Bic 252 Dinghy in Need of Repair

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sailingjupiter

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Hi, my first post!

Does anyone know how to repair the hull on a Bic dinghy?
It has a slit in the outer of both hulls where it has been dragged up the beach.

I have tried all sorts of stuff to patch up but they all fall off after a short time.

Someone told me that they can be "welded" with a plastic weld. Is this true, what is it and how do you do it etc?

Anyone got any ideas or experience of this?

Many thanks.
 
I have heard of small holes being patched with sikkaflex very successfully. Suspect that you can sikka a larger hole and put a piece of material over the top. You could even pout a piece of stainless plate over the top rather than another piece of plastic, and then bolted through to prevent further damage.
 
Hi, thats a nice way to help a first time poster. Who rattled your cage? the person asked a resonably civil question.
Now back to the answer and welcome to the forum springjupiter. Repairing them is not easy and yes they can be plastic welded but it takes some skill to do this. Ask about locally where you stay and if there is an Ocean Safety outlet in your area maybe they can give you some guidance.
 
Well that wasn't really an answer either.
There is a repair kit available which is the only proper way to repair them as the Polyethylene doesn't bond with much anything else, it being flexible and most other repair materials setting hard.
Problem is the kit cost about £40 and the dinghy is unlikely to be worth that kind of money by the time it's reached the "holes in the bottom" stage.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Problem is the kit cost about £40 and the dinghy is unlikely to be worth that kind of money by the time it's reached the "holes in the bottom" stage.


[/ QUOTE ]
Which is why I recommended sikkaaflex, which does stick to it, is flexible, and a lot cheaper than the repair kit.


long pockets/short arms
 
www.polymarine .com
Welcome .
The above sight might be able to sort out inflation.
There,s a load of hot air around in the Forum from time to time.
Especially in "The Lounge"
Quite a few of the Forum members can be short sighted.
P.O.O.E.S.--Patch Over One Eye Syndrome!
Have a roam around the Forum, it,s a bleedin larf. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I've successfully experimented with a two pack polyurethane glue that has performed remarkably well. Depends how much material you need. Its called B&Q Poly Power high performance. and sells for about £3 for two 15ml tubes which you mix equally. More flexible than epoxy and seems to stick to many plastics very well.

The Sikaflex or Sikaflex and overlay plates also seem sensible.
 
Years ago I bought one secondhand with splits!. I rang BICs at Guildford and they put me in touch with my nearest plastics welder. Expensive though.
 
The advice isn't too far from good. I had one of these some years ago and whatever you try will only be a temporary solution - just some repairs will last longer than others. Eventually you will probably get fed up with spending money and increasing amounts of time effecting repairs. The splits get bigger not smaller.
 
I fell heir to one with the bottom draged out of it. I cleaned it then covered the complete hull in fibreglass matting. It made it a bit heavy, however, there seemed to be enough rough bits for the resin to get a grip. Done me for years (10+) and it lay outside upside down all year! I even bought another one (in better nik) when the old one went to the big boatyard in the sky
 
Try contacting a long established windsurfing shop.... many years ago the windsurfers were often made from poly, and many of the longer established ones became pretty adept at poly welding.... and will have the appropriate welding gear, often redepolyed more recently in the repair of toppers and various other 'school' and 'knock-about' type dinghies..... got to be worth a go...
 
Polyethylene repair

Hi Sailingjupiter.
There is only one way to affect a proper repair on a BIC 252 tender/dinghy.
The boat is made from Polyethylene and as such is impervious to most "glues". It's the same stuff that the caps and spouts of "super glue" and other additives are made so enough said as to why they don’t stick. Polyethylene can however be "welded" by using Ethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether which is not easy to get hold of and is quite hazardous to use. Household buckets are generally made of the same stuff so are a good source of "welding rods" as they can be cut up to match the repair and often acquired in a colour pretty close to the work requiring repair. The chemical dissolves the polyethylene and changes the molecular structure in the same way as a metal weld does. If you want to try this, get a bucket and some “ether” and in an open space with rubber gloves and a face mask see just what happens. I have made repairs to other items made of polyethylene where the repair is virtually invisible.
Hope this helps a bit.
 
Hi Sailingjupiter.
There is only one way to affect a proper repair on a BIC 252 tender/dinghy.
The boat is made from Polyethylene and as such is impervious to most "glues". It's the same stuff that the caps and spouts of "super glue" and other additives are made so enough said as to why they don’t stick. Polyethylene can however be "welded" by using Ethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether which is not easy to get hold of and is quite hazardous to use. Household buckets are generally made of the same stuff so are a good source of "welding rods" as they can be cut up to match the repair and often acquired in a colour pretty close to the work requiring repair. The chemical dissolves the polyethylene and changes the molecular structure in the same way as a metal weld does. If you want to try this, get a bucket and some “ether” and in an open space with rubber gloves and a face mask see just what happens. I have made repairs to other items made of polyethylene where the repair is virtually invisible.
Hope this helps a bit.
 
Poly repair

Hi Sailingjupiter.
There is only one way to affect a proper repair on a BIC 252 tender/dinghy.
The boat is made from Polyethylene and as such is impervious to most "glues". It's the same stuff that the caps and spouts of "super glue" and other additives are made so enough said as to why they don’t stick. Polyethylene can however be "welded" by using Ethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether which is not easy to get hold of and is quite hazardous to use. Household buckets are generally made of the same stuff so are a good source of "welding rods" as they can be cut up to match the repair and often acquired in a colour pretty close to the work requiring repair. The chemical dissolves the polyethylene and changes the molecular structure in the same way as a metal weld does. If you want to try this, get a bucket and some “ether” and in an open space with rubber gloves and a face mask see just what happens. I have made repairs to other items made of polyethylene where the repair is virtually invisible.
Hope this helps a bit.
 
I wonder if a company like Tek Tanks could help? After all, they weld up tanks. Might be pricey, but could be very effective. Once repaired, it might be an idea to put some wood laths on as skids to prevent it scraping away again.

Rob.

P.S. Not a lot of freeboard, but a very stable little dinghy. I like them.
 
The trouble is, the plastic degrades with UV, often that is why the thing is no longer indestructible in the first place.
I know of one plastic tender that has a skin of GRP over the whole bottom.
Seems to be working.
 
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