Where Lake Champlain meets the Adirondack Mountains

	INFLATABLE REPAIRS Doing It Yourself from Westport Marina on Lake Champlain
Models-Years	Hull ID plates	Zodiac Valves	Sales/Service	Metal IC Valves	Oarlocks	Avon Valves

Before buying a used inflatable, please be sure you know what you are getting into.
We get several inquiries a week from buyers of used "like new" inflatables that are very costly or impossible to repair!

Small repairs and adding accessories that will not receive heavy stress may be attempted by the owner if the instructions are followed.

Tears or holes longer than one inch in the air chambers or within two inches of a seam should be repaired with interior and exterior patches by professionals. You might get through the season with a simple patch, but have it redone properly over the winter. We recommend that major repairs and addition of heavy duty accessories such as Weaver Davits® and towing rings be done by a qualified repair center.

Bottom or Floor Fabric coming loose from the tubes?

Repair of the tube to floor joint is not easy. You first need to determine the extent of the separation. Pull hard on the seam. If you can get it apart, it will fail soon anyway.
Then check the condition of the floor. A common cause of glue separation is gasoline spills from filling the tank. The floor fabric will often be stiff and crackly like brown wrapping paper. If the fabric is not soft and flexible, forget the repair.
You also should check the transom attachment joints, which also are glued. If the floor glue is giving way, they also may fail soon under warmth and stress.

You will need to remove all traces of the old glue by scrubbing and a solvent such as MEK from a hardware store.
You can try gluing the joint together with a two part glue for PVC coated fabric. It can be ordered from our link at

http://www.shipstore.com/ss/HTML/WVR/WVR3001KIT.html
Only available in continental US, by ground shipment.

Gluing must be done in a temperature and humidity controlled room, where the boat can stay 48 hours while the glue cures.
Adherence to the exact timing instructions for layers of glue is essential.

The overlap of the glued floor and tube is quite narrow. To achieve a satisfactory joint requires professional training and exact adherence to instructions. For home repair, you should glue a 4" backing strip over the joint to reinforce it. We often do in our shop. Such strips need to be cut from a 36" roll. You will then need perhaps six or more strips, to cover the length of the bottom on both sides. Adjacent strips cannot be glued in the same glue cycle, thus you will need at least three cans of glue to glue the six bottom backing strips.

If you need to glue an extensive section of the bottom or glue the transom also, you will need more than one glue kit also. The glue is a contact type and bonds instantly on touch. Placement of the bottom fabric on both sides in one glue cycle is very difficult.

Zodiac packages their two part Universal Glue in an 800cc can (Part Z7098), with 3 bottles of accelerator, which delivers three glue doses of glue. They would provide an less costly alternative to several cans of Weaver glue; however, they cannot be shipped at all due to HaxMat restrictions. You would need to pick them up at a local Zodiac dealer.

We strongly recommend you contact a repair shop rather than attempt a home repair. Except for minor repairs to our local customers, we do not undertake these repairs in our shop. You can expect to pay a minimum of $500 for this repair for a 10 foot or less boat. More for larger boats or if the transom also needs repair.

If your boat is still in warranty and you have a seam coming apart; the wooden transom separating from the cuff; or the fabric is turning yellow and sticky, don't delay. Call your dealer or us. Bad seams or sticky fabric often mean you can get a new boat for free or a small prorated fee. The longer you delay, the more your share will be. You cannot repair a seam and may void the warranty. You did register your warranty and keep a copy of the bill of sale didn't you?!

If you really want to do it yourself, we have three recommendations:

Read the instructions

Follow the instructions

Don't compromise on following the instructions!

ALL FABRICS - ALL GLUES - ESSENTIAL!

• LOW HUMIDITY AND TEMPERATURE CONTROL
• Relative humidity must be less than 70%, preferably as low as 40%.
• Temperature 64° to 77°F.

  Never fiddle around with these. Bond strength drops very rapidly with heat or high humidity. Take your boat indoors. Don't even think about trying to glue on the dock or near the water or in direct sunlight. We use a specially built, climate controlled room, and still we don't attempt to work on a rainy day.

  Note: You are using a two-part contact cement. The solvents in the glue must evaporate before assembly. When ready to assemble parts, the glue must not be tacky at all to the finger. It must not have spots of whitish glaze. If so, you may have spread the glue too thick, not waited long enough between coats, or a sudden drop in temperature or gust of humid air may have occurred. Someone may have opened the door, or you may have leaned too close and breathed on it. Plan to stay in the room until finished.

BE SAFE

• Do Not Smoke! Glues and solvents are flammable. No open flames (e.g. furnace or pilot light when working in a cellar.)
• Use in a well ventilated area. Fumes can be overwhelming. A carbon filter respirator is recommended. MEK solvent smells, but is relatively safe. Do not use Toluene.
• Accelerator (small bottle) is toxic. If spilled on on your skin WASH IMMEDIATELY with soap and water. If in your eyes, IMMEDIATELY FLUSH WITH WATER for at least 2 minutes and consult a physician. (Accelerator is an isocyanate based product.)

GENERAL TIPS

• If using small cans ( 1/4 L) mix the entire can with the dose of accelerator. Inaccurate measurement will weaken the glue. Once opened the accelerator cannot be kept. Do not economize and try to save it. The quality of your final bond depends on it.
• Apply glue with a paint or glue brush with the bristles cut short (1/2 to 3/4") so they are stiff. It must be natural hair (i.e. OK for lacquer); bound in metal not plastic; preferably with wooden or metal handle.
• Old glue must be completely removed -- solvent, sandpaper, scraping, grinding with a Dremel tool. Glue will not stick to old glue. Clean it off thoroughly. Be careful not to burn or melt the fabric if using a Dremel tool. Constant motion with the tool will prevent this problem.
• If your boat has ever been protected with ArmorAll® or another silicone or petroleum based product, you may have great difficulty getting a bond. Call for advice.
• Pinhole size leaks in most Zodiac fabric or PVC boats sometimes may be repaired simply by use of either Seam Seal or Air Seal by Sevylor. You might be able to avoid a patch on the boat.
• To find tiny leaks, take floor boards out, inflate boat hard. Put some liquid detergent in a bucket of water and with rag or big wash brush, scrub it all over boat. Keep watch for elusive, tiny bubbles. When you find the first leak, keep looking. You might as well fix them all at the same time! Remember, the number one cause of slow leaks is poorly seated valve. Unscrew, clean with water only. Make sure little rubber O-rings are good. They are the cheapest repair possible.
• If patching, cut patch 2 to 3" larger than tear in each direction and round the corners (a quarter makes a good template for the edges). Little one inch circles pasted over a pin hole won't last. Try to get the same fabric used by the manufacturer for your boat. The inside and outside surface may be different. If you can't match color, sometimes a cleverly shaped patch in contrasting color can be made to look like decoration instead of a Band-Aid. e.g. arrow, lightning bolt, even a new D ring if in right spot. We often put one on each side to look like they came with the boat.
• Inflate boat to apply accessories. Deflate to patch air leaks, even if very small. Air pressure will bubble the patch before glue sets.

  NOTE: These instructions are offered to assist you in home use of glues. Because of the wide variety of conditions and critical procedures, Westport Marina, Inc. assumes no responsibility for failure of glued bonds or any consequence thereof. We always recommend repair by trained professionals. If you mess it up, our time to clean the fabric and rectify the problem can greatly exceed the cost of the original repair. We want to have happy customers, not make money from their errors.

  Fabric Differences

  A quick discussion of the differences between "PVC" and "Rubber" fabrics.

  Liquid Latex

  for very minor, multiple leaks or porous fabric. An option to gluing when dealing with pinholes, slow leaks along a seam. Might work for leaks under a rub rail or when you can't tell where the leak starts. Sometimes a combination of latex and patching is required.

Glue Instructions

Zodiac® Strongan (often generically referred to as "PVC")

(also Bombard, Metzeler from 1989 on, Serié 1, Sevylor); ZED, Quicksilver;
West Marine (blue); WestMarine by Zodiac, other copolymer or PVC coated fabric

 

Hypalon or Hypalon/Neoprene Fabric

Commercial Zodiacs in older years, Avon, Achilles, Boat/US, Sea Rogue, West (red or grey boats,
Metzeler before 1989, some older Zodiacs (call us). Most non-Zodiac fabrics
fall into this category.

 

Need Help? Email us!