F-Ribs And Sibs - Inflatable Boat Community

Good evening here in the USA, Florida.

about 6 months into using my folding rigid inflatable boat purchased from Costco. It is called a Hydroforce and the manufacturer is BestWay. I am writing because I have been out on the boat about 20 times and I experienced my first hole!!! I have included a picture here. It looks like it may have be in a small area where the transom meets the PVC. There is a piece of reinforced plastic there and I think the hole is between the reinforced plastic and the PVC tube. I've included a picture here to demonstrate. Any recommendations on how to repair? What is the best type of glue? I have a few small pieces that were included as part of a repair kit but the area where the hole is looks like maybe I should consider some other type of repair.

I have really been enjoying this boat and I would like to continue using it. We have been on the Hillsborough River here in Tampa, FL and also out in the Tampa Bay and along the coast in the Gulf of Mexico.

The first step is to confirm the location of the hole. Inflate the boat and then use some water with dish soap in it and a sponge to go over the area. When you find the hole you will see bubbles - even a small hole makes a lot of bubbles so you can’t miss it.
If you are correct about the location of the leak then it is going to be a tricky repair. You need to determine what material the transom reenforcement it made from. If it’s PVC then that’s fine but if it’s rubber then that makes it more complicated as PVC glue doesn’t stick to rubber so you have to prime it with hyperlink adhesive first.

So if you can confirm the leak location and material we can talk you though a repair from there.

Hope that helps!

Hi, thanks for the input. I have confirmed that the leak is at the interface of the inflated tube and the rubber which connects the tube to the transom. I will try to include another picture here to demonstrate with soap bubbles. The material is not labelled as far as I can tell but it seems more like rubber than PVC. Should I just try with standard PVC glue? Which type of glue would you recommend that I can possibly pick up at the local hardware store or possibly through amazon? I have a few small patches and I think I can order more off amazon pretty cheap. Regarding sealing the connection between the rubber and the PVC, what additional type of glue may be required?

Thanks so much for your help!

Good evening, Just an update to close this discussion. I used LocTite Vinyl, Fabric, and Plastic Adhesive. It seemed most likely to seal rubber and PVC. I was very generous with the adhesive around the area. I think it will work well (blown up without leak for 24+hrs now) but I will let you know how it holds up to the elements after a few more runs.