Quote:
Originally Posted by fastasfox
I haven't had to repair my my PU Tubes as they are new, but Xs ribs added wear patches on my tube tops and the cleats are glued on and they are as strong as a Hypalon fix. Xs ribs did do a tutorial on youtube on how to do a repair patch and it looked the same as a Hypalon repair (Acetone is key)
I went for PU because of the welded seems as Sibs I had owned in the past eventually failed at the glued seems..the glue was the failure point not the material.
Like Pikey Dave said Xs ribs did have a problem with earlier tubes as the glue failed as it was affected by uv light, they found a solution by adding tape at the seems. They did eventually switch to welding the seems inc end cone and baffles and it was this that swung it for me. Xs ribs did offer Hypalon for the same cost but the seems can't be be welded.
I'd did an unhealthy amount of research into rib tube materials and I have to say I'm happy with my choice.
PU or Hypalon there is no wrong answer.
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I think a lot of folk confuse polyurethane & pvc, polyurethane is definitely up there quite close to hypalon, its definitely more abrasion resistant. Older polyurethane boats definitely had their issues with seams bursting but also the surface of the material seems to suffer uv degeneration & that's when repair becomes an issue imho. Newer materials definitely have a different feel to the tornado era materials, so they may prove to last longer than previous boats welded seams look nice too.
Bearing in mind theres little difference in cost between pu & hypalon it is purely down to owner preference. They both have their benefits I prefer hypalon but wouldnt say someone buying a pu boat made the wrong choice.
There is however a big difference between hypalon & pu when compared to pvc , pvc is cheaper & tends to be used on cheaper boats & sibs which are largely disposable & definitely dont last like pu/hypalon. It would be a mistake imho to spec an expensive quality build boat with cheap inferior pvc tubes only exception might be the zodiac range with slide on tubes where replacement is relatively easy without using glue & lots of man hours.
Back to the ops question re the thicker hypalon material then whilst the thinner hypalon will be fine, the thicker material will be undoubtedly stronger if theres not a huge increase in cost then I'd probably go for the thicker material myself
