# Blown Tributary baffle?



## hand8272 (May 24, 2011)

I would blame it on the boyfriend.


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## Cookie (Mar 5, 2011)

After quizzing him a little more on the subject, he does remember inflating three different chambers this morning. Must have happened on the river.


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## Brotorboat (Apr 14, 2009)

Pull out the bladders and check them out. Not difficult to do and there are videos on AIRE's website and youtube page. If need be...buy new bladders and install. 

If you run into trouble, call AIRE. They are more than happy to help.


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## caverdan (Aug 27, 2004)

If you plan to unzip the bladders yourself, make sure you lube the zippers good and only use your fingers to open them with. If you have to use pliers......take it to a repair facility or the factory. If not....you will ruin the zipper and have to take it in anyways. REI sells a zipper lube with built in brush that works great for thiss type of thing. You can use soap and water too. Good luck!


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## elkhaven (Sep 11, 2013)

With the bladders you don't really have baffles, the bladder is the baffle. The outer shell doesn't hold air, so if the boat didn't loose pressure during the day I don't see how you could have lost a bladder(baffle). I'd guess somebody pushed in the valve with out thinking. There is essentially no way two valves/chambers could be linked... I'd def. reinflate and investigate

you could have also over inflated the first bladder, thus putting a lot more air in it then the others, then when you deflated that same baffle the other(s) appear to deflate. When you inflate a raft you should put an equal number of pumps in each chamber (roughly). I start by putting 40 in each, then go back around and put another 20 in, continuing around the boat until it's up to pressure. Putting too much air in one chamber is how you blow baffles/bladders.


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## SROB34 (Dec 29, 2012)

*I've done it on my Super Puma*

I would bet that your BF did what I did and you have a pinhole leak.

Second trip out on my raft I either folded it up wrong or didn't blow it up right. Should have read the instructions. Woops! Got a pinhole leak in one of the 3 bladders and it would get pretty low while we were out on the water, pumped it up about every 45 minutes to stay properly afloat.

I also fixed it myself. I called AIRE and they said they'd warantee the bladder that had the leak, but they would most likely just patch it. They said the turnaround would be MUCH quicker if I fixed it myself. I figured, whats the harm? If I screw it up I can just send it in (mine is still in the 10 yr warranty).

See pictures below. Taking the bladder out is pretty easy. Unzip the shell where the leaky bladder is. The three bladders are connected by a zipper line at each junction point. The zipper to zip them back up is in your patch kit - DON'T LOSE THAT ZIPPER. Its supposed to come off but make sure you hang onto it. There are also zip ties that hold the zipper line together. Go ahead and cut those. Make sure you don't nip the bladder though. Then you have to unscrew the valve from the shell to take it apart from the shell. Blow it back up and listen/feel around for the pinhole leak. If your boat came with a patch kit, there is a sheet of little stickers for pinhole leaks. AIRE assured me these stickers will last the life of the boat. Put the sticker on the pinhole leak. Blow it back up and make sure its holding air. 

Its a little tricky getting the bladder back in. Just make sure everything is lined up before you blow it back up. Make marks as to where things were lined up before you pull it out. You do not want that thing twisted in the shell when you go to blow it up. Zip the bladder back to the other two, and don't forget to zip tie the zipper line of the two bladders back together as well. Rezip the shell and then you're done. AIRE has a couple videos that show how to do it online.

Good luck! I found it to be a great learning experience for me, I could do it in half the time now if I had to. Just remember to keep that space where the bladder goes and the shell clean, any dirt or rocks in there can screw up that bladder and create another leak.

Also, for future reference, and this is what I did not do which I think caused the leak... Inflate each bladder to about 2/3 full before you top off any of them. That's real important. If you inflate one all the way and not the others they can have problems in how they marry when fully inflated and can cause leaks. Haven't had a problem since the fix.


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## Cookie (Mar 5, 2011)

It's not a pinhole leak, and it is definitely a blown baffle/bulkhead. The tubes were nice and tight (not too tight) until I pushed the valve, then both chambers deflated. I blew it up again to be sure, and tried both valves, and I can easily move air between both chambers. There is no deformity when inflated, and it rowed just fine. I never heard a pop.

I'll blow it up this afternoon and unzip it to find the problem.


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## Osseous (Jan 13, 2012)

If you put a balloon in each end of a paper towel roll and blew up one balloon, it could fill the whole tube. If you blew up the other, and the first was already filling the majority of the tube, the one you were filling wouldn't take much air. Release the air in the first balloon and the second one does not "inflate" to fill the void. I think it is likely that your bladders (not baffles) are fine- you just didn't have an equal amount of air in each when you started. Try filling each one partially- just barely full. Then bring each up to full pressure. AKA RTFM


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## Cookie (Mar 5, 2011)

When I put air into one chamber with the other completely deflated, I can sit on that tube, move the air into the other bladder, and deflate it using the opposite valve. That's not normal, and I know what a raft is supposed to look like when I blow it up.


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## elkhaven (Sep 11, 2013)

You need to call Air. This has perplexed me, since your earlier statement. Since the three bladders are individual, stand alone air chambers it would seem theoretically impossible to do what you describe. However, I just got off the phone with Aire and they said there is a rare occurance where over repeated overinflation two bladders can fuse and pass air between the two. Sounds extremely unlikely to me but what you describe fits to a T what would happen. It appears that you have been blessed with an extremely unusual issue!

I talked with them a few minutes ago and used the "a friend has this problem" discussion and he described what you've run into. I'm utterly surprised as I would have bet you a new boat that it wouldn't be possible to share air between bladders in an Aire.


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## Cookie (Mar 5, 2011)

Well, at least I know I'm not crazy. I would have thought it impossible too... I'll call AIRE.


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## Osseous (Jan 13, 2012)

Hmmm.... I'd call Aire. Are the Trib bladders the same as the std Aire bladders? i didn't think there were any baffles- just separate bladders associated with each valve?


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## elkhaven (Sep 11, 2013)

Cookie said:


> Well, at least I know I'm not crazy. I would have thought it impossible too... I'll call AIRE.


I def. would have pulled hair out of my head over that issue, I still hardly believe it's possible...chemestry in action I guess. As for crazy, I doubt you're off the hook for that yet...:shock:


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## DoubleYouEss (Oct 4, 2011)

Bladder fusion does happen, I have seen it twice in 10 years of guiding. It was only in our older boats though, approx 10+ years of hard use.


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## mtnkaos (Mar 8, 2007)

Sometimes when the aircells blow they will bust through the bulkhead and fuse themselves together so they basically become 1 tube.


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## FatmanZ (Sep 15, 2004)

Fascinating thread. I've often told my wife that the kayaks in the garage randomly divide and multiply on their own and even evolve in shape and color, but I've never heard of bladder fusion (It's Alive!).


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## mtnkaos (Mar 8, 2007)

I couldn't really believe it the first time I saw it either. Usually involves an air compressor and hot temps.


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## GratefulOne (Jun 12, 2010)

this thread got me stoked that I don't own an AIRE/ or TRIB


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## Osseous (Jan 13, 2012)

yeah- that's pretty messed up


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## AIRE Inc. (Feb 11, 2011)

Hi Cookie,

There is probably 1 of 2 things going on.

1 - The bladders are way over-sized, kind of like a bike tube. That way when the boat is inflated, all the air pressure is on the outside PVC and not on the welded seams of the Urethane AIREcell. If one chamber is inflated to rock hard pressure before any of the other chambers, it could take up 1/2-ish of the boat which would make it appear that one AIREcell is filling up most of the boat. This could be particularly true if an internal bulkhead is blow out, then one chamber really could fill up about 2/3 of a 12' boat. For reference, here is a raft inflation video we put together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj0jS6eV5xA
2 - The fused AIREcell is not out of the realm of possibility. That being said, we have only seen it a few times in our repair shop with heavy used outfitter boats and in early 90 boats because we didn't have a bulkhead system back then. For your AIREcells to have fused together they would of had to blown through the bulkhead and baked together in the sun. Blown out bulkheads don't happen often and are usually cause by years of repeated over-inflation.

3 - So what can you do now? Inflate all the chambers of your boat to 1/2 pressure and then top them off as described in the video. Does everything look right? If so, your well meaning boyfriend probably just over-inflated one AIREcell before filling up the rest. 

4 - If one chamber really is inflating your boat, it's time to take a look inside. People tend to be intimidated by zippers but they are not THAT bad.  Here is a zipper video we put together: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fswyZeap9-M
5 - Take a look around. Are any bulkheads damaged? Is anything ripped? If so, give us a call at 800-247-3432 or direct to service at 208-991-5771. If you are feeling particularly adventurous, Here is a video on replacing baffles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9UrA1AaV94
So, the good new, every piece of that boat can be repaired or replaced. If you don't feel comfortable opening up your raft you can awalys send it to us or one of our service centers. Let me know if you have any questions and keep us posted!

Sheena Coles
AIRE Marketing 
[email protected]


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## AIRE Inc. (Feb 11, 2011)

Cookie said:


> When I put air into one chamber with the other completely deflated, I can sit on that tube, move the air into the other bladder, and deflate it using the opposite valve. That's not normal, and I know what a raft is supposed to look like when I blow it up.


Whoops, just saw this reply of yours, sorry about that. Yep, not normal. Give us a call, we'll get you back on the water. 

Sheena Coles
AIRE Marketing
[email protected]


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## Sembob (Feb 27, 2014)

This kind of customer service is pretty damn cool. I'd be stoked to own an Aire boat.


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## GratefulOne (Jun 12, 2010)

you are right! that was a dumb thing of me to say! lol. I tried to delete my comment but too late. id be stoked to own an aire/trib/ or any other craft that gets me out on jah water! sorry for disrespect AIRE! I have had a ton of fun in TRIB IKS!! really the only thing I personally don't like about them is the IK I used to use had a giant zipper right on the top of the tube. that was annoying when getting in and out of. and I disliked that they had the smaller b7 valves. I was really just trolling. please forgive my boredom and release the bad ju ju I startd. SMoothe sailing, happy paddling, and trouble free boating to all!!!


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## Brotorboat (Apr 14, 2009)

But the B7 holds air better than a C7

Fact


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