Inflatable boat sealant

[Gordonmc]

Has anyone experience of using inflatable boat sealant such as this product:
http://www.rib-shop.com/product.asp?cookiecheck=yes&P_ID=353

I am trying to judge whether it is worth forking out more drinking vouchers on a fairly dilapidated Avon Rover or to bite the bullet and buy another one.
The dink had done good service, bought second-hand and with Ikea bed slats for a floor and a leaky transom. Then some scrote with a grudge decided to disimprove one of the sponsons with a craft knife. He/she also did four other inflatables in the same location.
I have tried twice now to patch the cut, which is about a foot long, using a hypalon patch and two part Polymarine glue.
The problem is that the cut went through a seam which is a failure point for the repair.
Would the sealant do the trick? What happens to the valves with this stuff swishing about inside the sponsons... dont they stick closed?

 

[alahol2]

Can't see the product you refer to but you can get similar for cycle tyres at what I suspect will be a rather lower price. Google 'tyre slime'. It works on bike innertubes.

 

[savageseadog]

....................... Then some scrote with a grudge decided to disimprove one of the sponsons with a craft knife. He/she also did four other inflatables in the same location.................

Strangely enough we had exactly the same happen to ours in Holyhead a year or two ago.

 

[Trundlebug]

I can't see the product to which you refer either but I have used this

http://www.marinemegastore.com/product-SealFlex-Sealant-for-Inflatable-Boats--MAR_53_98_10.htm

and it worked very well.

I took out the valve, poured it in, pumped up the dinghy really hard, turned it over a couple of times and left it in the position where the leak was at the bottom, so the sealant would flow into it.

Importantly I left it in that position for several hours on a sunny day, so it had chance to seep into the leak and dry out too.

No problems with the valve before or since.

Dinghy now stays fully inflated. Just have to do the same to the other sponson now, I've been waiting all season for a sunny day

 

[TQA]

I used an American product called SLIME in an aged hypalon dink that was starting to leak from the seams.

Poured in about 2 quarts, pumped it up hard, rolled it over and over and left it in the sun.

Gave that dink another 18 months of life although the leaks did reappear slowly they were never quite as bad.

 

[penfold]

I have used similar stuff on an Avon with numerous small leaks from seams at the joint between the tubes and floor; it worked perfectly. The hypalon was otherwise sound, so making the effort was worth it.

 

[Gordonmc]

An update.
I took the plunge and spent £38 on a bottle of inflatable boat seal.
As per instructions, I deflated the Avon and squirted a third of the bottle into each of the open A7 valves, then used a kitchen sprayer to flush the valves with water.
After closing the valves and inflating I rolled the dinghy side to side and end to end a few times.
That was yesterday. This lunchtime the dinghy was still fully inflated. Interestingly the white goop has started to come out of a small hole in one sponson I had been completely unaware of before effecting a seal. The valves open with no stickyness.
I will, of course, patch the small hole as well.
So, although time will tell it appears the dinghy will live on.