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 Post subject: Patch material
PostPosted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 10:46 pm 
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Joined: Sat May 21, 2005 11:32 am
Posts: 220
Location: Portland, OR
The small patches in the repair kit that comes with iTrek boards is useful, but over time it is insufficient. I find lots of links for repair kits, but can't really trust most of the sources given the number of negative reviews they get.

Can Hobie make available their source for reliable patching material - hopefully much larger sizes than what in the kit? Or point us to place they have found as reliable sources?

I have two iTrek boards on my sailboat because they can be more easily stored than rigid boards, but we visit many different places, which sometimes have oysters or barnacles aplenty, and punctures or scrapes happen. Having a 10ft roll of 3in wide patching material would make repairs a lot easier, and I might actually add wear patches in strategic places to pre-empt punctures.


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 Post subject: Re: Patch material
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 11:03 am 
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Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2021 6:30 am
Posts: 215
While waiting for a more knowledgeable response, let me suggest the issue isn't the PVC patch but the contact glue. There is a kind of glue that welds PVC together very securely, but California banned it due to vapors and most companies switched to a feeble contact cement. The banned glue is still available in the free world, but I forget the name for it.

There is good advice on YouTube from the NRS Company in about 20 patching videos. Old ones may name the better glue as well as preparation liquids. I have patched a high pressure seam and it could survive a bomb blast.


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 Post subject: Re: Patch material
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 12:02 pm 
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Joined: Sat May 21, 2005 11:32 am
Posts: 220
Location: Portland, OR
I always used HH66, which along with Clifton (recommended by NRS), seem to be the most highly recommended glue/cement, and I have never had a problem with either of these. And I always round the corners of my patches as sharp corners are prone to lift.

My problem is where to source the patching material. Internet sites often seem to use the terms Vinyl and PVC interchangeably, when they are not exactly the same. Vinyl is a generic term that encompasses both soft and hard PVC for example. I doubt Hobie would recommend the use of PVC glue designed for plumbing PVC pipes for example...

I can find many kits using a number of named and unnamed products, some come with glue, some with non and other are self-adhesive. Most of them comes in small quantity (100sqin at most) which wouldn't allow me to create wear patches.


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 Post subject: Re: Patch material
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 12:54 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2021 6:30 am
Posts: 215
I doubt if Hobie constructs the patching kit, sourcing PVC sheets and all - I have about a dozen look-alike patching canisters from other brands. I notice many 1m long PVC rolls a few inches wide in Amazon, TEMU, eBay, etc as well as PVC tarps. I used to have an inflatable pontoon catamaran, for which they had an option of PVC reinforcement sheets. Probably none of this helps you so I'll shut up and let others answer.


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