Hypalon glue starting to show cracks

chris9753 · 08 October 2021, 20:29

First post but I've read lots of posts and appreciate both the knowledge of people and their willingness to share. Thank you. I have a 2001 Gemini Waverider 505 fibreglass boat. 100 HP Honda engine, controls and electronics are 2018. First boat I owned, I've had for 6 months but only been in the water the last month. I've noticed some cracks appearing between the fibreglass hull and the hypalon tubes. The biggest is about .5 inch wide. Hopefully, the photos show this better than i could describe. My questions are: How serious is this? Is it something I can fix or do I need a professional? Is it safe to still use and am i making the situation significantly worse by using the boat. The tubes themselves appear in great shape. Thanks in advance for any response.

spartacus · 09 October 2021, 08:18

If there's cracks appearing, then the glued collar is failing. There's a serious risk if you stuffed the boat for example on a trip out that the tube collar could detach. I'm not trying to scaremonger, but hopefully you can confirm by taking the boat to a specialist.

It's difficult to do repairs on the length of a tube, simply to clean and prepare areas for gluing, so suspect they'd remove the hull seam tape, then try to remove the tubes. That's the only way you can prepare the hull and the tube collar to re-attach.

Hopefully if the tubeset is in good condition then with a little patience it can be saved. Anyway take it to a specialist and see what they say would be my advice.

909 · 09 October 2021, 13:45

It doesn't look that bad

Why not glue it yourself

chris9753 · 09 October 2021, 15:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by 909

It doesn't look that bad

Why not glue it yourself

Thank you for your reply. I’m not sure I have the skills to do it myself. Can you direct me to a thread on here (or anywhere for that matter) which describes how to do it? The boating season is just beginning here and even just doing temporary repairs to allow me to get through the next 4/5 months would be beneficial. Thanks again.

909 · 09 October 2021, 15:44

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlboGB3Z0l8

Starts @ 9:00 mins

chris9753 · 09 October 2021, 16:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by spartacus

If there's cracks appearing, then the glued collar is failing. There's a serious risk if you stuffed the boat for example on a trip out that the tube collar could detach. I'm not trying to scaremonger, but hopefully you can confirm by taking the boat to a specialist.

It's difficult to do repairs on the length of a tube, simply to clean and prepare areas for gluing, so suspect they'd remove the hull seam tape, then try to remove the tubes. That's the only way you can prepare the hull and the tube collar to re-attach.

Hopefully if the tubeset is in good condition then with a little patience it can be saved. Anyway take it to a specialist and see what they say would be my advice.

I would love to reuse the tubes, I think they’re in excellent condition, I hope I’m not doing damage to them by continuing to use the boat. Where I am (Gippsland Lakes, Victoria, Australia) boating season is just beginning and I was hoping to get through the next 4/5 months before having them looked at professionally. I’m never more than an hour from home, or 10 minutes from somewhere where I can land the boat, so I don’t feel unsafe. One of the difficulties is that the nearest professional repairer is about 4 hours away. But you’re right, I should get a specialist opinion. I’ll get on the phone tomorrow, send some photos and hopefully get an idea of if/when they can do it and approximate cost. Thanks for the time and effort you put into your response.

chris9753 · 09 October 2021, 16:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by 909

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlboGB3Z0l8

Starts @ 9:00 mins

Thanks, watched it, that was more on restoring a rub-rail but the channel looks great. I’ll have a look at more later today.

909 · 09 October 2021, 16:42

Sometimes people over complicate things.

Clean really well. Tape . Glue and press.

Simple.

Fenlander · 09 October 2021, 17:07

Because I have no RIB experience but interested...

Is there a concave element to the edge of the GRP hull for the tubes to fit to and assuming so would the tubes when new have been glued to the whole surface of this contact area. Looks like a reinforcing tape underneath and sealant on the inside too??

Ribstore · 11 October 2021, 08:20

Not always easy to tell from photos on my phone, but I couldn't spot any issues on the underneath strips. The inside looks like the sealant has come off, which if it's just that, it's not really a huge issue, but it does look like the tube might be lifting off the hull. I would strongly recommend deflating the tube slightly and trying to get your fingers/hand into any lifts and deliberating try to make them worse. Sounds backwards, but it's much better to know just how bad the issue is before you decide whether to use the boat or not. Before any repair (just like with repainting a flakey painted surface) you would need to lift all lifts to check you have all the loose areas.

There should be an edging strip on the hull under the tube on the inside too - this helps form a strong bond. I can't see it in the photo...they're often missed out. Glue fitting diagram 4 on Tilley Inflatables website shows what I mean: https://www.tidel.biz/rib-tube-fitting/

There are a few repair companies in Australia, but unfortunately the only one I can think of is RibWorx...and they're the far side of Australia to you.

chris9753 · 13 October 2021, 00:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ribstore

Not always easy to tell from photos on my phone, but I couldn't spot any issues on the underneath strips. The inside looks like the sealant has come off, which if it's just that, it's not really a huge issue, but it does look like the tube might be lifting off the hull. I would strongly recommend deflating the tube slightly and trying to get your fingers/hand into any lifts and deliberating try to make them worse. Sounds backwards, but it's much better to know just how bad the issue is before you decide whether to use the boat or not. Before any repair (just like with repainting a flakey painted surface) you would need to lift all lifts to check you have all the loose areas.

There should be an edging strip on the hull under the tube on the inside too - this helps form a strong bond. I can't see it in the photo...they're often missed out. Glue fitting diagram 4 on Tilley Inflatables website shows what I mean: https://www.tidel.biz/rib-tube-fitting/

There are a few repair companies in Australia, but unfortunately the only one I can think of is RibWorx...and they're the far side of Australia to you.

Thank you for your in-depth reply. I partly deflated this morning, tested and the existing adhesive seems to be holding. There are at least two repair companies in Melbourne (4 hrs away) and i will contact them later today. I'm more than happy to get the tube professionally repaired but i really don't want to not have use of the boat for several weeks over the next 4 months. I'm tempted to just fill the cracks with sikaflex to see if that holds to get me through this time. If this doesn't crack I think I'll assume it's holding. Out of the approx 10m of joins only 2-3m would be showing cracks. Thanks again for your detailed reply.

Ribstore · 13 October 2021, 08:39

No problem at all.

If you have issues over 2-3m of 10m, that I would say is significant. I would certainly recommend getting a professional to take a look rather than bodging it with sikaflex as this would make the professional repair very difficult.

Hope you don't miss too much of the season, no matter what you decide.

Sam

Limecc · 13 October 2021, 08:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris9753

I'm tempted to just fill the cracks with sikaflex to see if that holds to get me through this time.

I think PU is a bad idea. Why not use proper hypalon glue, or even G-flex 655 flexible epoxy? Get it via mail order.

Steve509926 · 13 October 2021, 08:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Limecc

I think PU is a bad idea. Why not use the proper 2-pack PVC glue, or even G-flex 655 flexible epoxy? Get it via mail order.

I didn't think that pvc glue was suitable for hypalon.

Limecc · 13 October 2021, 08:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve509926

I didn't think that pvc glue was suitable for hypalon.

Correct. Should have said Hypalon glue. G-flex is good for either.

Erin · 13 October 2021, 17:25

I’m not convinced there is anything more going on there than a strip of sealant peeling away. It looks to me like a cosmetic finish to hide the gap between tubes and deck. Before going down the route of getting professionals to look at it I’d fully deflate a section and have a good look to see how it’s all attached. My suspicion is you’ll find a proper strip of hypalon tabbing the tubes to the hull hidden under there, similar to what you see on the outside.

chris9753 · 13 October 2021, 22:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ribstore

No problem at all.

If you have issues over 2-3m of 10m, that I would say is significant. I would certainly recommend getting a professional to take a look rather than bodging it with sikaflex as this would make the professional repair very difficult.

Hope you don't miss too much of the season, no matter what you decide.

Sam

Thank you for all the fantastic responses. You guys are amazing! Definitely no sikaflex. I’ve already deflated and the glue seems good but I was pretty gentle. I’m reasonably confident that the tubes are well attached and as I’m only boating on lakes and never more than a couple of kilometres from a sandy shore I’ll try and get the season out of them. I also only go out when it’s flat and I don’t push the boat hard. What I’ll also do is accurately measure the cracks, length and width, and see if they are increasing. I could also put pencil marks on the deck where the cracks begin and end. If they’re getting bigger I’ll definitely get it checked professionally. As mentioned previously the nearest people able to do this are 4 hours plus away so if I can defer it until Spring that would be perfect. Thanks again for all your help.

Ribstore · 14 October 2021, 08:36

No problem at all - we don't mind helping

It sounds like you have assessed your boating Vs the tube condition and made an informed decision now. Have a great season!

fastasfox · 25 October 2021, 19:41

Professionals are not too keen in these kind of repairs as they end up chasing the problem as once the glue starts to fail in one spot then the rest will follow. Do your best with repairing the joints but start setting a bit by for a re-tube. Best of luck to you.

chris9753 · 22 November 2021, 23:05

Just for anyone interested in how this finished up. I had the boat checked out professionally and apparently it’s fine. The glue is in almost perfect condition. What had happened is that the people who had previously reattached the tubes, prior to my purchase, had caulked (probably polyurethane) between the top of the glue, the tubes and the deck. Apparently this is unusual, in Oz at least. This is what’s starting to crack, the glue, and hence the tube attachment, is fine.

Thanks again for your responses, sound advice and willingness to help and share!