RIB repair. Hypalon and ?

[skipmac]

Have an older Avon RIB that is in very good condition except the for the rub rail. Started pealing away at the edges and finally got so loose I just pulled the whole thing off.

When it first started happening I called a repair shop to get an estimate for the job which was close to a boat buck. They seemed to be quite familiar with the problem and said it was common on certain Avons because they used something besides Hypalon for the rub rail and over time the rail detached.

Decided the cost was way too much for an older dinghy but now I'm back in the water I guess I need to deal with it.

So, the questions.

- Anyone know what the rub rail is made of?

- What glue or goop should I use to do the repairs? I see plenty of adhesives that are for Hypalon or PVC but what would work best for Hypalon and this non-Hypalon rub rail?

Of course would prefer the repair to be perfect and permanent but would be satisfied if it held for as long as the original.

I am leaning towards 5200 for a couple of reasons. First because in previous threads a number of people reported great success for many years using 5200 for dinghy repair and I think it would stick well to just about anything (it sure sticks to me when I try to use it, which is rarely).

Second, 5200 is readily available locally vs any of the Hypalon glues which I would have to order from far away. My chief concern is the long cure time and assume I would need to figure some way to clamp the rail to the dink to insure full contact edge to edge and end to end.

So, what recommendations?

[a64pilot]

I believe the rail may be PVC, I think mine is anyway.
Can you just live without it? Got a feeling that replacement would be painful and maybe not look all that good, end up painting the dink maybe, but that may not be a bad thing either, dockmate painted theirs and it looks good.
Hypalon glue that I have used was more of contact type, that is didn't need clamping so much as a wheel type of pizza cutter looking thing that is used for inner tube patches worked well or seemed to, you needed pressure, but didn't need to sustain pressure like a clamp, but that was gluing a fabric patch, which may be a completely different thing than gluing on a rubbery rail?

[keepondancin]

I would use a two part Hypalon adhesive. There is probably a shadow line where the rub rail was. I would mask the area around where the rub rail will be to make cleanup much easier, not allowing the glue to smear all over the tubes. I forget solvent is used to clean up with, but it works. I have used two part several times and it is quite tenacious. If using 5200, I would mask also.

[a64pilot]

Solvent I used was Toluene, can get it at a paint store, I had to get a gallon, used an ounce of course

[skipmac]

The glue (adhesive?) used in the original attachment does appear to be a contact type. Most of it is dried but there are spots where I can peel off a soft, rubbery layer that sure looks like a contact cement to me.

I would consider leaving off the rail but the glue left a dark brown stain all around the light gray dink where the rub rail was attached. Even a really bad job would look better than what's there.

A64, do you know what your dockmate used to paint their dink? I have read about a product made specifically for painting Hypalon but also read very mixed reviews.

Keepondancin. If I use 5200 I will absolutely mask everything within about 10' of the repair. I might even don a hazmat suit. That stuff might be the messiest, stickiest goop on the planet.

If I go with a two part Hypalon adhesive it then comes down to which one. I've read all the previous threads and the two that seem to be the most recommended by the pros are Bostik 2402 and Weaver SC2000, with Polymarine and Clifton the ones most available through the usual online chandleries.

The Bostik 2402 seems to be almost impossible to locate in the states. 30-45 minutes of google search turned up a few UK suppliers but even the Bostik web site gave no US sources.

[Antilag]

I used a 2 part hypalon glue for my Avon on the rub rail. Worked great.

[GordMay]

Solvent based polychloroprene rubber adhesive works well when used in conjunction with a curing agent. Will bond natural rubber, polychloroprene, butyl, nitrile, hypalon and polyurethane rubber materials.

Hypalon Adhesive Polymarine #2990/107 ➥ Polymarine Hypalon 2 Part Adhesive

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Solvent based polychloroprene rubber adhesive works well when used in conjunction with a curing agent. Will bond natural rubber, polychloroprene, butyl, nitrile, hypalon and polyurethane rubber materials.

Hypalon Adhesive Polymarine #2990/107 ➥ Polymarine Hypalon 2 Part Adhesive

Thanks Gord. Not only information but specific recommendations and a link.


I looked at the tech data for Polymarine and it specifically says not for PVC. Any idea what the rub rail is made of? Hopefully some kind of rubber (butyl?) or something and not PVC.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Antilag

I used a 2 part hypalon glue for my Avon on the rub rail. Worked great.

Thanks Antilag. Do you happen to recall what brand?

[a64pilot]

I don't know brand name of paint, the actually sealed the tubes first with something that you put inside and rolled around, liquid obviously, then painted it, from 20 ft away it looks new, only notice it's been painted when you get close. They are liveaboards in a Marina, and he has a land job, so they don't cruise or use the dink really, so I don't know how long these patch jobs will last.
The adhesive Gord linked to was the one I used, somehow though after I just used a little and sealed the can back up it came open and spilled all over the leather seat in my truck, being as it wasn't mixed and it couldn't soak into leather I guess, the Toluene cleaned it all up. I think the glue built pressure, so be careful where you put the can.
It comes with little clips holding the can lid on, and I think is hazardous shipping wise, turned out to be an expensive patch for me, with $30 in glue, a gallon of solvent and almost ruining the interior of the truck

[jcapo]

I used 3M 4000 Fast Cure three years ago to reattach the rub rail on my Avon RIB. Its still going strong. Getting a clean enough surface to use hypalon glue was more than I wanted to undertake. The 4000 is far superior gap filler than hypalon glue.

[sailm8]

A friend of mine replaced his with 5200. Still holding

[Krilleonnova]

The great thing with 5200 is you do not need to mask
It will come off anyway after some weeks in saltwater
Rub rail and all

5200 is great stuff but why it does not work on Hypalon I don't know

[Scout 30]

I've got the exact same problem. My rub rail for my '99 Avon R3.41 is sitting on a shelf in the garage. I'm also getting a little lifting around the wood transom. When I called for an estimate a few years ago it was about $500 so I didn't bother since we use our Bauer 10 most of the time. But I will have to tackle this at some point so I'd be very interested to hear the results of your repair. FYI, the guy I talked to about the repair said that they would use a 2 part hypalon glue & sand the boat & rubrail thoroughly to get off all of the old glue. On a previous thread REMA SC2000 was given a good recommendation for a transom repair but I've also read about good results with 5200. It was also recommended that I mix the white & black 5200 to get a matching color.

[a64pilot]

Mixing white and black is a good idea, aircraft fuel tank sealer is often black and white, you mix to a uniform grey, I think the mix ratio there is 50 to 1 to get a grey color, so very little black is required