Old Metzeler Repair

pdgrafelman · 03 February 2009, 12:21

Hello all. I posted last year with some questions about an old Metzeler inflatable I purchased. It turns out that the seams on both tubes are bad. A catastrophic failure of the seam last fall allowed me to inspect the internals, and I found that the strip of hypalon sealing the length of the seams is coming loose. The tubes held air for a few hours before the failure, but leaks along the seams were evident when using soapy water.

I am wondering if it is even worth attmepting to repair. I bought the boat for just $100, and the repair materials will be at least another $100. If my chances of success are low, I'll just throw the boat away (or give it to anyone who would like it).

Thanks for any input you may have.

Paul Grafelman

Nos4r2 · 03 February 2009, 12:41

If it's hypalon it's well worth spending on. I bet you couldn't buy one that was OK for $200...

prairie tuber · 03 February 2009, 14:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

If it's hypalon it's well worth spending on. I bet you couldn't buy one that was OK for $200...

I agree. I believe those boats do use hypalon tubing. If that is the case, and if you can get it properly repaired for an extra few hundred dollars, you will have gotten a good deal on the boat!

I found the original thread you posted which is here:

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?...light=Metzeler

pdgrafelman · 03 February 2009, 18:24

Thanks for your input - it is hypalon, according to my research (orange inside and outside, overlapping seams). I am not sure that I would be able to do a proper job myself, since I've never worked with hypalon before. For example, I cannot invert the tubes because they are attached to the floor (like turning a sock inside out), so how can I effectively reach to the bow end to do the re-seaming? Do I need to completly undo all of the seams and re-assemble from front to rear? What's the best way to un-seam when needed, Tuloene? I tried some heat, but it did not help much - I did not have it very hot though.

Thanks again for any advice.

Dave Berry · 03 February 2009, 18:47

If it's a hypalon Metzeler and you can see inside the tubes, the inside rubber coating will be brown, not orange. If it is orange on the inside it may be a PVC tube that was made by Zodiac. Zodiac acquired Metzeler a long time ago and ultimately changed the name to 'Jumbo'. If you can post some photos of what you have I should be able to tell you if it is hypalon or PVC. You will need the correct adhesive to do any repair work.

pdgrafelman · 04 February 2009, 01:03

Photos attached

Tag is all in german

Manufacturer - Metzeler
Model? - Maya
Serial number 01442G
Number of people? - 8 Adults, 1 Child ??
Max weight - 450 kg
Max motor size - 2 kW
max pressure - 5.7 bar
not sure of the last line at all.

Thinking back - the inside of the tubes is an orangish brown, while the outside is orange. I don't have any pictures of the inside of the tubes.

Paul

Dave Berry · 04 February 2009, 11:40

You have a hypalon Metzeler. Be sure to get your hands on the correct adhesive. I recall jyasaki mentioning a US supplier of Bostik 2402 adhesive in the North America forum recently.

jyasaki · 04 February 2009, 15:43

Max Pressure = 84 psi??? Don't think so. Could that be .57 bar (which still seem pretty high to me - 8.4 psi)?

The US supplier of Bostik 2402 was Clavey River Supply (if they have it):

http://www.clavey.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=12

FWIW, there are other acceptable alternatives (Check with NRSweb.com as it's one of the better repair resources I've found.)

jky

S4Simon · 12 February 2009, 02:45

Big job to redo the seams. Generally hypalon boats will last a good 15 years if looked after. Anymore than that and you'll find that the air will start escaping thru the fabric (fabric becomes porous). Bostik 2402 is the easiest glue to get hold of and will work well. The only other adhesive we use is a Reamer SC2000, very high strength and very expensive. We use this SC2000 on military boat and surf club boat repairs. To do seam repairs labour wise you'd be looking at some Au$200 per seam, very time consuming job as you have to work internally, also lots of preparation time invloved. To do it your self would be around Au$30 for the adhesive and reuse the original fabric as it is just a seam failure and not a slice.

Pressure for a craft of that size around 3.5 PSI. no more especially for that age.

Nasher · 12 February 2009, 10:32

The seams at the back look more like welded PVC to me, it would be unusual to do Hypalon like that as it would just peel apart under pressure.

I could be wrong of course.

Nasher

pdgrafelman · 12 February 2009, 11:15

S4Simon - thanks for the input. It seems like a very big job to me as well. Not sure if I am willing to attempt it. I certainly don't want to pay that much to a shop for a boat this old.

Nasher - the seams along the length of the boat are overlapped, but at the stern, as you surmised, they appear to be just pressed together. I think it was done this way because the tubes are tapered and the overlapped seams would not bend (guessing). The catastrophic failure was actually at one of these pressed together seams.

I think it is time to give up on it. Anyone interested in the original hard-parts from the boat? I have the seats, collapsable oars, and the stern, all made from wood. The boat itself is destined for the trash.

Paul

Nos4r2 · 12 February 2009, 11:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdgrafelman

S4Simon - thanks for the input. It seems like a very big job to me as well. Not sure if I am willing to attempt it. I certainly don't want to pay that much to a shop for a boat this old.

Nasher - the seams along the length of the boat are overlapped, but at the stern, as you surmised, they appear to be just pressed together. I think it was done this way because the tubes are tapered and the overlapped seams would not bend (guessing). The catastrophic failure was actually at one of these pressed together seams.

I think it is time to give up on it. Anyone interested in the original hard-parts from the boat? I have the seats, collapsable oars, and the stern, all made from wood. The boat itself is destined for the trash.

Paul

Stash it all in the corner-I bet you'll kick yourself if you bin them when you upgrade. If you're binning the boat, cut it up for patches and wear strips!