Crack in hull of a Tabur III boat, help!

[Ballistix]

Hi all, my father in law has a small Tabur III. It has a crack in the hull and everyone he turns to says we are knackered. It's made of Polyesterine I think, or similar.

Anyone have any advice how we might repair it, it's a crack not a hole.
Cheers
T

 

[Chrusty1]

Sometimes repairable by welding with a hot soldering iron, forget glues and fillers, wont stick for more than five minutes.

You use the iron to drag molten plastic over the crack and meld it in.

 

[holly1]

I know someone who has just done this , not pretty but it worked. good luck

 

[Talbot]

I knew someone who had success with one of the sikkaflex products, but they had to use a specific one, and use the primer. and know I dont recall which one.

 

[Ballistix]

Talbot, if you could find out which one, I've heard this too..from my father in law someone said Sikkaflex but he doesn't know which one! Iron fix sounds interesting..

T

 

[Lakesailor]

Apparently there is a repair kit. But I think it was about £40 five years ago. Seems pricey.

 

[Blueboatman]

You might try making up a fibreglass patch in situ,lifting it off once cured,then abrading the dinghy and sticking the two together with sikaflex and a few pop rivets...you are in with a good chance then of a strong repair..of course the bigger the covering patch,the better will be the bond between the two.

 

[VicS]

Sikaflex User Guide
and
Marine Handbook


I think they are Polyethylene, which is difficult to get anything to stick to. Polystyrene would be no problem

 

[Chrusty1]

[ QUOTE ]
Sikaflex User Guide
and
Marine Handbook


I think they are Polyethylene, which is difficult to get anything to stick to. Polystyrene would be no problem

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes they are, or at least something very similar, which is why I told him about the soldering iron trick. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Pete7]

Yes probably the same way you would repair the sole of a snow ski. We used to use the plastic rings which hold beer cans together. Melted with a candle, dripped in and smoothed with a hot iron.

Pete

 

[fishermantwo]

I would consider plastic welding. Check out places that repair car plastic bumper covers. I get fish boxes back from the market that have been plastic welded. The filler is a similar plastic as the box and very strong.

 

[srp]

I second the plastic welding specialist - you need someone who can identify the correct filler rod to use and who has a thermostatically-controlled hot air welding gun. I think it is polythene, but not sure if it's high or low density. You can buy a cheap Sealey welding gun on eBay, but it only comes with ABS rods.

 

[Talbot]

[ QUOTE ]
Talbot, if you could find out which one, I've heard this too..from my father in law someone said Sikkaflex but he doesn't know which one! Iron fix sounds interesting..T

[/ QUOTE ]

Would if I could. but not possible now. Give the sikkaflex people a call and ask them

 

[maxi77]

Tabur it would appear were taken over by BIC some years ago, so a BIC distributor may well be able to point you at a suitable repairer. The material seems similar to that used for Toppers and I remeber they had to be repaired by a plastic welding process.

 

[Ballistix]

Cheers guys will try BIC. But I think the father in law got a French resposte saying they couldn't help! Yikes...not good CS eh.

T

 

[VicS]

[ QUOTE ]
Cheers guys will try BIC

[/ QUOTE ] Guildford Marine are (the ) agents for BIC and for Tabur previously. Google will find them.

 

[Lakesailor]

Polyethylene kits are available for £9.95 in the UK Here at LDC Racing Sailboats.

As Vic says they are definitely made of Polyethylene

 

[Ballistix]

I called them in France, VERY nice people...she followed up with an email with a PDF which said the following...

Dear Tony

Following your phone call a few minutes ago, I've attached that file I was talking about, BUT it's only for information, as I've just been told by our Product Manager that the Tabur boats were not made out of polyethylene but out of ABS Plastic, which cannot be repaired, unfortunately.

Our Bic 252s are made out of polyethylene. Maybe you'll have to treat yourself to a new boat. So for your information, here is the name of our distributor in the UK:

Ultrasport Europe Ltd
www.ultrasporteu.com
Tel: 01332 813150

You could find out where is the nearest retailer to you.

You could check out our website,
www.bicsport.com
You'll see our range of dinghies there, you might have done so already.

Best regards

Brigitte Suslu-Lemoine
Export & Marketing Assistant
Bic Sport
Tél: (+33) 02 97 43 75 02
brigitte.suslu-lemoine@bicworld.com

Yikes...any light fellas?

T

 

[VicS]

[ QUOTE ]
Tabur boats were not made out of polyethylene but out of ABS Plastic, which cannot be repaired,

[/ QUOTE ] Odd, there are glues for ABS. In fact it is soluble in MEK so an MEK based cement ought to be suitable.

I imagine it is also soluble in acetone.

Sikaflex is also far more likey to stick to ABS that it is to polythene. Give the Sikaflex idea a try.

 

[Lakesailor]

Top marks to them for dealing with an enquiry, knowing the history of their products and trying to sell you a new boat.

However you are now in a strong position to use http://www.plastexexpress.co.uk/repairs.htm