Re: how to seal avon inflatable
Mike, Again there are two ways to approach the repair of a leaking hypalon boat. The preferred method is with an external hypalon patch. Not unlike fixing a bicycle inner tube
only industrial sized. Patching can fix big rips, too. The other way is to poured liquid sealer into the tubes, inflate and flip the boat around to coat all over the insides of the tubes. This is ok for pinholes and seam leaks. May take more than one application and its expensive.<br /><br />If you are not sure of the extent of the leaking, inflate the tubes to about 2 psi and go around the boat with a spray bottle of dish soap and water. Look for hissing and bubbling
the kind of stuff small children typically do when you step on them.<br /><br />When you inflate the tubes, do NOT inflate just one tube all the way, then the next, etc. There is an internal baffle between the tubes and you dont want to stress it. Inflate one tube just until it has its shape only. Then go to the next tube
After they all have their shape, work in reverse order and fill to about 1psi. Then reverse direction again, taking the tubes up to 2psi. Dont know what boat you have but it is probably rated to 3psi. In any event, it is virtually impossible to pop a tube with those little foot pumps. I can almost guarantee you can pop a tube with any other mechanical pump.<br /><br />One more thing...almost everyone under-inflates their boat. With a couple psi, the tubes will be hard and unyielding to hand pressure.
<br /><br />Mike - There are a couple tricks that will result in a patch being as good as the original hypalon. If after inspecting the boat you decide you want to patch it yourself, post here again. Also, hypalon doesnt leak. The material must be compromised for air to get past its layered construction