C-Forum

this question is similar to the earlier one on royalex repair, but i don't think my repair needs are as exstensive (hopefully). here's my situation:

i'm restoring a dagger prophet, that basically has a solid hull (which is in suprisingly good conditon) for a boat that's approx. 12 years old. but the outfitting has reached it's shelf life, so i started the laborious task of gutting the old outfitting.

the vinyl anchor for the bow floatation was damaged & needed to come out, but was pretty well bonded to the vinyl skin inside the hull. in the process of taking out the anchor, the skin came with it.

i took a knife & scored an oval shaped hole (following the edge of the anchor), to avoid tearing the skin beyond the area around the anchor. the foam under the skin appears to be solid. so now i have this 2" x 3" hole in the vinyl & i'm looking at clean, green foam. what's the best way to patch this? vinyl based paint? glass patch?

i also assume that i need to be careful cleaning the area around the patch to avoid disrupting the bond between the vinyl & the foam core around the hole.

thanks in advance for any feedback or advice.

trevor

The same thing happened to our Blue Hole Starburst. From what I understand the vinyl is only there to protect the ABS from the UV's. A former Dagger owner told me this. This is why keeping the outside scratches painted in important.

I went to Home Depot and found a water prood adhesive made by the same company that make shoe goo. I took four d rings and cut out the center nylon webbing section. I then glued two of these modified d rings into place having the idea that if one failed on a trip I still had one to use. This glue takes several days to cure. However, the finished product covers the break in the vinyl and does a very good job as an adhesive too.

Ultimiately, good used boats are easy to find and I just don't owrry to much about how they look anymore as long as they work and perform well. I wouldn't worry about the vinyl. I once paddled a Blue Hole Sunburst with a perception saddle to the point where I actually broke the hull. I had bought the old boat pretty well worn and got another two years of rocky creek paddleing out of it. I have never enjoyed a boat so much.

Chuck/East Tennessee

I had a d-ring for an airbag anchor pull up, exposing the "green" (the ABS, I think, not the foam) and used "plumbers goop" or "marine goop" to stick it back down. That I think must be the stuff Chuck used, too. It's lasted for 5 or more years - now Bill Reap has the hull.

If you are looking at ABS foam (yellow/brown-specked layer in the picture), then do a patch as described by Mohawk Canoes on their website at this link:

https://www.mohawkcanoes.com/care.htm

See "REPAIRING ROYALEX AND R-84 CANOES" on the above webpage and follow the instructions and illustrations.

If you are looking at a solid layer of ABS material (green in the picture), you can apply another anchor pad directly to it. Otherwise, paint it to provide UV protection in lieu of the exterior skin (blue in the picture) that was removed.

you want the easiest and the cheapest protection that will stick...just get "shoo goo"...stuff works great...

If putting down a d-ring over an area where some vinyl has come off, can you still use vynabond or switch to the goop method?

thanks for the great feedback. markdc70 brings up a good point. if i intend to put a new vinyl anchor on the area, what is safe to use as an adhesive on the green laminate? can vynabond be painted directly on it, or is it necessary to use something to protect it? if i need to use the shoe goo (or whatever it is that shoe goo makes), what will stick to it?

isn't this a great forum!? where else you gonna get this kind of info?

I think that the way vinylbond works is to soften the vinyl. If this is true, using vinyl bond on the abs or foam will not give you the desired effect. Try the goop. It is an adhesive and make a water proof covering as well.

Chuck/East Tennessee

I use ABS canoes mostly for fishing and camping trips, so attaching thigh straps is not a frequent issue for me. (If I can't tie something to a thwart, then a Weldwood red can glue job will have to do.)

Given that lack of practical experience, here is what I know about glueing to an ABS canoe:

Using any adhesive with a solvent base is risky when attaching parts to bare or "de-vinyled" ABS. Some paddlers have reported having problems with solvent based adhesives even on fully intact Royalex hulls.

The methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) solvent based products (such as Vynabond) are certainly a potential problem when used on ABS because MEK can melt ABS. Toulene based products (such as Stabond UK 148, Goop, Shoe-Goo) are somewhat less of a problem because Toulene is inert.

Here is what Mike Yee says on his website:

“Recommendations for specific glues and cleaning solvents are outlined in the installation instructions that are included with all products. When in doubt, please contact your boat manufacturer.”

So unless you have bought his specific products, Mike Yee thinks it best to ask the boat manufacturer what glue to use. That's good advice, Marty McFly!


Whichever product you choose to use, pay close attention to the instructions provided for its use. Pay particular attention to any directions about allowing the solvent to evaporate before joining the parts. If you let the solvent evaporate before it makes contact, it will be hard for it to harm your ABS boat.