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Old 20 March 2009, 23:24   #1
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Country: USA
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Repairs in Humid Climate (Hawaii)

Aloha everyone! I pretty new to RIBnet (and inflatables), but It has been a tremendous help to me and my Zodiac mark VI project. Thank you for your contributions.
Here is my most recent hurdle. My SIB has 3 known leaks. Only one is really bad. The REAL problem is that I live in Hawaii and the humidity here is almost always around 55%. I have no garage that I can take it to, nor anywhere else that I have control over the climate. What can I do? Everything I read about repairing Hypalon Neoprene indicated that the adhesives will not bond properly in this humidity. All ideas and suggestions are welcomed, and appreciated :-)

-Avius

P.S. The first pic is of shotty patchwork that is now leaking and needs to be repaired.
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Old 21 March 2009, 02:35   #2
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Country: UK - Wales
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Well if you think that's bad we often have as high as 90% humidity in the UK.

65% or below is considered pretty good.

http://www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/INFO/INFOHYPNEO.html

This says less than 65% so you should be ok. Someone like Paul Tilley or Chris from Henshaws are much more qualified to give you the proper quidelines though - they live and breathe the glue every day!!!
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Old 21 March 2009, 11:00   #3
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Mmmm glue!
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Old 21 March 2009, 15:26   #4
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Here is a link to some great glue instructions. http://www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/INFO/INFOHYPNEO.html Same as posted by Codprawn. This is the bible for sure. I bought a cheap hygrometer for $12 so I could keep an eye on the humidity when repairing my zodiac. The humidity listed in your local paper is not an effective way to monitor the relative humidity at your site. Your micro local weather may be entirely different (breezes off the water, your neighbor watering his lawn and even a small local shower can be a pain). Here in San Diego I found that the humidity fluctuated a lot and it didn't always relate to how it felt. If your local conditions aren't right you might consider moving the boat to a drier area on the island if you can, anyplace really dry like Salt Lake or out on the west side that you have friends or relatives? Clearly the windward side of Oahu is generally wetter! Another solution for me was to partially tent the boat with a tarp and run a dehumidifier inside the tent. Didn't fully seal the edges, but the dehumidifier dropped the humidity in my enclosure well below the recommended limit. Watch for the white haze that can form on the glue layer with too much moisture and be prepared to wipe and reactivate with MEK if necessary. Humidity really does impact the bond. Never glue near the water. Proper prep for repairs is a pain, so don't mess around with the glue job or you'll be doing it twice! Don't mess around with one part or old glue either. Shelf life of a year and absolutely not anything stored in a hot place or direct sunshine (why do retailers put the glue near a window?). If the can isn't date marked don't buy it! If you need to order in the U.S. try NRS online for good deals on fresh glue. Go with smaller cans that you use up. Storing half empty bigger cans for any length of time is a huge mistake. There are some posts regarding glue and prep in the following thread that you might find helpful. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread....ight=nobrainsd
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Old 22 March 2009, 11:55   #5
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great info!

Great info fellas!!! I have read all the info in the links that you provided and have a decent plan now. I'll be sure to plan everything to the tee, and prep everything accordingly. I definitely don't want to do this more than once for each leak... I never even heard of a hygrometer before today, but I'm definitely going to get one. I'll be sure to post pics after I have. Thanks again for the info!
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