Towable Repair

[Drago]

I want to find the best way to patch some holes in our Speedzone from Sportsstuff. We had deflated it on the sundeck and while getting back to the house it blew off and was run over before we could go back and pick it up. I'm thinking the normal patch kit will not work. Any ideas would be helpfull.

[windtreker]

Our Obrien came with a repair kit, never used it but it consist of heavy material just like the tube and a tube of what I guess is contact cement. Says to let dry for 24 hours before inflating

[Drago]

I got one of those little repair kits with both of our towables (Speedzone & Big Mable) but I have the sneaking feeling that these holes are not what that repair kit has in mind to fix. I suppose it will be worth a try although I'm thinking more a double patch with the first application being smaller than the second. I did feel a bit reluctant to post this to "General Pontoon and Deckboat Discussion" but I see so much other slightly OT that I thought I would give it a try.

[The_Hellbilly]

I just fixed one with some pretty significant tears in it. We took the cover from another older tube, cut out a big patch, attached it with plastic cement, and sewed the edges excessively with upholestery thread when the glue dried. It held up over the weekend.

[sammtoon]

The BEST repair kit for any blow up islands or towables is the repair kit and glue you buy for a waterbed mattress. These kits sometimes cost I think around 6 or 7 bucks....but I am telling you better than any repair kit that came with your towable. Yes I am sure your asking "do they still make waterbeds?".....I had to do a little research, but I found two mattress outlets near me to get these repair kits. I hope this helps!

[badmoonrising]

..or one of those kits from pool stores meant for underwater repairs to pool liners. They come with a large roll of heavy clear plastic and a large tube of cement.

[robster]

I've used this repair tape from West Marine on our towable and it works very well from West Marine.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... sNum=10646


Cheers,
Robert

[kryptonite]

Just got done patching a tube with a 1/4" hole.

First I tried a tire style patch (don't go there) the tube is pvc, not rubber, it will NOT work.

I ended up using a piece of patch from an old inflatable pool. I used regular old PVC glue (clear) that you would use for water pipes. Covered both the tube and patch with glue, let it get tacky (30 sec to a min) and stuck it on. Then I added a couple layers of glue to the outside of the patch. I let it sit overnight, I aired it up this morning and it's working so far. I'll report back after it's on the lake for a while.

[Drago]

Thanks. You guys have come through again with some great ideas. So far, I've put some small patches over the holes. I plan on adding another larger patch over those smaller ones. I like the waterbed patch idea. I'll look into that.