Challenging Aerotec floor repair. - Page 2

Fenlander · 13 September 2018, 20:06

Well best effort made. Sureseal arrived today. Went to huge trouble to suspend the floor to inject some glue from underneath to "puddle" inside. Didn't quite work.

Holding the plastic syringe against the floor cause the hole to seal without taking any glue however hard or gently I tried to force the glue in. Thought I'd try a needle but the glue was too thick to pass through it.

So turned the floor over to just apply a good blob on top. Some 15mins after this was done I noticed a crater in the glue blob surface where some had seeped into the leak hole. Good. Topped this up with another blob and now it's curing for 24hrs in the garage under a very mild heat lamp as the nights are cooling now (glue makers say 12hrs but want to be sure).

Fenlander · 16 September 2018, 16:17

Shortly after posting the above I noticed another small crater had formed on the glue over the tiny hole meaning it was still migrating through which can only help the repair. I topped this up with another drip of glue and from then on there was no more movement.

Actually left it 48hrs+ until test inflating to 0.8bar today. It's held pressure over 4hrs now so certainly the Stormsure is a great repair method. The "dome" of glue formed is about 15mm dia and 3mm tall. Fully cured it has a rubbery/plasticy feel not unlike the floor material itself.

Only some time on the water over a few trips will prove it as a permanent repair. I'm hopeful but Mrs F said just get a new floor if any doubt!

Pics... 1. Showing the floor flap at the bow end and where the hole appeared still has a little play when the rest of the flap all the way back towards the transom is tight so there is no stress on the area of the repair other than floor's air pressure. 2. Showing leak detection fluid doesn't produce any bubbles now (the micro-bubbles are just how the liquid comes out of the spray container).

69cmw · 16 September 2018, 16:31

Mrs F said just get a new floor if any doubt!
[/QUOTE]

I got a new floor for 1 of mine under warrenty, I about [emoji90][emoji90] myself when I heard what the retail price was.

Jerry · 16 September 2018, 16:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by 69cmw

Mrs F said just get a new floor if any doubt!

I got a new floor for 1 of mine under warrenty, I about [emoji90][emoji90] myself when I heard what the retail price was.[/QUOTE]Does it matter? SWMBO says to get a new floor, so what one's gonna do?

jeffstevens763@g · 16 September 2018, 16:55

Mrs F knows best David as well you know

Fenlander · 16 September 2018, 16:56

This floor is a warranty replacement for the original which was incorrectly dimensioned when I first unboxed from new... but I never asked what its cost would have been.

I guessed £400 or so when Mrs F made the comment yesterday... could be loads more??

69cmw · 16 September 2018, 18:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

I guessed £400 or so when Mrs F made the comment yesterday... could be loads more??

Try a 4 figure guess [emoji15][emoji15][emoji15][emoji15]

Fenlander · 16 September 2018, 18:39

Ahh OK... probably just go for the cheaper option of an £800 new Honwave 2.7 and inflate it inside the Aerotec… that should tension it up!

As a matter of interest I gather at the moment they aren't making the Aerotec as they are being "re-certified" whatever that means so might not be able to get a floor either.

Jerry · 16 September 2018, 18:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Ahh OK... probably just go for the cheaper option

Use the opportunity of having approval for the expenditure ;-)

Quote:

As a matter of interest I gather at the moment they aren't making the Aerotec as they are being "re-certified" whatever that means so might not be able to get a floor either.

I've seen that. What this means is that there's a significant change in something production related that requires to certify again. It's definitely not going to make manufacturing more expensive, I just hope this won't impact quality too much...

Fenlander · 17 September 2018, 11:46

>>>What this means is that there's a significant change in something production related that requires to certify again.

Be interesting to see what they're up to with it.

Another bit of floor maintenance to do that's appeared. As reported above it seemingly held pressure over the initial 4hrs but lost 5% pressure in a 24hr+ test. Soaped the whole floor to find another micro hole but this time in an easy place for a patch. It's on the bottom of the floor where it presses the outer floor to a V... the place where all debris in the boat tends to shake down to.

jeffstevens763@g · 17 September 2018, 12:03

any idea what's caused the leaks sharp sand?

Fenlander · 17 September 2018, 12:27

I guess so Jeff... plus that really sharp grit that's a little bigger than sand and picks up in the tread of my dinghy boots.

We don't abuse our boats but on the other hand don't wrap them in cotton wool either. For example aside of the days out this one has had three 14 day holidays where it's been inflated the whole period and not cleaned out. With us on and off beaches, slipways, pontoons and harbour walls there is a chance for loads of small debris to get in. And we happily press on in bumpy conditions which produces the chance for a lot of rubbing between air floor and outer floor.

I'm not the slightest worried about patching a clear area you can get to in the conventional way like this additional leak... just about to order some fresh 2-part glue and white patches as I'm down to black/grey in the repair kit.

jeffstevens763@g · 17 September 2018, 13:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

I guess so Jeff... plus that really sharp grit that's a little bigger than sand and picks up in the tread of my dinghy boots.

We don't abuse our boats but on the other hand don't wrap them in cotton wool either. For example aside of the days out this one has had three 14 day holidays where it's been inflated the whole period and not cleaned out. With us on and off beaches, slipways, pontoons and harbour walls there is a chance for loads of small debris to get in. And we happily press on in bumpy conditions which produces the chance for a lot of rubbing between air floor and outer floor.

I'm not the slightest worried about patching a clear area you can get to in the conventional way like this additional leak... just about to order some fresh 2-part glue and white patches as I'm down to black/grey in the repair kit.

fair wear and tear you bought it to use it so it's grin and bear it, do look at the tear aid as a temp repair especially when on hols though

Bigplumbs · 19 September 2018, 13:57

I think CT1 put in the hole and the gap area would do the job

Fenlander · 23 September 2018, 11:45

Yep BP I had a lot of non-boating products on the garage shelf so was tempted by similar. Once I saw the YouTube linked in post #8 above of the SIB cut in half and glued back together thought the Stormsure worth a go.

Anyway all done now, Small floor pinprick patched in the conventional way. Left the patch to cure for 72hrs heavily weighted and it's passed a 24hr test at 800mbar with no loss.

Just need to find a decent weekend for what might be our last sea outing of this year to fully test these repairs and the lifted OB position.

Fenlander · 13 October 2018, 20:03

Three weeks packed away and now today out in force 5/6 the floor has been well tested and the Stormsure "blob" held 100%. Good product.

hymerbeliever · 14 October 2018, 05:40

Blimey, you wouldn’t have got me out yesterday in S Wales. You’d have been on TV with the RNLI. Glad it worked and useful info if it ever happens to mine.

Fenlander · 14 October 2018, 08:49

You had it a lot worse your way I see. Even so it was at the very limit of what was sensible for us yesterday but it was our last chance of the year to test the floor and transom so had to give it a go.

The strong southerly did push a lot of water up the estuary and we were amused on returning to the slip at high tide to see those who'd come to the cafes/restaurants on foot for a late lunch emerged to find the coast road flooded either side so there was no way to walk out. In wetsuit trousers & shoes I could have made our fuel money back in 50p piggy backs.

Fenlander · 26 June 2019, 09:59

Just wanted to update that 8mths on and with several hours bouncing over the waves the Stormsure repair as in post #21 above is holding tight. Very impressive for an out of the tube product on a high pressure floor.

I'm sure what helps is that the flexibility of the repair blob is near identical to the floor material so there is no differential flex cracking.

hymerbeliever · 26 June 2019, 10:44

That's good and glad to hear it's holding up.

Funnily enough, I just had a puncture in ours at the end of our holiday in France, caused by a hard spiked aquatic seed or so-called Devil's nut from the lake getting under the floor. It's an interesting experience when 1/2 the floor goes suddenly down on you whilst you're out and pushes the fuel tank up against the seat!

Luckily it was on a flat area and my patch with 1-part glue seems to be holding.