Re gluing plastic rib to rubber tubes

[CarinaPDX]

He is wrong. At least wrong if done the correct way. Gluing neoprene to neoprene is highly reliable, and been used to construct inflatables and liferafts for decades. Hypalon is a thin coating over the neoprene, as I wrote earlier, and must be sanded off for the glue to attach to the neoprene. It is true that just gluing Hypalon to Hypalon is not going to work well, but that isn't the proper way to do it. Do it right and it will last.

Greg

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by GreenHeaven

Its a Zodiac Bombard so I think its Hypalon (how can you definitively tell?)

I asked a local marine shop guy and he said forget it. Hypalon will never stay repaired.

Many Bombards were PVC. PVC seams are heat welded, Hypalon are glues. You can tell by looking at the seam.

It does not matter though, you can glue Hypalon or PVC.

The flexible epoxy is the ticket, I wish I had it a few times over the years. Couldn't find it in the Chinese store in Gizo though.

[JPA Cate]

The Chinese store in Gizo is a little way off the beaten track. I don't even know if flexible epoxy is available here in Oz. It sounds like it works a treat!

Just my opinion, but I bet the guy at the marine store who said it is unfixable didn't know how to fix it or just wants to sell you something new. Hypalon stays repaired quite well, in our experience. His saying that is full of you-know-what, like a Christmas goose!

There are dinghy repair places, sometimes (depends on where you are), whose business it is to know how to do it. Google inflatable boat repair near me. If they're nice, they might even teach you, help you with it, and you could rent some space from them, if there's no where else.

Good luck with it.

Ann

[Jim Cate]

I asked a local marine shop guy and he said forget it. Hypalon will never stay repaired.

Hypalon dinks are glued together when built. The seams on the elderly Zodiac MkII that we once owned were still intact at age 17 (full time cruising since birth, too). The Hypalon to Hypalon glued repairs that I made over the years didn't fail... once I discovered SC2000 glue.

IME, the above advice is baloney.

It is gluing Hypalon to PVC that baffles me. I've not found any good methodology... 5200 sticks, but the very long cure times make it awkward to do in the field. Never tried G-flex, but will if the need ever arises. I'd think that such a method would be good for the OP's project (gluing Hypalon to fiberglass), for being able to adjust the fit after assembly would be much easier than the "instant grab" of any of the contact glues like SC2000 or Bostik.

Finally, I don't think that Hypalon is always applied over a neoprene sub-layer. I believe that it is calendared directly into the scrim in most cases. In the distant past (the Redcrest era), Avon put a layer of neoprene on the inside of the tubes because it had better permeability properties than Hypalon... and those dinks lasted forever. But when sanding the old Zodiac to prep for repairs, I'd get right down into the scrim and never saw any indication of a neoprene layer. Happy to be corrected if that isn't true!

So, OP, good luck with your project... I think it is worth a try!

Jim

[Jim Cate]

Couldn't find it in the Chinese store in Gizo though.

You must have given up too soon, Fred... you can find ANYTHING in a Chinese store in the tropics if you look hard and long enough!

But I just might start carrying G-Flex in my adhesive kit, just in case!

Jim

[neworleansrich]

If it's a PVC boat:

Find Jack's Plastic Welding online. Order some 4inch wide strips to glue over the crazy small strip that once attached your tubes to your bottom. Order some Clifton's glue for PVC. Watch the videos, then glue it all back together with the 4inch strips over the original seams. I did this for several PVC boats. Generally after 2 years you would need to go back and redo some seams.

If it's a Hypalon boat:

Go to NRS.com order the hypalon 4inch strips and order the Clifton's glue for hypalon. (Different Clifton's Glue for Hypalon or PVC). Watch the videos. The glued seams on a hypalon boat will last much longer.


It's well within most people's skill set. Good Luck.

[GreenHeaven]

Originally Posted by neworleansrich

If it's a PVC boat:

Find Jack's Plastic Welding online. Order some 4inch wide strips to glue over the crazy small strip that once attached your tubes to your bottom. Order some Clifton's glue for PVC. Watch the videos, then glue it all back together with the 4inch strips over the original seams. I did this for several PVC boats. Generally after 2 years you would need to go back and redo some seams.

If it's a Hypalon boat:

Go to NRS.com order the hypalon 4inch strips and order the Clifton's glue for hypalon. (Different Clifton's Glue for Hypalon or PVC). Watch the videos. The glued seams on a hypalon boat will last much longer.


It's well within most people's skill set. Good Luck.

THanks for that. Can you help me locate what you are talking about here pls:
https://canoashop.com/negozio/

[GreenHeaven]

Originally Posted by wingssail

Many Bombards were PVC. PVC seams are heat welded, Hypalon are glues. You can tell by looking at the seam.

Ill take some pictures because I dont know what I am looking at...

[bensolomon]

I've done this on my dinghy. It's not hard. Just use gloves. The glue is hard to get off of your fingers. Besides, if your dinghy is already a mess, then you have an opportunity to learn some skills in a low risk environment.

[GreenHeaven]

Well it looks like happenstance took over this project. I left it in a safe place in the marina while i debated the project on this forum and someone decided it was trash so it went to the dingy repair center in the sky.

I cant say im sorry. I have so many projects on this boat and I really dont have the space to do it, and my expectations of a lasting repair were low. I hate doing a repair when i dont really know what I am doing and have no way to know how sucessfuly it will be. There is nothing worse than putting hours into something and then having it fail and be utterly useless. Thats just gonna really annoy me.

BUT thank you all for the replies ))