Rib davit patch repair

[DJK555]

Looking for suggestion on how to repair a patch holding a davit component on to a hypalon rib.

[AndyOz]

Supaglue. But clean it first

[JPA Cate]

First, make sure you have good glue on hand. We used Rema Tip Top SC2000 in the early days, then, later, same brand SC 4000, comes in black and a sort of creamy white. However, don't decide yet, wait till you figure out what the fitting is make of.

You need to have MEK or acetone for solvent, for SC 4000; and you need sandpaper and masking tape. We sometimes used waxed paper, too. And, if another glue will be used, methylated spirits will do to clean both. Don't let the MEK or acetone near the pvc.

Carefully prise the fitting off (I'm thinking the lift ring patch is disconnecting because the glue bond broke down... possibly because the wrong glue was used). You can try using heat to help remove it, but be careful, because we don't know if the fitting can take the heat, and we don't know what kind of glue was used. Sometimes hypalon dinghies get pvc parts glued to them. Here's a link to Gord May's post about how to figure out if it the fitting or dinghy is PVC or hypalon: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...on-102753.html It is post #3.

SC4000 will not bond well to pvc, so you'd need something like 3M 5200, a polyurethane glue, that will bond to both pvc and hypalon. (We used it to glue a pvc bottom onto a hypalon dinghy, and the bond held up well under water for years.)

So now, you've removed the fitting, tested it, you have to clean off all the old glue from it and from the hypalon. Clean it off from both surfaces to be glued using sandpaper. Clean the surfaces with meths (denatured alcohol). If the fitting is pvc, you will want to have the dinghy inflated hard, like for use, so the fitting will bond to the hypalon in its stretched state. (With patches, you want to bond it pretty well with no stretch.)

Follow the instructions for the glue. Jim would trace around the fitting or the patch and mask it first, so you get glue all the way to the edges, and the excess peels off nicely with the tape.

There are many old threads for dinghy repair. Go to the Search menu and go down it till you come to *CF Custom Google search*, and search on dinghy repair, do not use the other search at the top of the menu, as it won't work for jobs like this nearly as well.

Ann