Repairing hull to tube joint in Apex RIB

[PaulAboard]

Hi all,

I recently aqcuired an old APEX RIB and I'm trying to resurrect it, and my major challenge is that on the stb side it is leaking air along the joint between the fibreglass hull and the tube. (to add to the trouble, the previous owner sprayed some sort of "as seen on TV" sealant along it....)

My question is this: Does anyone know how the tube is attached to the hull? Meaning, is the leak along this seem indicative of a leak up higher up on the tube? That may not be 100% clear, so let me try to describe what I mean: Is the tube attached at the top and bottom edges of the hull, and thus using part of the hull to hold back air, or would it simply be a full tube which holds the air on its own and then the tube is attached to the hull? I'm hoping not to disect it enough to find out!

Thanks
Paul

[Jim Cate]

Never have seen an Apex dink, but every other RIB I've seen has whole tubes and does not use the hull as part of the air enclosure.

With the exception of the well known Naiad line which uses an outer cover over separate bladders (like tubes in a tire). Not exactly using the hull to contain air but where one could perhaps see leakage at the tube to hull joint... maybe.

Jim

[Jolly Roger]

I’ve recently had amazing success stopping leaks on a 16 year old ten foot Caribe RIB, using the internal tube liquid sealant supplied by Inland Marine. Inland Marine USA Inflatable Boat repair Products
This is injected into the tubes through the valves and I was quite skeptical about it being able to seal leaks which I couldn’t even find. But I followed the instructions carefully and it has been holding 3psi for over a month now, without any deflation.
If this stuff can seal your leak(s) from the inside, you won’t need to even know where they are.

[PaulAboard]

Good replies - thanks. And Jolly - it's funny, I was wondering if a product like that could exist and maybe work. I think my leak as too big for that though!

LAst weekend I bit the bullet and pulled the tube away from the hull, and sure enough I found a 1cm cut (it was hidden from outside view by all of the "spray sealer" stuff). I cleaned it up, sanded it down, and patched/sealed it with 5200, and then glued the tube back on to the hull... tomorrow I find out for sure if it was a success or not! I had pumped it up enough for it to take shape last weekend, but didn't put any pressure in it while waiting for the adhesive to cure.

Cheers!
Paul

[motion30]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

I’ve recently had amazing success stopping leaks on a 16 year old ten foot Caribe RIB, using the internal tube liquid sealant supplied by Inland Marine. Inland Marine USA Inflatable Boat repair Products
This is injected into the tubes through the valves and I was quite skeptical about it being able to seal leaks which I couldn’t even find. But I followed the instructions carefully and it has been holding 3psi for over a month now, without any deflation.
If this stuff can seal your leak(s) from the inside, you won’t need to even know where they are.

I tried the product you are describing and in all Achilles and they did absolutely nothing I was very disappointed