Punctured tube on a pontoon log

[htfiremedic]

Our FD boat was out on a drowning last PM. The wind blew her into a pontoon log and the battery box snagged the tube skin. Is there a cover that will make the tubes more tough? Something Kevlar, or similar?

[cgoing]

What kind of boat is it?

[htfiremedic]

Zodiac style, I'll have to check manufacturer. We run rivers, in rocks, some downed trees/timber, etc. they advertised it as cut/abrasion resistant. Lol
Firefighter/Paramedic proof is hard to find! Rigid bottom, multiple chambers all around and on bottom.

[office888]

[QUOTE=htfiremedic;748536]Zodiac style, I'll have to check manufacturer. We run rivers, in rocks, some downed trees/timber, etc. they advertised it as cut/abrasion resistant. Lol
Firefighter/Paramedic proof is hard to find! Rigid bottom, multiple chambers all around and on bottom.[/]

Underinflation will increase the chance of something snagging and puncturing rather than just bouncing off.

If the crew and coxswain have not done a rescue boat handling course, I would recommend it.

[htfiremedic]

The company was Rescue One, now they changed names. We had our Department of Natural Resources come in and do a specialized class, as well as working on specific Technical Rescue/Swiftwater Rescue classes.
The incident was during a recovery, and a pontoon was blown into the rear of a chamber. It had an extremely sharp metal battery box, knife edge sharp.
The patch is now 5 layers of material overlapping, professionally repaired.
I am looking for something to try to make the skin tougher, maybe a Kevlar wrap, or similar. Just trying to see if anyone has ideas. We looked at a Jetski/Jetboat with a Kevlar hull, but it was not made for our use. The whitewater caused cavitation in the pump, so the design was moot.

[Poly]

I don't think you'll find any fabric that can withstand knifeedge sharp objects. Fabrics do come in different "weights" and there are three different compositions in widespread use: hyaplon (CSM), polyurethane (PU) and PVC. Generally hypalon is viewed as the gold standard material, although some of the PU marketing claims it is tougher to abrasion.

Heavier weight fabric, multiple layers in at risk areas and rubber layers (like flat rubbing stake) over the top in vulnerable places are the usual commercial approach.

Even then you can burst it if you try hard enough! (And fixing it might be harder with all the extra layers to remove to get to the important section).

If you need it to be "fish farmer proof" then move away from inflatable and go rotomolded plastic.

UK military (certainly used to) use tubes than unscrewed rather than glued so they could be fairly quickly swapped in the field if/when they damage them.