leaking inflatable

[owen]

I have a very small leak in my newish PVC inflatable. It will deflate the tube over say 6 hrs. Unfortunately the leak is right at the edge of the rubber fender which is glued onto the perimeter of the dinghy.
There is no way of applying a patch without removing a chunk of fender. I have done a temporary repair by squeezing some hybrid sealant onto the hole and edge of the fender and it is holding although I have not inflated up to full pressure. Would appreciate any suggestions to do a proper repair.

 

[penfold]

You can get runny goo that is squirted into the leaky tube, you inflate and manoeuvre the dinghy so the leaky bit is at the bottom, wobble it to and fro for a bit and the goo gets forced through by the air pressure; Polymarine sell it, as do other vendors I'm sure. I had an otherwise excellent Avon which was literally letting itself down via a handful of very small leaks in seams which would have been tricky to patch effectively, the goo sealed them all up.

 

[prv]

I’ve done some fairly major inflatable repairs by using a heat gun and a paint-scraper with the corners rounded off to undo the seams, then reassemble with two-part adhesive and a metal roller for pressure. A proper repair would be to undo the relevant section of fender, apply the patch, then stick the fender back down over it.

Pete

 

[Tasape]

After treatment with poly marine sealflex can the inflatable tender be deflated , rolled up and then re inflated . Does this treatment have a negative effect on the valves ? . Some similar treatments are said to cause the internal surfaces to glue themselves together when deflated .

 

[HissyFit]

You can get runny goo that is squirted into the leaky tube, you inflate and manoeuvre the dinghy so the leaky bit is at the bottom, wobble it to and fro for a bit and the goo gets forced through by the air pressure; Polymarine sell it, as do other vendors I'm sure. I had an otherwise excellent Avon which was literally letting itself down via a handful of very small leaks in seams which would have been tricky to patch effectively, the goo sealed them all up.

As with anything 'marine', it might be financially beneficial to look for the non-marine alternative. The same stuff is available at cycle shops as tyre/innertube sealant. Automotive emergency repair sealant will probably work too.

 

[Gixer]

You can get runny goo that is squirted into the leaky tube, you inflate and manoeuvre the dinghy so the leaky bit is at the bottom, wobble it to and fro for a bit and the goo gets forced through by the air pressure; Polymarine sell it, as do other vendors I'm sure. I had an otherwise excellent Avon which was literally letting itself down via a handful of very small leaks in seams which would have been tricky to patch effectively, the goo sealed them all up.

Sounds like the stuff I use to seal my tubeless mountain bike tyres.

 

[jwilson]

I did a similar edge-of-fender-strip leak repair with CT1 hybrid adhesive on an otherwise good "Waveco" 2.8M inflatable last spring after an inflation check before putting it into use for the year. After 48 hours curing it was rolled up and put on board again, and used quite a lot during what summer was available to us because of Covid.

Late in the summer I bought a new Quicksilver 2.9, - after 2 weeks the bow towing eye broke, and the old inflatable went back into use while I argued with the supplier over warranty. The CT1-repaired inflatable went back into use and still did not leak when packed away at the end of the season.

I first used CT1 to fix minor leaks a few years back when I could not get hold of any two-pack PVC glue, but I had a tube of CT1. Now it is my go-to fix for tiny pinholes: I don't stick a patch on with it, just some masking tape to give a neat square round the pinhole or scrape, then smear some over, flattening down with a wet finger, and pull off the masking tape. It's even a close shade of grey to the dinghy.

 

[[70521]]

I have a tube of glue that I use on small leaks. Works a treat and lasts years.

 

[Graham376]

Suggest you phone Polymarine to get advice. As well as supplying materials, they used to (maybe still do) a dinghy repair service. tel: 01492 583322

 

[Poignard]

I did a similar edge-of-fender-strip leak repair with CT1 hybrid adhesive on an otherwise good "Waveco" 2.8M inflatable last spring after an inflation check before putting it into use for the year. After 48 hours curing it was rolled up and put on board again, and used quite a lot during what summer was available to us because of Covid.

Late in the summer I bought a new Quicksilver 2.9, - after 2 weeks the bow towing eye broke, and the old inflatable went back into use while I argued with the supplier over warranty. The CT1-repaired inflatable went back into use and still did not leak when packed away at the end of the season.

I first used CT1 to fix minor leaks a few years back when I could not get hold of any two-pack PVC glue, but I had a tube of CT1. Now it is my go-to fix for tiny pinholes: I don't stick a patch on with it, just some masking tape to give a neat square round the pinhole or scrape, then smear some over, flattening down with a wet finger, and pull off the masking tape. It's even a close shade of grey to the dinghy.

Another use for that marvellous product, CT1.

 

[LiftyK]

Stormsure floats my boat. It seems to work wonders on all leaks. A bonus is that it is available in small tubes.