tramps

Thanks all for a great forum. I noticed yesterday I have a very small rip/tear in my newer solid mesh tramp. It's located near the front crossbar so I'm not too concerned about stress at this moment. It's about 3/8 inches long so it goes through about 3-4 mesh lines. Do any of you knowledgeable sailers have any advice on what and how I should address this? Thanks in advance for you time and help. Simie

Use some heavy duty thread and sew it closed. Thread must be UV resistant and its best if its the same color.

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ALLEY CAT 1984 RED LINE HOBIE 18 MAGNUM
Sail # 10505 or 277

jmecky, thanks. Do you know if Hobie Cat heat welds small patches on the tramps like mine. If done properly, will the sew method work good. How strong would the web strands be that I'm sewing into/through?
Thanks again,
Simie

Is this a Slo Sails bias cut tramp? Solid, no center lacing? You go to them to get repair advice - even if it not theirs they may be able to tell you how to repair it or have a repair kit. Good Luck.

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1984 Hobie 18

We do not do heat weld repairs. Once the material is dirty, at all, it shorts the sonic welder and burns the material.

I would use two small patches of vinyl and sew through both as a sandwich over the tear. An upholstery shop can do that as well.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

"Solid mesh"? Do you mean solid vinyl or mesh vinyl? If solid vinyl and the tear isn't located in a high stress area, you might consider trying a product called "Tear-Aid", which you can find in the Hobie Parts and Accesories catalogue. I used it for a few minor repairs on my solid vinyl tramp and twelve months later the repairs are holding up perfectly. The key with this stuff is proper surface preparation. Use what they refer to as "Type B" (vinyl repair). I bought my kit at Eastern Mountain Sports for around $8.

I don't trust any glue in a dirty environment. Some may hold temporarily or seemingly permanently, but eventually will fail.

I did a major repair on my H14 vinyl tramp a few years ago when I was working at the local sail loft. Basically we stitched pieces of vinyl top and bottom, overlapping the damaged area by 2" on each side of the tear. This was a 2' long tear. So far it is holding up extremely well, and I recommend similar methods for repairing tears in tramps.