tricky airdeck repair - advice please?

rik_elliott · 18 August 2013, 17:42

Nothing is ever easy!
So I inflated the deck on my aerotec after cleaning it up. The previous owner had stuck yellow sealant goop on it in places, which wasnt really stuck on very well at all and mostly just peeled off with a little encouragement. In the areas that needed a repair, I have done it properly.

Now, on inflating it, I found that the starboard deck board has gone soft within about 2 hours, and totally flat over night. I gave it the soap and water treatment and found a really annoying bubble.

It seems to be leaking from the very bow, where the two sides of the air deck meet. At the end of the stitching, bubbles come out if I put water in, and I can hear a hiss. I cannot see the puncture itself and I have no idea how I am going to get to it to fix it, excluding cutting the two halves of the air deck apart (REALLY dont want to do that!). I have put a picture on here to show what I mean. You can see reminants of the old sealant the old owner had put on, which just came away with a fingernail. I guess he had been chasing the same leak.

Do anyone have any ideas how I could tackle this?

PeterM · 18 August 2013, 18:09

Rik....I've a feeling I may have owned your boat some months ago .....?

Is it a grey one ..had traces of silver tape round the bow ?

rik_elliott · 18 August 2013, 18:32

Hi Peter,
It is a grey one. No signs of silver tape. I got it in north yorkshire (the owner said he had owned it for a few years), so would be surprised if it was your old one, but who knows!

Peter_C · 18 August 2013, 19:08

I could be mistaken as it is hard to tell by the photos but it appears you will need to remove the outer layer that binds the two parts together. Any idea how deep inward from the edge the leak is?

Is that section glued and can you use a heat gun to remove it?

camelgas · 18 August 2013, 19:45

what about repairing it as best you can and then adding a can of that internal sealer to mop up any pinholes you cannot see/get at, just a thought. HTH

Chris · 18 August 2013, 20:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by camelgas

what about repairing it as best you can and then adding a can of that internal sealer to mop up any pinholes you cannot see/get at, just a thought. HTH

Internal sealer ! What is it and where can I get some :-) got a Honwave with a leak under the central strake which this may be perfect for !

Nasher · 18 August 2013, 20:11

Internal sealer is not a good idea in an airdeck, it'll glue together all the internal fibres and go out of shape.

Nasher.

camelgas · 18 August 2013, 20:23

Ribstore sell it as do others .

I think it was called seal skins or similar.

I re-glued a awkward seam leak in my sib bow that someone had tryed mending before (unsuccessfully), added some of this as belt and braces and the jobs been a good-un !.

after reading nashers reply : ignore me It was just a thought, as I said worked ok in the bow.

Nasher · 18 August 2013, 20:41

It does work really well in other areas, and finds all the small holes you might not.

However, if the boat is deflated and rolled up afterwards it can stick to itself inside the tube.
Some brands are supposedly made not to do this, but when I asked one manufacturer to give me some confidence the main tubes on the younger Nashers 380 would be OK Rolled up between being used they recommended keeping it inflated.

Everyone I spoke to said their product would not work in an airdeck, partly because of the internal fibre structure and partly because of the pressures involved.

To give you some confidence it can be done, I did some extensive repairs on the smaller Nashers airdeck several years ago and it's still fine.
The thread is a bit long, but the work I did to the airdeck is spread out through it amongst the work on the engine etc.
http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/introdu...tec-40249.html

Nasher

rik_elliott · 18 August 2013, 21:34

Hi Peter c, no idea how far in the leak is. I probably could use a heat gun, nice idea.

Thanks nasher - I did read your thread start to finish and the other one from scarlet jester, very informative and I feel happy to do the repair- just need to find the puncture first!

PeterM · 18 August 2013, 21:54

prob not the one I had then...mine had same floor problem (and same stuff on edges to try and stop they leak)...and I was never going to get round to fixing it this year...but having also read nashers thread I thought it was fixable.

prep and patience I reckon will always win through on floor fixes...

Peter_C · 18 August 2013, 22:53

Might try sealing of the other end somehow, filling the cavity with water, and using a really bright light to locate the air bubbles? Or maybe just fill it and feel for the bubbles? Be creative but it helps to know where to go before performing the surgery.

So is thàt part of the floor in fact glued?

rik_elliott · 19 August 2013, 00:14

It looks like the floor in this area is glued to the central bit of fabric that holds the two floor sections together. I have attached a picture. If I could mark it's position, unglue it then reglue it after patching, I think that would be ideal. I have acetone and two part PVC glue so should manage to do a reasonable job of it (I hope!)

I have removed pretty much all of the yellow sealant gloop now, so we are back to bare plastic.

If I use a heat gun how likely am I to melt the floor? Would a hair dryer do the job?

Ill try and take pictures as I go along, in case anyone else ends up with a similar problem in future.

S4Simon · 19 August 2013, 12:05

I'd say the previous owner has failed dismally at trying to solve the leaking problem by applying liberal amounts of epoxy. A definite no no.

A boat repairer would strip back the layers to locate the source of the leak. A heat gun is okay to use on this fabric, just don't over do it. Fabric at most should be very hot to touch. Pry the layers apart with a strong blunt tool. Take your time. Continue testing for leaks as the fabric layers are removed. Over time you will locate the exact point of the problem.

rik_elliott · 20 August 2013, 20:29

progress has been made. S4Simon - you were spot on about the heat gun. I bought an el-cheapo one from B+Q, put it on its lowest setting, and the glue just peeled away like lifting a post it note.

I have take it back perhaps 6 inches, then repeated the soapy water trick. as you can see, its leaking from perhaps the most awkward to patch spot I can imagine, right on an edge seam.

Its a tiny little hole to be honest, but definitely the culprit as it hisses and bubbles nicely. Its more of a crack.

Any ideas how I could approach this with a patch? Or should I use some proper PU sealant on it, like aquasure (I see scarlett Jester did this on his air floor and it worked well). I REALLY would rather it was patched, but it looks like its going to be a bit of a blighter to do given how its right on the edge. When inflated this area changes shape significantly, with the corner itself forming a ridge right next to the crack. I suppose as the area is very flat when deflated, I could just patch over it and hope the patch conforms to shape when I inflate it?

Nasher · 20 August 2013, 20:41

If you can get it flat when deflated you're laughing.

Prep it well and get a good sized patch over it.

Nasher

S4Simon · 21 August 2013, 00:52

Okay for this tricky repair I would apply a small amount of VLP to the affected area (covering a 10mm area - the hole and surrounds) Apply 2 coats - waiting 30 minutes between each coat. this adhesive is a liquid vinyl which will adhere and flex with the fabric.

Then apply a standard round patch over the area as per the pic below. The importance is to force the patch into the creases with a blunt implement.

rik_elliott · 21 August 2013, 23:07

Thanks S4Simon + Nasher.

I got on with the repair as soon as I saw Nashers reply, but I'm fairly pleased I did nearly exactly what you suggested simon, only with a rectangular patch rather than round. I worked the patch and adhesive with the back of a spoon to get any bubbles out, and to get the patch into all the nooks and crannies. I left some heavy bits and pieces on the area to flatten it whilst the glue is setting.

Out of interest, is there any advantage to using round patches rather than square, should I need to do any repairs in future?

We will see how it holds up when I inflate it once it has all cured properly. I'll use the soapy water again around the patch to be 100% there are no leaks. If the repair seems solid, I will stick down the fabric linking the other side again and leave it all to cure for a few more days. Fingers crossed, if all goes well I hope this will leave the deck good as new.

S4Simon · 22 August 2013, 00:12

You can use square patches as long as the corners are rounded. Otherwise that's where they can get caught and start to peel away over time.

Peter_C · 22 August 2013, 08:12

In the future always use rounded corners, as mentioned it helps keeps the corners from lifting. In this cse though the corners are covered by the next layer are they not? If so it is not of concern.