# Sevylor Ducky Repair



## mr. compassionate (Jan 13, 2006)

I've got rips in 2 single Sevylor duckies which occurred on the Lower Taylor recently. Need to get them fixed before this weekend. One has foot long tear in outer tube the other has several inch long tear on outer as well as bladder. 

Does anyone have experience in fixing one of these...what type of material and where do I get it in Denver metro.


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## Andy H. (Oct 13, 2003)

Time to take them out and shoot them.

Sevylor reminds us all that "There's the right way, the wrong way, and the French way."


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## tyaker (Dec 11, 2004)

Ouch, Andy... Mr. Compassionate wants a response from Mr. Constructive, right? 

All kidding aside, I used to guide for Orange Torpedo Trips, and a foot long tear would probably be a deal breaker, in my view. You'd need an 18 inch long spare piece of Sevylor-made vinyl thats 2 1/2" wide in order to fix it, along with a LOT of vinyl glue, and a whole lotta time and patience to get it fixed. No idea about where to get that stuff in denver. So unless you're willing to sacrifice the foot-long-tear-boat for patch material for the other, you got two useless boats. Vynabond is a good glue, and you could probably get a good amount of patch material from OTT in Oregon. Call 'em up and tell 'em Speedy sent you. 

Sorry I can't be more help, but let me know if you need more beta. -Tyler


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## kengore (May 29, 2008)

I was able to repair a Sevylor 2 person on a recent trip using a PVC patch kit I put together for my clear drybags.

I used a tube of PVC adhesive purchased at ACE hardware (product is called INFLATABLE REPAIR KIT in camping section) and some sheet PVC material intended to be used as glazing material (also purchased at ACE) My repairs was smaller, a couple of seam blowouts due to over pressure, but the patch and adhesive proved compatable. The sheet vinyl came in a 24" wide roll or a 36" wide roll, cut to order by the foot.

For a larger repair I would try HH-66 vinyl cement. Might be able to get it at Down River Equiptment near Denver, or use the link below (link also has clear window vinyl)

Vinyl Fabrics

You might also check out the 'heat sealable taffeta' at Seattle Fabrics. This material can be heat fused with a household iron, might make a good iron on path for the outer cover.

Ripstop, Oxford, PackCloth, Cordura and other nylon and polyester fabrics!

I don't have any personal experiance with the HH-66 or the heat seal fabrics, just giving you the benifit of some of my internet research...found out about these in an article on making your own float bags.


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## tyaker (Dec 11, 2004)

Ditto on the HH-66. I forgot about that stuff. Probably sniffed too much of it while patchin' boats in the OTT shop. 

Any vinyl fabric (clear/colored) will do. Try to get the same thickness as the boat fabric (same fabric=same air pressure resistance). Clean it with methyl-ethyl-ketone (MEK) (use MEK to thin the HH-66 if needed), and cut the material to fit with rounded edges. Thin layers of HH-66 on both surfaces, allow it to get tacky, and put patch on carefully. Use a LOT of flat weight on it for 24 hours. I'd think that the smaller tear will be an easy fix. With the longer one, I'd start takin' bets.

I may misunderstand the iron-on taffeta, but if you apply iron-type heat to a tahiti, it will melt straight through. Don't do that.


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## kengore (May 29, 2008)

I think Mr. Comp. is talking about one of the Sevylor boats with an outer fabric shell and a thin PVC bladder. 

I'm suggesting the iron on stuff only for the outer fabric shell, not the bladder. An alternative repair for a fabric shell would be to sew the edges of the tear together with heavy thread. Use the kind of stitches you see on a baseball, these will hold the pieces together edge to edge and not change the shape of the fabric by gathering or overlapping. Then give both sides a thin coat of Aqua-Seal, overlapping the seam by 1/4" all around. Allow the patch to cure overnight. I've used this technique on tent floors and heavy tarps, the repair will be stronger than the surrounding fabric.


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## tyaker (Dec 11, 2004)

Sorry... my mistake. Never worked with the two-layer sevylors. In other words, forget most of what I said! Cheers,

Tyler


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