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26-05-2022, 09:40
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 105
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Temporarily seal leaky inflatable patch?
My friend sold me a roll up hypalon dinghy for $40. It has a leak from what looks to be a pvc patch. This is a pure back up dinghy. Considering I just put a brand new outboard on my skiff, I would say it's most likely I won't even need to inflate this dinghy in the next 2 years. Also it has no title (in Florida), so the outlook for ever using it more than a handful of times (when i have no other option) is slim. For these reasons I'm not inclined to undertake a repair of significant effort or much expense.
Are there any recommendations for a general adhesive that can gum up under the edge of the existing patch (without removal) enough to hold air for a rare use? I already have super glue, loctite marine sealant, 5200, E6000 (similar to shoe goo), and various epoxies on hand. Or I can buy something cheap if none of those stand a chance.
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26-05-2022, 10:09
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#2
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2022
Location: Ontario Canada
Boat: Jeanneau SO 389
Posts: 1,004
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Re: Temporarily seal leaky inflatable patch?
Lexel probably shred it if you try to remove it. It’s a sealant which sticks like glue appears like silicone. Home Depot stock small hand tube and small chalk gun size. I glued a transom back on a Dinghy for a season only are not falling apart
I bought an aluminum hull Zodiac at the super spreader 2020 boat show. Got the new Free Trade price from Europe to Canada and a $500.00 show special was the kicker. What a great little boat. Zodiac and Yamaha are in kahoots with each other on options. Like a bolt in helm or a V aluminum cover dry locker. Rails in the extrusion to move benches tables rod holders lighting Bimini . It cost less than a Chinese one from the US with that 500$.
A friends club has debris in their boat yard and behind boat sheds. Looks like a dump. Free Boats and rotten inflatables.
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26-05-2022, 10:40
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#3
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SF Bay Area (Boat Sold)
Boat: Former owner of a Valiant V40
Posts: 1,004
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Re: Temporarily seal leaky inflatable patch?
I had good luck with the internal sealant -- similar to bike inner tube goo, but it dries to a semi-hard film. West Marine and other have it. Not cheap, but it does the job. An effort to slosh it all around, but kind-of fun and it WILL amuse your neighbors.
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26-05-2022, 12:10
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Santa Cruz
Boat: Boatless Again
Posts: 5,733
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Re: Temporarily seal leaky inflatable patch?
I'd use 5200.
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26-05-2022, 14:44
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#5
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Langley, WA
Boat: Nordic 44
Posts: 2,080
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Re: Temporarily seal leaky inflatable patch?
Super glue.
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26-05-2022, 15:02
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#6
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Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: aboard, cruising in Australia
Boat: Sayer 46' Solent rig sloop
Posts: 24,656
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Re: Temporarily seal leaky inflatable patch?
i agree with Don. I'd try the 5200. It will stay flexible and it works below the water line once it is cured. It will take a long time to cure, but put it on lightly inflated, and leave it saggy while it cures. Otherwise, it is not hard to learn how to patch a hypalon dinghy, and they are great for kids or grandkids to play in, or if two adults want to go to different places. You can even put real oars on one.
Ann
__________________
Who scorns the calm has forgotten the storm.
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26-05-2022, 15:35
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#7
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Mt. Sinai, NY
Boat: Beneteau 331
Posts: 52
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Re: Temporarily seal leaky inflatable patch?
Try green slime, sold on Amazon. Similar to the product sold by West Marine but much cheaper. Made for tire tuber. I used on an inflatable I had to inflate everyday. Put it in the tubes roll the inflatable around to cover all internal surfaces. Didn't have to inflate for two months.
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27-05-2022, 07:30
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2012
Boat: Jeanneau SO45.2
Posts: 360
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Re: Temporarily seal leaky inflatable patch?
If you use any of the internal sealants, you will have to inflate & deflate the dinghy several times to let the sealant dry completely - if it is then rolled up, there is a good chance that the insides of the tubes will stick together and it will never unroll again (ask me how I know).
I would put a new, larger, patch over the old one, with the surfaces (dinghy, old patch and new patch) properly cleaned and prepped, and good quality contact cement or the dinghy-specific stuff.
I have had good success with "Final Fix" (no relation, just a customer); a thick grey adhesive in a grease-gun-type cartridge. Put a couple of arc-shaped patches around the stern cones of my Zodiac where a seam had a slow leak.
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28-05-2022, 09:30
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#9
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Chesapeake Bay
Boat: Hunnter Legend 37.5
Posts: 859
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Re: Temporarily seal leaky inflatable patch?
By the two part hypalon cement. The patch will come off pretty easy, actually. Best to do it right the first time, and it won't take that much extra time.
But ....shortcut is to peel up what you can, use some MEK to get up any extra, put some small sticks under it. Paint both surfaces with hypalon cement, let dry for one minute, then pull the sticks out one at a time and press.
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02-06-2022, 04:23
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#10
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Registered User

Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Caribbean live aboard
Boat: Camper & Nicholson58 Ketch - ROXY Traverse City, Michigan No.668283
Posts: 5,842
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Re: Temporarily seal leaky inflatable patch?
Bite the bullet and do it right. Use a small right angle grinder and fine flap wheel to remove the patch and scarify the surface. Apply a proper hypalon patch. It will take a couple hours.
Or you could try this.
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02-06-2022, 05:31
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#11
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cruiser
Join Date: May 2022
Posts: 85
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Re: Temporarily seal leaky inflatable patch?
I used a bicycle tube repair patch and rubber cement. Was planning to fix properly but patch worked.
Wasn't a tear. Just a pin prick type hole
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02-06-2022, 06:14
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#12
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: June 2022 Red Sea
Boat: Fuji45
Posts: 42
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Re: Temporarily seal leaky inflatable patch?
sc2000. its used for gluing conveyor belts, but after many dinghy patch failures (lexel, 5200, etc.) a salty dog suggested this as the best solution for hypalon. he was right. not a cheap glue, but its cheap over time. fairest winds. lauri
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