Dealing with micro leaks - Semi rigid

[Fstarocka]

Hi there - So I think I finally have my boat ready for first test run (motor needs some small adjustments)..

The boat seems to stay pretty well inflated overnight - however I still notice some very light decompression..

I am looking for a liquid latex (or similar) glue that I can spray into tubes using my hand weed pressure bottle sprayer - it sprays a perfect even round fan and I can insert it thru the valve hole .. esp if i extend the rod - I can pretty mush get it all the way down the pontoons -

I cant fill the tubes and roll the boat - it weighs too much! any recommendations?

[jeffstevens763@g]

look on polymarine web site they have a latex you put inside the tubes you might be able to source the same in your neck of the woods.its like milk and sets hard and does work you will need to take a valve out and make up a hose that will spray in the areas you want, with small boats you just pour in and roll around on a good surface until coated i think it comes in 500ml bottles

cheers

[Max...]

Pump up the boat to full pressure and then using that same pressure sprayer fill it with very soapy water and spray on the *outside* (!) of the tubes (and valves), find the leaks and patch 'em up or fix the valves.

[Phil M]

Originally Posted by Max...

Pump up the boat to full pressure and then using that same pressure sprayer fill it with very soapy water and spray on the *outside* (!) of the tubes (and valves), find the leaks and patch 'em up or fix the valves.

Valves leak. Would be a shame to go to the trouble of spraying only to find it was the valve. Also, air temp changes (e.g. overnight) will reduce the pressure in the tubes by quite a bit. roll it back into the sun for a while and see if it firms up again .

Phil M

[Wightdiver]

Originally Posted by Fstarocka

Hi there - So I think I finally have my boat ready for first test run (motor needs some small adjustments)..

The boat seems to stay pretty well inflated overnight - however I still notice some very light decompression..

I am looking for a liquid latex (or similar) glue that I can spray into tubes using my hand weed pressure bottle sprayer - it sprays a perfect even round fan and I can insert it thru the valve hole .. esp if i extend the rod - I can pretty mush get it all the way down the pontoons -

I cant fill the tubes and roll the boat - it weighs too much! any recommendations?

I had a similar problem with an old RIB. First identify exactly where the leak is, in my case it was under the tape that seals the seam. Using a hill, blocks, the trailer jockey wheel or some strong friends (I am assuming it is on a trailer?) get the area directly under the leak flat. Buy some thin tubing, I used the stuff they use for fish tanks, it will fit over the nozzle of the Latex bottle.

Deflate the tube, you may need to also deflate the sections either side of the leaking section, so that you can push the leaking area down and touch the bottom of the inside of the tube (hope that makes sense!!). Then feed the tube in through the valve, takes a bit of fiddling but with patience you can direct it, to exactly below the leak, squeeze the latex in so that whilst pushing the tube together you can feel the pool of liquid. Remove the tubing, "massage" the tube so that the inside of the leaking area is doused in the latex then pump up as quickly as you can. When I did it the latex bubbled out of the leak.

Worked for me and I managed to get another 2 seasons out of the tubes before the inevitable re-tube. The first attempt slowed the leaks significantly, did it a second time which stopped the leaks totally.

Good luck

Andy

[Wightdiver]

"get the area directly under the leak flat"

I think the term I should have used here is level rather than flat.

[Fstarocka]

Great info tx.. I did get some white milky stuff, and it helped a bit, checked valves, no leaks there.. The tubes stay firm all day.. But maybe the pvc was stretching creating a leaking symptom.. Pouring rain today, hoping to get it on the water for first test run .. Pulled carbs yesterday and cleaned them.. Bad timing I guess, had a whole week of perfect weather!

Interesting fish tank fix Andy, will look into it tx

Sent from my SM-G900M using Tapatalk

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Fstarocka

Great info tx.. I did get some white milky stuff, and it helped a bit, checked valves, no leaks there.. The tubes stay firm all day.. But maybe the pvc was stretching creating a leaking symptom.. Pouring rain today, hoping to get it on the water for first test run .. Pulled carbs yesterday and cleaned them.. Bad timing I guess, had a whole week of perfect weather!

Interesting fish tank fix Andy, will look into it tx

Sent from my SM-G900M using Tapatalk

might be wrong on this but i seem to remember that you have to change the air in the tubes a couple of times to get a full cure on the milk. but as said make sure its not just the air cooling thats making it soft over night.if you have auto dumps check them too.

cheers

[LucasHartong]

I'm thinking about doing a Sealflex latex job inside the tubes too. The advise is to turn the boat around every 5 minutes to give the latex the opportunity to spread around in the tubes, but: how many times/how long do you have to turn the boat around? How long does it take for the latex to harden out?

[Fstarocka]

not sure, i think the previous product i used turned into a powdery mess.. id experiment with the product first before dumping it into your tubes..

The latex I got has a chemical smell.. so i guess it would dry rather quickly.. the bits around the cap were dry when i re-opened..

Fyi most of my leaks are main seams which I am actually re-gluing myself with a excellent 2 part epoxy thats given excellent results so far.. Old age and the glue does separate.

In principle id like to remove tubes myself and re-glue ALL the seams, wd be a fraction of the new tubes route, and yield great results..

Maybe this winter ill do that

[LucasHartong]

Thanks for reply! Reading the threads here there was positive opinion about Sealflex (Polymarine), so I'd like to give it a try. I hope your glueing works out fine! Good luck with it. We have an interesting hobby

[Fstarocka]

likewise - safe boating! Let us know how it worked out -