How To Repair Inflatable Boat DIY with simple tools 

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Aww! thank you- its so very nice to get feedback like this- Ive worked in the canvas and pvc products industry since 1985- you pick up a few tricks

I spent years repairing truck side curtains- Honestly -its under an hours work and the material cost is bugger all if you go to a canvas repair co instead of a marine chandler

You can reuse the strip but time and acetone cost more than a new patch- I would peal the loose piece back to get dirt and sand out and give it a good clean then re glue if its easy to clean- or make a new patch

Sorry Im not familiar with the blue one but solvent N rings a bell- I use marley gold

I made them from the same material that the boat is made from

Hi Ben- you need to go to a Canvas shop and ask for 840gsm PVC the same type as used for truck curtain sider repairs. Its on a 2m wide or a 2.5m wide roll

I dont know how thick the cushions are - but if the holes are just punctures not tears it should be fine - so long as the material is the same type- pvc.

No- I dont recommend that at all. The areas must be cleaned and patched- the material is so cheap- just offcuts from a truck canvas place

Thank you very much I will pachts all the areas

Jiff- abrasive bath cleaner on a cloth mop in a cordless drill- wear glasses!

Im not a business!- Im a dude with a youtube channel who shows people how to fix stuff

Depends on the matterial. 2 components epoxy is perfect for that are looking overall

NO!

None at all- Ive done canvas a pvc repairs since 1985 and it is the proper glue- its just a much cheaper way of buying it. If your boat is old and sunburned - clean hard with a stainless steel scourer around the repair area and use the PVC primer that they use on pressure pipes - the purple stuff

You have a lot of stripping to do first. Use a heat gun to heat the patches and pull away with plier -grips. Then lots of cleaning with acetone and wire brush. Then you cut new parts and glue on with the methods shown here. Get the pvc patch material from truck curtain repair business. You will make a great job.

Just minutes, Its heat activated and virtually instant.. If you can get the PVC glue primer- the purple stuff, that will make it stick even better. But trust me- the glue is the sane

@@t.h.o.r. thanks. I got the pvc cement and some acetone today. Last week i tried a fix with the repair kit that came with the dinghy and it left a few air gaps. The tube of glue might have been old. I'm hoping to heat gun it off, clean it up and have another go using the roller and heat activating it with the gun. I might rough with sandpaper to get a good key. I have not got the purple stuff but will clean really thoroughly. Cheers

That’s what I was going to ask, instead of Acetone.

If PVC glue works I can't imagine the primer being a bad idea. I was thinking the same thing.

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you must use the clear type- the white glues are for guttering and have high solids resulting in a hard bond. www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-8-oz-PVC-Cement-310133/100345577

This glue does not work on Hypalon

PVC glue WILL work on hypalon, but not the other way around. Doc(30+ pro years experience)

both sides of the repair

@@t.h.o.r. .......Which is to the unglossy side of the repair patch ..? Glossy side on outside. When new I suppose the PVC boats are shiny on the outside.The repair patches I bought have two quite distinct faces . Perhaps they are not the right sort ...

same as the boat itself it is PVC from any place that doe truck curtain sider repairs- the heavy one 840gsm.

@@t.h.o.r. - thank you

yes - the heat reactivates the glue

Yes totally, Ive used it for years- I used to contract repair curtain sider units for trucking companies

@@t.h.o.r. Great I'll give it a try, Thanks for reply

I have a Sea Eagle 470 kayak and one of the seams split so they replaced under warranty, leaving me with the old one. I have recently removed the D Rings (14 of them) by using a hair dryer and pulling them off of i suspect this will also work for you. This weekend i will test gluing one Dring back on before gluing 4 D Rings onto a RED Paddle 11' SUP. I might also try to repair the seam on the kayak, but suspect it will then fail elsewhere on the seam.

How did it go Geoff?

@@t.h.o.r. D Rings are holding on SUP. Have put 4 on SUP and used them to attach a kayak seat. Have paddled 4 times. All held, front two under load of foot rest supporting my weight on seat back. Thanks for the video and you tips.

@@geoffpender1920 Thanks for these answers. I noticed, that more of the handles in video was on their way off the boat. I have worked with inflatable airtracks for gymnastics, and they got similar problems and repair methods. I just made a video regarding a DIY handle. There is a lot of different procedures shown on RU-vid regarding patching of PVC inflatables. I have always used pressure to the joint while the glue cures, but very few use this method. With this video from THOR I see that the roller is used in combination with the hot air gun, and I guess that this is a nice tip. But it is likely, that the air should not be too hot. For hot air tarpaulin welding you do use the roller in this way, but then the air temperature is much higher. Hot air welding is not to be recommended for these applications, because the joints will not last. Some of the older airtracks used welding for all the joints, and these joints do leak over time of use. Glued joints will last a very long time.

most definitely! I should have said in the video. It was all a bit rushed cos he was coming to get it later that day

MEKis really aggressive and marks the pvc if you spill it. I try to use what I already have on hand

@Dave M yes, like you,I've never once watched a fluffy kitten video or any of Beyonce"s make up tips. For me You Tube is a university and I'm just paying my dues.

Ive done canvas and PVC work for 35 years always used Bostic 999 until one day i saw a bottle of PVC pipe glue on another guy's bench and asked him.- he said "PVC glue is PVC glue, doesnt matter what bottle its in" so I tried it and have used it since. Thats about 20 years. Its exactly the same. was confirmed by the industrial chemist at Holdfast Industries who make Gorrilla Glue under licence here in New Zealand

@@t.h.o.r. Thanks TH and OG. I used HH-66 on a vinyl tarp with terrible results so I have been skeptical that "glue is glue." But maybe i did it wrong. I'll have to try it again. Appreciate the information.

same glue - different containers according to the industrial chemist from BOSTIK

Im in the dark here- CPVC- dunno what the first c is for? but if you have acetone for cleaning and conditioning where you will glue- the glue to use is the PVC pipe cement used for the waste pipes under your sink. NOT the guttering cementwhich is white and pastey

@@t.h.o.r. yeah it's the same thing I guess. Cpvc is chlorinated pvc. I guess that wont affect the adhesion..🤔

Nope I tried but it doesnt work with the solvents available here in India. Could you please let me know the solvent you are using? I have an Intex Mariner 4..guess it's made of pvc..right?🤔

Jerry thomas Azhakathu hey buddy, question. I have a mariner 4 too. I have quite a few holes around the boat. Can’t find pvc patches to use , without getting them shipped but I’m traveling. Do you think I can cut up one of the inflatable seat cushions, since I don’t use them and use those as patches with pvc glue? I’m thinking I could but haven’t seen anyone else do it.. Thanks.

NO

pvc cement for pvc-. It welds. its nothing like rubber, I dont think it would work at all.

Hi I have a dinghy west marine the lateral cover is broken with a lot of small holds I would like to know if I can cover the holds only with the pvc glue I apreciatte your coments

with hh66 vinyl cement could work.?

@@danielreal8815 9

It is a pain. I talked to a rep whose website pointed out that military boats are vinyl now.. not hypalon.. I was impressed until he also said military spec says service for 2 years and then toss it. I have a hypalon boat that is 20 years old and going strong. Not sure how long vinyl can hold up.

@@ejkoford5303 - er not vinyl!- vinyl is the soft cloth backed stuff that boat seats and old car seats are made of. there is also Polypropylene - you cant glue that either. this is PVC glue It glues PVC. the rep is just plain wrong sorry

@@t.h.o.r. PVC= Polyvinylchoride... ie "vinyl..."

@@ejkoford5303 Glued vinyl usually no more than 10 years.

Any place that fixes truck side curtains its called 840 gam PVC canvas repair places

No- not at all

PVC glue will work great on hyp, but not hyp on pvc. Just put 6 handles on with pvc glue to hyp Doc(30 + pro years exp 0 0

You can do it!

Dont do it this glue doesnt work by the real glue for it and you want to patch the inside first I've fix my transom cones before it's how to professional do it

is that hypalon?

Its the correct glue- its just packaged differently - I promise. why pay 4x the price just cos it has MARINE written on it?

I thought the same thing. I was going to buy a 5ml tube of marine pvc glue online but the hardware store has pipe pvc glue 125ml for the same price. I thought it was the same stuff. Going to go there tomorrow. Getting 25x more for my money thanks :)

tHAT'S PVC PIPE GLUE, DO NOT USE THAT.

No the acetone keys it sufficiently

@@t.h.o.r. brilliant thanks. Do you just use 2 part glues for any rubber/PVC gluing? Like handles/ transoms etc? Any tips on buying those 2 part glues from somewhere other than an expensive repair pack?

@@jasonholdaway6247 I towed 2.5m tender on a passage full of rain water for 30km at 5knots with a repaired towing eye. it was a new reinfocement patch, made to same shape as old. where it came off was soaked in acetone to soften old glue, wirebrushed to remove it, wiped down both sides with acetone again, glued both sides, 5 min wait and apply with rubber tyred roller and heatgun. Its been good as new since. the reason it let go originally was that the tender got stuck behind a wharf pile and it tore slightly I hope this helps? Ine never used the 2 pack cos Ive never done production work Honestly- this generic PVC cement for plumbing waste pipes is just as good as the Bostik 999 that we use on the truck curtain sider industry for repairs and you can buy it anywhere in small tubs with a brush- Its the same thing Im sure. you can get even better results using the purple primer that they sell to go with it.

@@t.h.o.r. Hey thanks for the reply. I tried to use the Marley Gold to glue the rubber transom to the PVC tube and it just pulled straight off the Rubber transom without sticking to it. (The glue stuck well to the PVC which i will now remove).

@@jasonholdaway6247 yep ot wont work at all on the Hyperlon. but pvc to pvcis OK. Marley Gold is not quite s good as othe brands. the bostic PVC cement is the one that I believe is just 999 repackaged

if the material is PVC it is same on both sides- Hyperlon is grey on the inside pumpupboats.com/inflatable-boat-fabrics-hypalon-pvc/#distinguishing_pvc_from_hypalon

It doesnt work I tried it buy the real glue for it and buy mek to clean area

the one for guttering and downpipes with the white colour is to rigid - you use te clear one- it is the exact same as bostik 999 which is what the manufacturers use

Don't use pipe glue!

watch the video- It is PVC glue as I show

Please PVC glue for PVC nitrilic

It comes in wieghts 380 gram per m2 to 840gsm Truck side curtains and boats- really heavy stuff

Thank you very much. Could you give a an advice what to use instead of sugar soap cus this product is not available in Canada

PVC GLUE OR pvc PIPE CEMENT

@@t.h.o.r. PVC GLUE. Please!

plumbing PVC cement

just 60C - hand hot

@@t.h.o.r. our temperatures here in India go up to 40 C ... maybe thats why the entire Sea Eagle has debonded ... what happens if I use your method ??

@@t.h.o.r. Thanks for this answer - I was going to ask the same. I think you need a special heat gun to produce low temperatures like that. I am lucky to have that.

@@sewingmachinesindetail Just hold your heat gun further away and move faster. I probably make it look easier cos Ive been doing it for years. This is not a short cut/hack- this glue is the same stuff- without the wicked profit margin.

@@sewingmachinesindetail Ill go check out your channel- I have an Adler, a Durkopff and a Sieko that I have to keep healthy

HERE IS WHAT iM USING NOW- GREAT PRICE - iN FACT EVERY THING THEY SELL IS AT GREAT PRICES nzpipe.co.nz/collections/gutter-spouting/products/copy-of-2917-silicone-white

@@t.h.o.r. Wow - that is cheap. I have seen one argue, that the glue for pipes do not have the flexibility - it is harder when cured. But I have no idea it this is true. Such rumors can also be there to keep a price difference.

@@sewingmachinesindetail the white one for gutters is wrong- the clear one Ive used for 35 years in my canvas and pvc goods business.

$40/QUART

@@danielweeks3723 Thanks. I guess it must be a US quart gallon then, and it is about 0.94 liters. For smaller projects with patching, I think it is easier to use the cans with a brush inside. Then you do not need to clean a brush or buy a new for each project, and you always got the right amount of glue at disposal. I have also used a PVC glue, Sabacontact 70T in similar small cans with a brush, but I like the brush in the Plastigum 77 better. You can get one liter of Sabacontact for about 35 Euro, so it is about the same price level here in Europe. Perhaps you can refill the small cans with a brush from a larger can if price is important.

Just pvc glue for plumbing waste pipe. You need to key up rhe surface with acetone or MEK first. All my pvc repairs hold up lol. I've been doing it for years

@@t.h.o.r. because that bottle says uPVC ...that got me confused

PVC GLUE- polyvinylchloride. used on plumbing waste pipes

Sand