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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Cleaning hypalon & checking for leaks.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/01/2009 : 16:12:17

We brought our Avon home this weekend because it needed some love. It had been looking a bit forlorn & grimy the last couple of times we were down there and appeared to have a leak because it was drooping on it's rack at the marina.

We got it up on our table in the backyard, got it properly inflated and checked all the major seams looking for obvious leaks with a spray bottle of soapy water. I'd forgotten how many seams there are on an inflatable! I haven't found anything obvious, so it's possible that the tubes had just deflated over time. They seem to be holding air so far.

I haven't scrubbed it clean in over a year, so in some places it's really grimy. Today I've scrubbed the upper part of the tubes with some Simple Green & dish soap (same stuff I used to look for leaks) and a green scrubby. And while it looks better already, I'm wondering what other folks use to clean their inflatables? Is Scrub Brite too abrasive?

What about removing old adhesive from where the davit pads used to be attached? When I first got it a couple of years ago, I opted to not try to remove the adhesive because the pads were freshly peeled off and I seemed to be doing damage. However, now that the adhesive has weathered for a couple of years, it scrapes off with a fingernail (well, sort of, it's tenacious stuff, as you'd expect). Any ideas on how to remove it completely now that it's weathered?

David
C-250 Mainsheet Editor

Sirius Lepak
1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --

Edited by - on

BruceL
1st Mate

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USA
30 Posts

Response Posted - 11/02/2009 : 08:25:00

We use Bar keepers Friend does a great job.
To remove the old glue MEK is best but Acetone works also.
Take a look at the valves on ours the rubber O-rings and seals we starting to break down
and that was causing our leaks(We would loose more air at night when it got cold)

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aeckhart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1709 Posts

Response Posted - 11/02/2009 : 10:14:56

I've found that differences in temp will cause my zodiac to deflate. Cooler temps will make it deflate, however, the tubes don't seem to reinflate to the same volume when it warms again.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 11/05/2009 : 21:16:50

Well, the Avon's been holding air for close to a week now, so I think it was just extended disuse that caused it. My starboard tube has some small wrinkles in it, but it has a lower volume of air to begin with. The port tube seems to have lost no air at all so far.

If the weather clears up a bit this weekend, I'll try to get the rest of it scrubbed down & see how it turns out.

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Downbucket
Navigator

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USA
188 Posts

Response Posted - 11/06/2009 : 10:16:54

David:

My West Marine Inflatable was leaking this summer and I couldn't find the cause so I brought it in for repair. Turns out, it was leaking where the fabric was worn. It was patched and did not leak again. So, if yours begins to loose air again, look to see if the fabric is worn in any area.

By the way, where do you live? Sounds like you're still sailing. I'm in Portland, Maine and boat has been out since September. Gald someone is still sailing.

Will

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 11/06/2009 : 12:43:56

We live near Seattle & sail on the Puget Sound. We're hoping to get one more sail in before taking the boat out for the winter. We never get real hard freezes here (at least in my experience), so technically we could leave the boat in through the winter, but we generally take it out for maintenance.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 11/08/2009 : 23:53:41

I broke out the wax polisher thingy today, and went after the bottom of the Avon with Barkeeper's Friend, Simple Green, a scrubby & a brush. It's about three shades of gray lighter now, at least in most of the places. I seem to have a slight leak in the starboard tube, and I found a small delamination where the floor joins the tube. It's not all the way through, so it won't leak, but I'd like to fix it. I did a few searches online for a Hypalon seam sealer, but didn't find anything obvious. Is there something out there that I can brush on to seal the seams and glue that little delamination down?

In places the boat looks almost new, it's most obvious it's been in an industrial environment along the seams where it's hardest to get clean, but overall it looks much better than it did when it got home.

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Sloop Smitten
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1181 Posts

Response Posted - 11/09/2009 : 08:34:21

David,
West Marine sells a couple of different adhesives suitable for hypalon.

[url="http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SiteSearchView?catalogId=10001&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&keyword=hypalon+adhesibe&Ntt=hypalon+adhesibe&N=377+710&storeId=10001&Ntk=Primary+Search&ddkey=SiteSearch"]Hypalon Adhesives[/url]

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 11/26/2009 : 15:59:33

Well, I went to WM last weekend to pick up some seam sealant, ended up talking with a knowledgeable guy (sadly rare at this particular store), who recommended that before I purchase the seam sealant, I take a look at my valves since I couldn't find anything obvious with soapy water with my seams. I decided to replace the O-rings on the valves (there are three), but found out that they're not exactly O-rings. However in checking them, I seem to have "solved" my problem, I pumped up the boat a few days ago and it hasn't lost air (or at least not much). So, when I get a few minutes, I'm going to do a thorough cleaning of the valves and see what happens. At worst, I've found valve refit kits for about $12 each, which probably isn't a bad idea since the boat's 15 years old.

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DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2009 : 07:42:13

Good Deal David! I've always liked it when what seems like a BIG problem turns out to be a small one!

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2009 : 09:25:05

I wouldn't use a Scotchbright pad or similar abrasive on my inflatable--I would expect it to just make the boat get dirtier faster, and accelerate UV damage. Normal soaps are fine--you might want to consider some of the [url="http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SiteSearchView?catalogId=10001&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&keyword=inflatable+cleaner&Ntt=inflatable+cleaner&N=377+710&y=13&x=17&storeId=10001&Ntk"]cleaners specifically for inflatables[/url]--all are presumably safe on the material and some of them supposedly leave some UV protection. I'm generally not big on specialty "marine" cleaners, but in this case, it might be worth it. And I definitely wouldn't let acetone get <i>near</i> my Achilles. Chemicals that will remove the adhesive will most likely also attack the hypalon (or PVC as the case may be). After 15 years, I'd accept some imperfections and be happy I'd gotten that much service.

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 11/27/2009 09:28:13

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2009 : 10:40:12

Dave, you make some excellent points (as usual), and your last post sounds very much like the email exchange I had with Avon & Zodiac America reps when I first started down this road almost exactly three years ago when I first purchased the boat. They actually recommended using a 3M white scrubby only, nothing harsher. Now that the boat is clean, I'm going to coat it with 303 to reduce UV exposure and hopefully make it easier to clean next time.

If folks are interested, I can post the email exchange with Avon & Zodiac.

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