Zodiac Tube Repair

[Donie]

Hi, I have a 1998 Zodiac Pro Open 550. I’m not sure if the tubes are original. A few weeks ago I noticed that the piece of beading that is glued to the bottom of the tubes looked to be coming away in one small spot. I took the rib out on the water yesterday and noticed that it had gotten a lot worse. The Zodiac tubes have a bead glued to the bottom of the tubes and this beading slides into a groove on the hull. It turns out that most of the starboard side needs to be re-glued. I am going to remove the tubes turn them upside down and reinflate.
Can anyone recommend a suitable glue for this job and what preparation process I should use?
Thanks!
D

[mhb100]

Originally Posted by Donie

Hi, I have a 1998 Zodiac Pro Open 550. I’m not sure if the tubes are original. A few weeks ago I noticed that the piece of beading that is glued to the bottom of the tubes looked to be coming away in one small spot. I took the rib out on the water yesterday and noticed that it had gotten a lot worse. The Zodiac tubes have a bead glued to the bottom of the tubes and this beading slides into a groove on the hull. It turns out that most of the starboard side needs to be re-glued. I am going to remove the tubes turn them upside down and reinflate.
Can anyone recommend a suitable glue for this job and what preparation process I should use?
Thanks!
D

So had one of these. The material was strongan duotex, and seams we're heat welded

If I was you I'd go to a zodiac dealer or one of the specialist tube repairers as it's not straight forward to work with (compared to hypalon or more standard pvc)

You don't really want to muck surface up and cobtaibte it with the wrong glue as youll make a professional repair harder.

That said zodiac did use to sell a repair kit, but only intended for puncture repair as opposed to seam failures, so not sure it would have big enough patches. .

Not sure where your based but you should be able to Google to find a specialist. Goodluck.

[Donie]

Thanks for the reply Mhb100,
I didn’t realise that it was a special fabric. I’ll bring it to a repair shop so. I’m based in Ireland so not a huge selection of Zodiac dealers who offer support. I’d love to find a new set of tubes at a good price but think it would not be economically viable as it’s an old boat

[Solgear]

I've been professionally repairing boats for years. I would recommend Stabond. Stabond will adhere Hypalon or PVC. It comes with a vial of accelerator. Mix the 2 together and you will have only a couple of days before the entire can will gel. The biggest thing to be sure of is that all the old glue is completely removed. A nylon wheel brush on a drill is a great tool for that. Prep hypalon with Toluol or Toluene and prep PVC with MEK. Apply 1 thin coat to each side and let it dry. Keep your chip brush wet in a small can of MEK. Apply a 2nd thin coat and let it almost dry. Then compress the material together. Warm it up with a heat gun. Good luck.

[Donie]

Thanks for the info. I’ll see if I can pick up those products in Ireland