Raft repair

[TBC]

I have an Avon raft that I got out of my storage shed tonight. Well a mouse has chewed about seven holes in it. Anyone know the best product for patching? Thanks in advance. -Louis

[Regud]

Get with Paddledog, he has repaired quite a few rafts in the last year.

[Deuce]

Bummer. Those little critters have done that to more than one raft. Since it's an Avon I'm thinking it's hypalon, which in my experience has been easier to repair than PVC. You can get everything you need from NRS, including advice, but unless the holes are on a seam it's a pretty straightforward job. A guy who builds his own canoes certainly won't have any trouble with it. If it is hypalon order up some Clifton Hypalon Adhesive (I wouldn't bother with the accelerator) and Pennel Orca material. You'll also need toluol (Toluene) for surface prep, but you should be able to get that locally. This is a good time to evaluate whether you want to go ahead and add D rings, handles, etc. while you're at it.

If I'm wrong about the material being hypalon you'll need urethane adhesive and PVC patch material, also available at NRS. You'll also need MEK or MEK substitute which should be available up in your neck of the woods. I've used both Clifton and Stabond adhesives on a PVC boat and had the same results, but I find the Clifton easier to work with. YMMV.

Don't forget to pick up a little roller or something to force out all the air pockets from under the patches once they're applied. The critical thing is to follow the instructions to the letter, which I'm sure you already know. Good luck.

[dwilson]

If it turns out to be too much I have a Avon with oars and a rowing frame for sale. It holds air well. Its on the sale section but might be a page back. If interested make an offer.

[TBC]

Thanks for the input Luke! Its def a hypalon boat. Think Ive decided on Stabond Adhesive with NRS Pennel Orca material. There are some pretty tough spots where the little mouse decided to chew. A couple on seams and two on the underside of the tube. Thanks, Louis

[TBC]

That looks just like mine. If I can't repair it I would be intrested in your listing.

[paddledog]

I have everything you need for repairs,
Let me know if I can help.
Get a GOOD respirator.
Just short of a gas mask.

[Eric Esche]

Have not seen too many Avons that were not worth repairing. They tend to hold their value, even with repaired holes and are usually built well enough to last a long time. They are not my favorite manufacturer of rafts due to their design features, but they are a good manufacturer in general.

If you have not done a seam or baffle repair before, I would recommend working with someone who has done one recently sucessfully ( like it lasted a few years or a season of regular use). Steve seems to have it down.

My raft repair days were 1972 through 1986. While I have repaired over a hundred commercially used rafts on the Chattooga, it was a long time ago. The basics have not changed and I feel I definately owe you big time Lewis, so If you want me to come up and assist or advise, just call me day or night. If you call me a day or three in advance, I can dig in the basement and probably find some of my old raft repair tools, little things that may not be required, but that can help and make things go faster or better, like rollers, weights, irons, fans, vaccums, squeegees, clamps, needles, forceps, disposable brushes, etc. I may still have some military grade hypalon roll repair fabric stashed back. (but I have given away 3 rolls of it since I moved here so I may be out) I know I am out of kevlar thread, but dental floss works almost as well if anything needs stitching. Good chance I still have all that stuff except the fabric as I used to own two 16' hypalon rafts and Susan says I never throw anything away. Ask Painter Bob - He has seen my basement. Susan re-ordered things while I was in Georgia helping my brother after his stroke so I am still trying to find things that may have been thrown out.

Used to have 4 duffle bags of military grade hypalon "sample" stock in foot wide and 18" rolls 30 foot long. It came from a test lab I worked in, as a "Test reference" stock for a contract, and when the contract ended, they said to throw away what was left as the other test labs did not need it. This was the "good stuff", kept in light proof cabinets in a humidity controlled environment. I was there with waiting arms to catch it. Susan had me throw away over 200 pounds of it over the course of 4 moves, but I always managed to bring some with me. Her thinking was I was never ever going to own rafts again and I had too much junk. Over the years I have patched canoes with it, used it for temporary plumbing repairs, made rocket bodies out of it, used it on my airplane and about 30 others, used it in horse tack repairs, used it to glue down carpet, lined tool boxes and storage cabinet shelves with it, padded metal canoe and horse saddle racks with it, patched other peoples rafts with it, but I have not owned a raft since YET.

What I really wish I had gotten more of were the early hovercraft sprayskirt materials which we tested. They were hypalon varients, and not PVC. I managed to recycle some large enough pieces after the random test cuts to make two floors which were never pierced, holed, or worn through in 8 years of regular commercial service on the Chattooga. It was a heavier, thicker material and coatings, but it was also slicker on one side due to the manufacturing process. I used 6 to 8" wide strips that I could find to make chaffing strips for about 10 rafts, and my wear/repair rate for those 10 rafts was cut in half for the three seasons I tracked them, making me a firm believer in slicky chaffing strips, even if we did have a raft or two drift away by less than attentive raft guides. Imagine a raft that would want to slide off of rocks like Royalex. (note - most raft manufacturers went to a less slick/or a much more stickier chaff strip like urethanes as raft companies that stack their rafts to haul out inflated did not like having to tie them down better with straps or partially deflate them on their raft trailer or on top of their buses, saying it made loading more dangerous or more time consuming. (It is all right to keep a strong raft at nearly full inflation pressure over night or for a week if out of the sun, but it really is better in general to store them under cover down a few pounds) Gen V fabric went to slicker on both sides with a very different process, which would have not been as good for rafts - imagine trying to sit on or stand up in/on a raft that had been armoralled daily. Take it from an ex-whitewater guide - butt grip is good for a client, rather than having them in the floor of the raft all day. (some large know it all who owned our company and founded it armoralled a NEW company raft once thinking that it would make it last longer if it made it less suseptable to UV radiation. First raft guide who used the raft was an experienced guide, but he fell out of the raft 16 times in the first 4 miles, as did his clients, until we put them in the other rafts. Owner did not have to scour the top and inside floor of the raft for three days with scrubbies and detergent to get the raft usable, but he did pay all my overtime that week. Guide who thought that he had won the lottery that morning with a brand new raft asked for hazard pay as a test dummy. Owner agree he was a dummy, but Neil did not get the hazard pay. I tried to get Rubber Fabricator (an old, but very good hypalon raft manufacturer, better than Avon in my opinion) to make an entire raft out of the cheaper gen III fabric, but they went out of business before they ever had the chance. The dull side was cooler to sit on, grabbier even when wet, more fire resistant, paintable, and less UV sensitive. Shiney side down made it slide off of rocks with less wear and faster on the water. Glue seams were very strong (3x stronger than hypalon) when the shiney side was cross ground. Raft would have been heavier - 250 pound range for a 16' raft with two 20" thwarts and 22" tubes, but for a tough, fast commercial quality whitewater raft with a 30+ year probable life span, it would have been very competitively priced at $1200 with the early Kevlar rafts that were initially not wearing that well ( Kevlar CAN be more difficult to coat, just like it is to dye - ever seen dyed Kevlar? It can be dyed, but VERY expensively and with a loss of some properties).Early Kevlar rafts cost $1800 to $3600 then and the gen III fabric could have still made a 50% profit or better for the manufacturer if they had been made. I helped them work up the numbers using their labor hours and expenses. I know we have more EPA regulations today, but if we could make a material like that in the late 70's to mid 80's, I think someone could make it again today if they worked at it. We may still get to see the prices of "Tough" rafts come down due to better textile materials, and the automated glueing machines that have been made since then. Gen VI through IX were not truely hypalon materials and were used some in a few later semi rigid hover craftskirts and semi rigid boat hulls, but would have no use that I can see for whitewater rafts in case you run across any. I did get to test some of the kevlar varients and some could deflect or withstand a .50 caliber round. Lot of fun days testing with a variety of weapons including a ma deuce at the gun ranges at Dobbins AFB and Marietta NAS. Gotta love some government testing requirements. I also worked on some flak jackets and body armor designs.

Eric

[Deuce]

I strongly encourage you to take Eric up on his offer, although I must admit the contents of his basement would make me kind of skeert to go down there. Maybe I've watched too much TV. Seam repair can be pretty frustrating. I just butchered one on a buddy's boat (really had no business attempting it but he wanted me to and it turned out okay) that came from an outfitter on the........well, I won't say. The first time I inflated it I watched it go flat in about four minutes. I reinflated it and discovered one seam was completely blown. I could literally put my fist into the tube. I also discovered the baffles were blown, so my strong suspicion is someone tried to inflate the whole thing from one valve and just kept on trucking until the seam was blown. I patched it as well as I could, then we dumped a Flexseal raft sealant kit in it. The tubes are huge and the kit is only supposed to be enough for an average sized thirteen footer, but the guys at NRS suggested only doing one and seeing how it turned out then doing another if necessary after the first one cured. It's still leaking, but not nearly as bad as before and is actually useable now. I'm optimistic that the second Flexseal kit will do the trick, but we shall see.

[TBC]

Armoralled raft.. Now that's funny. Eric I will be getting in my Stabond Adhesive with NRS Pennel Orca material this week. If you would like to come out to help that would be nice. I'll send you a PM when I receive my stuff. THANKS!