Gluing PU tubes

DJL · 18 October 2004, 20:32

So I noticed this when recovering the boat on Sunday

I'm going to contact Barnet Marine and see what they say....but how much work do you think fixing it involves. Does the whole strip need to be taken off and re-glued or can the loose part just be stuck back. Underlying problems?

Could I glue it myself (PU Tubes) ? Any tips.

At least I now know where the water was coming from

Thanks

Richard B · 18 October 2004, 20:48

Oh no!

Sounds like you need JW or ribraff or christopher or the tube experts...

I don't know about glue stuff myself, but if you need local help, then either Scott Braye or another local tube man are just a 'phone call away.

ADS · 18 October 2004, 21:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard B

Oh no!

Sounds like you need JW or ribraff or christopher or the tube experts...

I don't know about glue stuff myself, but if you need local help, then either Scott Braye or another local tube man are just a 'phone call away.

Had Scott do a bigish job on my boat over the summer, he did a great job and even looked after the boat and did the job over two weeks while I was on holiday! He can usually do it in short notice and I can't fault the work on mine.

Stephen-RIB · 18 October 2004, 22:11

You should be able to do a half decent re-glue if you read up on the various posts here, the problem is that its the bit under the water so it needs to be done pretty well for it not to get blasted off again. Give me a PM if you get stuck.

Cheers

Stephen

jwalker · 18 October 2004, 23:05

I'd give it a really firm tug to see whether the rest is attached properly before just regluing that length.

swginn · 18 October 2004, 23:07

PU Tubes are actually easy enough to glue as long as you know what you are doing. Barnet Marine gave these instructions in my XS-Ribs manual and they worked perfectly on my buddys Tornado.

PLEASE READ THE SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY
AND WEAR PROTECTIVE GLOVES AND EYE WEAR
WHEN WORKING WITH GLUE, THINNERS AND CELL COAT.

1) THE AREA TO BE GLUED.SHOULD BE CLEANED WITH ACETONE, THIS CAN BE PURCHASED FROM ANY CHEMIST. ALSO CLEAN THE SURFACE OF THE PATCH THAT IS TO BE APPLIED. IF A RUBBER MOULDING IS BEING BONDED TO THE FABRIC IT IS BEST TO "ROUGH" THE SURFACE FIRST WITH SANDPAPER.

2) MARK OUT THE AREA ON THE TUBE THAT IS TO BE GLUED WITH MASKING TAPE, CUT THE PATCH TO SHAPE MAKE SURE BOTH SURFACES ARE CLEANED WITH ACETONE.

3) MIX THE GLUE IN THE PROPORTION PROVIDED AND APPLY A COAT OF GLUE TO EACH SURFACE TO BE BONDED. ALLOW THIS COAT OF GLUE TO GO TOUCH DRY THE GLUE USED SHOULD BE BOSTIK 2402

4) ONCE THE FIRST COAT OF GLUE IS TOUCH DRY APPLY A SECOND COAT AND ALLOW THIS TO GO TOUCH DRY.

5) ONCE THE SECOND COAT IS TOUCH DRY START APPLYING THE PATCH FROM ONE CORNER, AS SOON AS THE SURFACES MEET THE BOND WILL BE INSTANT SO ALIGNING THE PATCH FROM THE WORD GO IS IMPORTANT. RUB THE PATCH WITH A HARD SMOOTH OBJECT TO REMOVE AIR.

6) ALLOW 24 HOURS FOR THE GLUE TO CURE CLEAN OF EXCESS GLUE WITH ACETONE, ALLOW 72 HOURS FOR FULL CURING.

FOR BEST RESULTS A WARM DRY ATMOSPHERE IS IDEAL. THE PREPARATION WITH ACETONE IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE GLUING PROCESS TO WORK PROPERLY.

Cookee · 19 October 2004, 08:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJL

At least I now know where the water was coming from

Thanks

If you mean water getting into the boat there should not be any way that would let water in!

Alan · 19 October 2004, 08:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cookee

If you mean water getting into the boat there should not be any way that would let water in!

Agree with Cookee. If I interpret the pix correctly you are talking about the flange of the tube where it is glued to the underside of the hull? Not sure how this can let water in other than if the whole tube was coming away? I had similar problems on a brand new BWM back in '98. (But hypalon toobs). Reason given for the failure was the boat builder did not clean the area sufficiently before applying the adhesive so it failed. (& pretty quickly). That area gets a lot of water pressure applied when underway so needs to be a good bond!

How old is the boat? Definately worth a conversation with Barnet Marine IMHO!

Nick Hearne · 19 October 2004, 08:45

Hi if your boat is only 2 years old then I would defiantly be on the phone back to Barnet! It could be the start of a much bigger problem!
At the very least register the problem with them, I would hope they would want to get to the bottom of what has gone wrong & put it right!
Nick

thorper · 19 October 2004, 10:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cookee

If you mean water getting into the boat there should not be any way that would let water in!

We had a similar problem - the water pressure forced water under the tubes, which then found a hole in the tape on the inside at the stern, causing a great fountain of water in the bilge. Barnet fixed the problem and threw in an engine service (took them a couple of goes to find which but had been left unlgued in the manufacturing process).

Ricky

Andy · 19 October 2004, 10:45

I have seen the same problem with other makes of RIB also. The tubes are not sealed to the fireglass collar with 100% of their surface leaving paths for water to travel along.

I am not sure this sounds right, however in practice this is what happens on many makes of RIB. I have experienced the same problem with my Ribtec, and also seem in on Humber.

Richard B · 19 October 2004, 10:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy

I have seen the same problem with other makes of RIB also...I have experienced the same problem with my Ribtec, and also seem in on Humber...

Many manufacturers fail to mould a reabte into the underside if the tube attachment flange. I've seen this rebate on Scorpion and Bananashark, but it's sadly missing on many others.

thorper · 19 October 2004, 12:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard B

Many manufacturers fail to mould a reabte

Sorry for asking a silly question, but do you mean rebate? also how does it work? Does anyone have a photo?

Ricky

Richard B · 19 October 2004, 22:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by thorper

...do you mean rebate? also how does it work? Does anyone have a photo?

Yes, rebate

here's a couple of pictures:

DJL · 20 October 2004, 12:34

Afternoon all, thanks for all the advice.

Unfortunately Laurence at Barnet Marine is away for a few days - I got an email back from another guy saying basically they can supply the glue etc or get someone local to fix it.

However, I’ve just been out to have a closer look. How hard should one have to pull to rip more off? It seems quite easy moving forward - less easy moving aft. Also it appears the fabric has stretched from the water pressure and isn't going to glue back flat.

The boats just over 2 years old and I’m seriously fed up with the number of problems its had right from day one - boat maintenance is bad enough as it is. Not sure I will be buying a Tornado again; their after sales support has been v.good so far but it would be nicer if it I didn't need it in the first place. The boats only been out 18 days this year!

Richard: That rebate looks very sensible..

slimtim · 20 October 2004, 14:12

I'm no expert (someone will confirm or put me straight), but I've heard that the glue sticks the strip to the hull like sh*t sticks to a blanket, so you shouldn't be able to pull it off without having your y-fronts on the outside of your trousers, just like Superman (or super radio man).

I guess once it comes away at one point, water could potentially get in there and bugger it all up a bit more.

Tim

Nick Hearne · 20 October 2004, 16:21

So are Barnet saying get it repaired & send them the bill?
This would sound reasonable to me!
Nick

DJL · 20 October 2004, 16:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick Hearne

So are Barnet saying get it repaired & send them the bill?
This would sound reasonable to me!
Nick

If only - they said sorry to hear about your problems but its out of warranty so sort it yourself.

Sorry - didn't make that very clear

jwalker · 20 October 2004, 17:37

Your hull looked to have a small rebate but maybe it's just the glue line. I noticed the extra length in the fabric, a bit strange that. You should need to pull really hard to get the strip to come away and you should feel that you may be risking tearing the PU surface away from the weave.
A rebate can be ground onto the flange and this will have the second advantage of preparing the fibreglass with no contamination, unless you put your greasy fingers all over it.

It only needs to be very slightly more than the fabric thickness.

The pictures you posted appear to show the adhesive still on both surfaces. Therefore, it implies that the joining together has failed rather than the adhesive to the hull and fabric has failed. When the two glued surfaces are brought together there should be no moisture present, not even from your breath. Certainly don't do it on a damp day or with the boat parked over wet ground or grass.