Joker 580 slightly leaking

[Ralf]

Hey guys

My RIB started to loose air and what looked like a minor leak turned out to be pretty bad as far as I can tell. I do not have a puncture: it looks like the "skin" of the neoprene came off and when I applied soap water it bubbled out of those white spots in the neoprene and a bit around those.

It's a bad spot for repair anyways but I have no clue how to get the neoprene airtight again.

I have a guy here who repairs RIBs and he can easily fix the damage but he's also scratching his head about how to get this sh** airtight again... so I am trying to gather some opinions and ideas. Also will contact the Joker factory.

What are you guys thinking? Thanks and please don't scare me too much.

[Ralf]

Ok. Read a bit about fixing big tears by applying an i side patch. As I don’t have a tear I was wondering if I should actually cut the textile to apply an inside patch or put an outside patch only.

Any advice?

[spartacus]

That looks pretty specialist.

The neoprene has delaminated from the weave, so its waterproofing and airtight quality has been compromised. I’d have thought you’ll need to remove the rubbing strake so you can see how far the seam has detached. By the time it’s all cleaned up then you’ll have a better indication of what you’re working with. Be interesting to what Joker suggest too.

[Ralf]

Originally Posted by spartacus

That looks pretty specialist.

The neoprene has delaminated from the weave, so its waterproofing and airtight quality has been compromised. I’d have thought you’ll need to remove the rubbing strake so you can see how far the seam has detached. By the time it’s all cleaned up then you’ll have a better indication of what you’re working with. Be interesting to what Joker suggest too.

Thanks for your reply, mate! The damage is limited to those white wrinkles. I guess it has been operated with too little air by the previous owner.it’s 20 years old but the tubes are in amazing shape. It’s just that one spot..

The inside neoprene has delaminated from the textile at those white wrinkled spots….it’s close to but not IN the radius so I think we will cut the textile , insert an inside patch, glue the old inside neoprene back to the textile and let it dry. Then inflate the tubes and apply new neoprene to the textile and add the other layers.

Joker will probably recommend to get new tubes ����

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Ralf

Thanks for your reply, mate! The damage is limited to those white wrinkles. I guess it has been operated with too little air by the previous owner.it’s 20 years old but the tubes are in amazing shape. It’s just that one spot..

The inside neoprene has delaminated from the textile at those white wrinkled spots….it’s close to but not IN the radius so I think we will cut the textile , insert an inside patch, glue the old inside neoprene back to the textile and let it dry. Then inflate the tubes and apply new neoprene to the textile and add the other layers.

Joker will probably recommend to get new tubes ����

It might be easier to cut off the whole end of the tube about 500mm from the end, remake the end section from new & then graft the new end/cone back onto the tube. At least it will be a straight joint around the tube for the graft.

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

It might be easier to cut off the whole end of the tube about 500mm from the end, remake the end section from new & then graft the new end/cone back onto the tube. At least it will be a straight joint around the tube for the graft.

Was thinking that. A repair is only going to hold so long and considering the neoprene layer has delaminated, then suspect that material is beyond saving even if you can make a temporary repair.

[Ralf]

Joker factory asked me to contact their branch in Portugal. They‘d replace the tubes. Which is madness as they are in amazing shape.

So. My friend fixed a lot of boats with worse damages so we’re going for a repair. After summer we will replace the whole cone.

Should be fine. It’s just the West Coast of Portugal so it’s not too rough

[Pikey Dave]

Setubal?

[Pikey Dave]

Deleted, duplicate post.

[Ralf]

A bit south of Sines

[Pikey Dave]

Lucky you, we love that area, Milfontes, Porto Covo etc. Do you know Black Pig Gin?

[Ralf]

Yeah, it’s like living in the 1980s I know that Gin!

Boat repair will start today. Open heart surgery 😂

I came here to stay one night in February 2021… still here and counting

[Ralf]

So we glued some inside patches on the (very small) damaged area. The boat obviously was operated with low air pressure which caused the damage.

We reinforced it from the outside as well, closed everything and today we will add some more reinforcements just to feel better

[ConorT2]

A bushfix for leaks on joins and seams is ShoeGoo. I've used it for a couple of years and it is incredibly strong and as used for fixing skateboard shoes is both flexible and waterproof.

Holds for full air pressure once cured for 24 hours - doesn't look pretty but is transparent.

[Ralf]

Man! How could I forget this amazing stuff. Thanks! I’ll buy some just in case