypalon dinghy is 10's of years old and still as good as the day it left the factory.
You pays ya money...

 

[armchairsailor]

Well, I thought I’d give you an update. My shitty $100 dink came with 2 substantial leaks, one under each sponson. And a lot of mildew marks. Oh, and a separating floor to transom join. I’ve poured 2 bottles of Slime in, which is a running repair for tyres etc that plugs the holes via microfibres. It was a pig to get the leaks finally covered in slime, but now I have a dinghy that’s reasonably watertight and airtight, and plenty good enough to paddle out to my “pied à mèr”. Fingers crossed it lasts the winter and isn’t nicked.