Air bags for an old ovation

[Seabass]

Well I just finished repairing an old ovation. The guy who sold me it(for a 12 pack of good beer) told me that the air bags leak. I used my raft inflator and screamed them up last night. This morning they where flat. The bags are old nrs nylon bags. I looked at them good this afternoon and they are packed with mildew. I deflated the remaining air out of the and got wet. I'm going to say that these are probably junk and I have been exposed to black mold and probably need to see a doctor. I've read a recent thread about mohawk bags going down hill so I will avoid them. I've been rafting and kayaking out here in Colorado for the last 20 years and can personally vouch for the beatings our gear takes out on the river and for that reason I think I would like to avoid vinyl since it is never described with a deneir so I'm assuming it's like a pool toy. Now for nylon I've only found nrs, and Harmony to be within my price range. Found some other bomber bags but I don't need the bags to out last the boat. Is there any other bags I should consider? Could I like scotchgaurd my old bags and make them work? I'm new so help pls.

[Seabass]

Come on guys. I guess what I'm asking is if there is anything that I could spay on the bags to stop leaks, like spar urethane or something. Then I'm asking if Harmony nylon bags are ok cause if not I will go with nrs. I've had good experiences with them and their customer support throughout the years. If Harmony makes a solid product I will go with them, in not afraid of new(to me) things. I am starting canoeing with not much in the way of knowledge of canoes but a lot of whitewater experience. I'm gonna need a hand a bit to get going. Thanks for reading pls respond.

[Bob P]

I've tried to seal with urethane spray paint a few times, and it never lasted long past an inflation test. It slowed down the leakage some, but not enough to use a bag in a critical location.

[Seabass]

Thanks Bob. I won't try spraying them then, thanks for saving me the time and materials. I was thinking maybe I should contact nrs, they say guaranteed for life on their website.

[mgs]

If the bags have a few pin holes, you can make a pretty durable patch by using aquaseal to coat both sides of a bit of fabric, then stick it to the cleaned up, dry bag surface, covering the hole on the deflated bag laid flat. Spread some more aquaseal past the edge of the patch, then cover with wax paper and weight it with a few books or something flat and heavy. I have an old set of harmony bags with several patches like this and they hold up well. The newer harmony cloth bags are holding up well for me, but I do take them out to drive at highway speed. You can find leaks by inflating the bag and putting soapy water on it, looking for bubbles. If the whole surface foams, time for new bags! Good luck with the repair or new bags.

[Seabass]

I found the leaks. It's a pin hole in one bag but the other is leaking from under a d-ring. It's where the strap holding it attaches. Not sure what I can do about this yet. Now what kind of fabric should I use. I have some pvc repair material from an old ducky I used to have. I have sheets of hypolon which would probably be over kill. I have some large scraps of pvc coated polyester left over from making my own sleeping mats. I have g-flex epoxy, some g17 adhesive, I have some staybond 2 part for raft repair. If aqua seal is the best I will go get it. I hope it doesn't have an expiration date like the stabond does. I also have a weld pvc welder if that helps. I don't know how to attack the d-ring leak.

[mgs]

Aquaseal works well because it stays very flexible, gflex wouldn't be good, because it would dry really stiff, as I guess most epoxies would. I made the patch in the photo linked below more than 10 years ago on a voyageur bag as discussed above. I think I used a scrap of an old table cloth or who knows what - nothing in particular, just not too thick or stiff. Once it's coated in the aquaseal, it'll be pretty tough.

For the corner near the tie down point, that's tricky... but the same kind of thing might work if you can match the corner shape.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/0JUoppZliTCQ89j32

[Seabass]

Thanks for the reply. I went out and got some aqua seal today. I think I'm going to cut the d ring strap flush with the bag and patch over the whole thing. I was thinking about using some fabric from a ratted out back pack or tool bag as my patch material.

[Seabass]

Just patched it. Used some nylon fabric. No one mentioned how hard it is to get aquaseal off of your fingures. Hand soap, then dish soap, then gojo, then acetone, then toulene kinda worked. Can't wait to inflate and check for leaks again.