Inflatable repairs. Southampton.

[slipknot]

I have a narwhal 2.4 mtr inflatable that I have had many years from new. It has had very little use, perhaps once or twice a year and has spent much of its life rolled up in the storage bag. When I used it this year I notices that a few areas were coming unstuck. Not the tubes themselves, but where the rubber rubbing strake is stuck on, and where the floor joins the tubes.
So doing a bit of research I discover that you need one type of glue for hypalon, another for PVC etc etc. It seems that as the bits I want to glue together are not the same material anyway and I may choose the wrong glue, cover myself and the dinghy with it in the process, and it still doesn't stick.
It's the kind of job that an expert could do very quickly and easily. Any recommendations please?

 

[Dux Duckett]

The RIB Shop at Swanwick might be worth a look: http://www.rib-shop.com. Also, if you re-consider the DIY approach, you may find this useful: http://www.ribstore.co.uk/cms-assets/documents/13370-249844.how-to-repair-inflatable-boat-dinghy-a. Good luck!

 

[rjandhl]

We had a narwhal that sounds just like yours , same size , age and little used but kept in a dry locker, the tape that joined the wooden transom to the tubes was showing signs of lifting around the edges, as was the bailer fitting. No problem we thought, so took it home and purchased a tube of hypalon glue and waited for a dry sunny day. Inflated dinghy in the garden and gave it a good soapy wash in preparation for the glue, waited for it to dry in the sunshine, not a particularly hot day, the next thing we noticed was that other seams were starting to show signs of lifting and then in a matter of minutes all of the seams gradually gave way and we were left with a completely deflated dinghy. We were thankful that it had not happened a week earlier when we were four up and paddling back to the outside pontoons at St Peter Port. We spoke to the people at the Rib Shop in Swanwick, they said that it was repairable but not economically viable and that once you notice the glue failing in one area it is likely that it will be failing everywhere.