Glueing in an inflatable keel

[Oilystairs]

Hi All,
I pulled out the inflatable keel on my old Zodiac Mk2 to make a repair on the seam. That keel is now repaired and I want to glue it back in.

I was wondering if hypalon glue should be used to glue it back in to the boat or whether something like sikaflex might hold better? The whole area seems to be a magnet for grime and sand and it will be difficult to get clean enough for hypalon 2part glue.

It goes against the grain to use sikaflex but that is good glue

[Eric]

If the inflatable boat and keel material is hypalon, use hypalon glue. If PVC, use pvc glue. the important thing to remember is preparation. Get the preperation right and it will stick forever.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Look on the polymarine web site all you need to know on there OS

[Oilystairs]

Thanks for the advice

[smokie]

Hi Oilystairs,

Hope you see this. I have the same problem with a Grand Raid keel. Is the keel pvc or hypalon. To repair did you take the seam apart or put a patch over it? How did you end up gluing the keel to the boat?

[FanOfZHT]

VELCRO!
Unless dictated by a military contract, Zodiac Milpro now prefers to use velcro to secure the keel. I recently repaired a Minuteman 420 (limited production from '06-07), a water-rescue model that has a velcro keel from the factory.
I'd use PVC glue for attaching velcro patches to the keel and hull. I know, the keel is CSM/Hypalon - but the velcro is "plastic".