In detail: DIY repair of pvc inflatable boats from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.
Many people who like to fish or relax in nature purchase PVC boats. They are much cheaper than motorized hard metal counterparts and do not require a parking space. A PVC boat is an excellent economical option for those who have fishing and recreation on ponds as an integral part of their leisure time.
However, one of the most significant disadvantages of PVC boats is their high susceptibility to damage. This is understandable, because the material cannot be compared in strength to metal. Often, the life of a boat depends on the knowledge and skills of its owner in the field of repair. It is not for nothing that when buying a boat, it immediately has a repair kit.
- Puncture of an inflatable boat. It may happen that the hook is pierced by the side, or you, through your negligence, pierce the boat with a sharp object. There are situations when a PVC boat is burned with cigarette butts.
- Cuts and lacerations. Very often in domestic reservoirs you can find various metal fittings and rods sticking out from the bottom. Most often, beginners stumble upon boat cuts, who have not yet managed to identify all the dangerous places for themselves.
- Failure of the boat valve. The valve usually breaks due to mechanical stress on it. You can simply step on the valve.
If a misfortune has happened to your boat, then do not despair ahead of time. PVC is a material that can be repaired very well. Often a PVC boat can be repaired in the field and then continue fishing or rest.
Of course, in many cases, hastily made repairs are not very high quality and require rework after returning to land. But nevertheless, it allows you to continue your journey.
Video (click to play). |
In order to repair the boat yourself, you will need the following tools:
- Repair kit (adhesive and patches)
- Scissors
- Metal plate or roller
- Hair dryer. It is better to use a construction hairdryer, but in extreme cases, a household one is also suitable.
- Pencil
- Solvent
- Paint brush
- Water, soap and rags (rags).
Of course, this is all about removing cuts on land. If you have to repair the unit in the field, then you will be able to use only a lighter and a repair kit.
The repair kit is a set of materials with which you can independently repair the boat in the field.
Considering that PVC fabric is a more than unpretentious material, an inflatable boat can be repaired even in the most difficult conditions.
The standard repair kit includes a set of PVC fabric washers (usually with a diameter of 40 and 80 millimeters in an amount of 6 units) and a tube with a special adhesive for PVC. I must say that absolutely all PVC boats are equipped with repair kits, so you don't have to choose it yourself. If you run out of fabric or glue, it’s best not to throw out the tube, but leave a piece of fabric as a sample.
Unfortunately, most often the glue in the repair kit ends or becomes unusable. If you cannot find exactly the same as the previous one, then we advise you to use some recommendations.
- First, the adhesive must create a strong waterproof seam.
- Secondly, it is obliged to withstand the static and dynamic loads to which the boat will be subjected.
- Finally, it must be thermally stable. If you do not want your patch to come unstuck during storage of the boat in winter and not "float" in summer, be sure to take into account the thermal resistance parameter.
- The adhesive must have sufficient elasticity.
This video presents the choice of glue for repairing an inflatable boat from a practical point of view: several patches of various types of glue were glued to a piece of pvc in accordance with all gluing rules, and left to dry. Then they were tested by the sun. Which glue for a pvc boat is better - find out from the video.
Which PVC boat pump is most suitable for your boat. Let's try to figure it out together.
- To get started, unpack the repair kit and cut out a small piece of fabric - preferably oval or round. You can trim rectangular workpieces with scissors or, if repairs are being made in the field, with a knife. It is important that the length of the workpiece is at least a couple of centimeters greater than the diameter of the cut or pierce.
- It is important that the gluing is done on a flat surface without creases. Level the area of the material to be repaired by placing a boat floor or a board under it.
- Do not glue the material onto a dirty surface. Use acetone or solvent to clean and degrease it. If neither one nor the other is at hand, use alcohol. Do not under any circumstances clean the surface with sandpaper - this will only harm you.
- Place the cut patch over the repair and trace around it with a pencil.
- Take a brush and apply the glue evenly on both surfaces. Wait a little while it dries out.
- Repeat the previous operation in 10-15 minutes.
- Begin gluing 5 minutes after reapplying the glue. In general, the drying time of the glue depends on the humidity, the ambient temperature and the storage time of the glue itself, so it is better not to wait for the exact time, but to guide the state of the glue - it should stick a little.
- To activate the adhesive, heat the repair area with a hair dryer or lighter. It's important not to overdo it - you should heat the glue, not set it on fire.
- Squeeze out any air bubbles and roll the bonding area with a hard roller. In the field, a knife handle will do for this.
- The glued area should dry out for at least a day.
The procedure for repairing large ragged cuts and holes differs from the previous repair method only in that it is necessary to glue the linings also from the inside.
- First, you need to cut two oval or round patches of the same size.
- Then prepare the repair site, straighten and degrease it.
- Sketch out.
- In the same way as in the method described above, glue two patches.
For maximum reliability, you can stick two pads on the surface at once. The first should be smaller than the second in diameter.
The repair kit is designed to repair cuts that are no longer than 15 centimeters.
Repair of cuts differs in that the gluing procedure is preceded by stitching of torn surfaces using heavy-duty threads. The rest of the operations are carried out in the same way. The gluing of the slots is carried out using two pads on the outer and inner surfaces of the boat.
How can one person independently launch an equipped boat with a motor?
You won't be able to replace the valve just like that - you need a special key for this. To remove the old valve, it is strictly not recommended to use improvised means and methods, because you can further aggravate the situation.
If you have a factory key, there will be no problems with removing the valve. Otherwise, you can try to make it yourself. Find a small diameter tube of about 1.5-2 centimeters made of hard plastic or metal, as well as a jigsaw - you will need it to cut the teeth (to get contact with the inner surface of the valve). To place the "crank", make a small cylindrical hole from above. Be sure to deflate the boat's cylinders.
- You will need to find the mating part of the valve ("glass") and unscrew the valve body from it.It is possible that, as a result of long-term operation, the valve will not twist. Then a special spray will come in handy.
- Inspect the broken valve after removing it. You may be limited to lubricating the spring with grease and flushing the old valve, and you will not have to change it.
- If the valve cannot be repaired, install a new product.
- Using a wrench, screw in the new tap valve, while holding its counterpart. The main thing is not to overdo it with effort. Do not pinch the new valve too much - this can break the key or the valve itself.
- Check the tightness of the connection with a soapy solution. If air still flows through, gently squeeze the valve.
If you repair the PVC boat on time, then it will serve you for a long time. The main thing is to follow the step-by-step instructions and take your time, because poor-quality repairs are sometimes very difficult to redo.
PVC boats are in demand today for fishing and outdoor enthusiasts. The boats do not need parking and are inexpensive. Polyvinyl chloride is not a metal, therefore, damage, punctures of the boat during operation are inevitable. The boats are equipped with repair kits for sale, but how to repair them yourself, without the help of specialists, we will consider in more detail in this article.
The main types of damage include:
- the presence of torn holes, punctures in the boat resulting from a boat hitting metal rods and fittings, in places sticking out of the water; this usually occurs among beginners who do not know dangerous places, or on an unfamiliar body of water;
- valve breakboats as a result of mechanical impact - punctures on the boat with hooks, sharp objects, burning of material with cigarette butts.
No one is immune from boat punctures, so there is no need to despair and despair, because the boat can be repaired. The main thing is to know how to do it correctly and efficiently.
Field conditions do not make it possible to make repairs efficiently and thoroughly, always the reason is lack of time, but it is still possible to fix it in a hurry to continue the journey. Even when collecting, you must not forget about the repair kit.
It may be required at any time, in addition to it, you should stock up on:
- scissors;
- rubber glue;
- pencil;
- brush;
- roller;
- solvent;
- soap and rags;
- a hairdryer, preferably a construction one, a household hairdryer will also work.
To eliminate cuts, the boat must be pulled out onto land, wiped dry, and repaired. If the unit breaks down, you will need a lighter and a repair kit.
The repair kit is specially designed for self-repairing a boat in field conditions, so everything you need, namely fabric washers in the amount of 6 pieces and glue specially for PVC, is in it.
The glue should be:
- durable, to create a waterproof seam;
- resistant to both dynamic and statistical loads;
- resistant to high temperatures so that the glue does not spread in the heat;
- elastic.
- Cut out a small oval or circle 2 cm in diameter larger than the burned or perforated place from a piece of fabric in the repair kit.
- Smooth the surface of the material, there should be no folds. Under the repair site, you can put a board, or a file.
- The surface of the boat site for repair must be clean and free of grease, can be wiped with solvent, acetone, or alcohol. Do not use sandpaper and damage the boat.
- Putting the patch on the puncture site, you should circle it with a pencil.
- Then you need to grease both surfaces with glue, wait for it to dry.
- After 15 minutes, repeat the procedure.
- Bonding can be started 5 minutes after reapplying the glue.
- The glue should be sticky, to activate it, you can slightly heat the area to be repaired with a lighter or hairdryer. This must be done carefully so as not to burn the gluing.
- There should be no air bubbles between the materials to be glued; for this, you need to walk over the area with a roller or other blunt object at hand.
- Leave the glued area until it dries completely, for about a day.
To locate the damaged area, the damaged compartment, lubricated with soapy water, must be immersed in water. From the puncture site, bubbles will begin to come out, or foam. They will indicate not only the exact puncture site, but also its size.
The boat needs to be prepared for repair; for this, take it ashore and dry it properly. The entire area around the damaged area is degreased, cleaned with sandpaper, carefully straightened so that there are no folds.
In field conditions, it is not always possible to use the best and most reliable method for gluing.
Use the view that is most appropriate for your position:
- Apply a layer of glue to the degreased surface, after standing for a couple of minutes, press firmly to the damaged area. The method is good for a while, but when you return home, repeat the gluing procedure again.
- Apply a layer of glue to both surfaces, leave for 10 minutes, apply a second coat of glue to both surfaces, wait a little again. The glue should stick to your fingers. Roll over it with a roller, another rounded object that is at hand. Irregularities and air bubbles should not remain under the gluing. This method is considered more reliable. Both surfaces are smeared with glue in two layers, after which the glue should be absorbed and dry completely. The patch is applied to the damaged area, warmed up slightly with a hairdryer, and pressed tightly. It is important to roll the gluing well with a roller, for this, pressing the roller, go over the place several times.
On torn holes and cuts, a patch is applied and glued both from the inside and from the outside, which differs from the previous method of gluing:
- Cut out two equal-sized patches in an oval or round shape.
- Spread out and degrease the repair area.
- Draw the area with a pencil or marker.
- Apply glue to both parts in two layers, then proceed as in the above method. You can glue two patches at once on both sides, so it will be more reliable, cut the second patch in diameter slightly larger than the first. Cuts up to 15 cm in length can be eliminated using the material provided in the repair kit.
This problem occurs quite often on the river. You are sitting in a boat, and suddenly, the water inside begins to arrive. Fishing in such conditions will no longer bring pleasure, so the boat needs to be pulled ashore, dried in the sun and the bottom cut should be repaired. In this case, no glue is used, it is unlikely to have a long-lasting effect. The cut is sewn with very strong threads.