Zodiac bow harness came unglued, help please

Dan1 · 16 June 2010, 01:37

Hi all,

The harness on my 18ft Zodiac RIB came unglued, see pic. I've gotten satisfactory results gluing stuff on the tubes using good prep procedures, the tubes are PVC. However I suspect that this harness area bears a lot of load and even a good glue job will soon fall apart. There are two types of joined areas between the harness and the tube, one seems like it could have been welded, I numbered this area 1. The other area numbered 2 looks like it's been glued.

Should I bother gluing this or will it just fall apart again? Is the better route to take the tubes somewhere for a professional installation of the harness? If so will they glue or weld? Will they reuse my old harness? How much does a job like this cost?

Thanks in advance for any help,
Dan

Stoo · 16 June 2010, 03:35

Ouch... Sorry to see that. It's my understanding (and only that) that pvc can't be re-welded... it requires too much "technology" and a dealer or repair shop won't have any ability to do that.

Gluing and reinforcing will probably to the job, and I suspect some overlapping piece of fabric to cover and reinforce the entire area might be called for. Unless you are stuffing your nose into the waves on a regular basis, that area shouldn't really take much of a beating...

It's too bad you are so far away... There's a very good shop up here that could probably do a pretty fine job for you.

prairie tuber · 16 June 2010, 05:26

Quest que cest spearfishing apnea?

Are the interests spearfishing & apnea, or, does dreaming of spearfishing cause the apnea?

Sorry for the hijack & good luck with the bow separation thingy.

Dan1 · 16 June 2010, 05:50

Yeah pt, it's not exactly poetry is it.. I needed something in there to distinguish from the bubble blowers and the word freedive wouldn't fit. We are an elitist bunch

spartacus · 16 June 2010, 08:42

Quote:

Should I bother gluing this or will it just fall apart again? Is the better route to take the tubes somewhere for a professional installation of the harness? If so will they glue or weld? Will they reuse my old harness?

I'm sure if you approach the job and take the time to do it in sections (fix section 1 first), then attempt (section 2) afterwards - you will have a robust and strong repair. Preparation is everything. Plenty sites regards 2-part PVC glue procedures and sanding and degreasing area, etc. Would there be a requirement for some stainless steel self tappers and raised cup washers on section 1 prior to gluing the flap down?

Dan1 · 16 June 2010, 21:51

Thanks for the replies.

Since I don't know what stainless steel self tappers and raised cup washers are, I suppose I don't need them. I was going to do the gluing in about four parts.

Is this thing called a bow harness? I just described it logically. But I haven't been able to find any information online using this description.

spartacus · 16 June 2010, 22:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan1

Thanks for the replies.

Since I don't know what stainless steel self tappers and raised cup washers are, I suppose I don't need them. I was going to do the gluing in about four parts.

Is this thing called a bow harness? I just described it logically. But I haven't been able to find any information online using this description.

Doing it in sections is the way to go. Only reason I mentioned cup washers and self tappers, is that it may give a degree of added strength to the repair. The cup washers countersink the screw (avoiding sharp edges) and grip the PVC fabric. The self-tappers is a cutting screw that doesn't require a pilot hole to be drilled. Either that or a stainless steel strip straight on to the exposed GRP hull holding section (1) down with the overlapping fabric section (2) over the top.

Stoo · 23 June 2010, 03:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan1

Yeah pt, it's not exactly poetry is it.. I needed something in there to distinguish from the bubble blowers and the word freedive wouldn't fit. We are an elitist bunch

Elite... possibly! Brain-damaged... definitely~

I lived in Freeport for a while during my mis-spent yoot and spent ALL of my leisure diving time free-diving. Nothing like it, but wearing a drysuit takes some of the appeal away...

Here's a couple of pics a friend took of some folks free-diving under the ice up here. It struck me as a tad "Darwinian"...

Dan1 · 04 July 2010, 03:29

Nice pics Stoo.

When I lived in TO I remember hearing there are some divable wrecks in Tobermory.

You may be surprised at the warmth and comfort afforded by a quality 7mm open cell wetsuit.