launched 2 cats in great south bay ny Sat 45 degree water, brrrrr! Tore a hole in brand new tramp on launch, ouch! Paying too much attention to setting mushroom anchors, chains, buoys, etc. etc. Whats the best patch solution on less than 6 inch tear that has not separated yet. No way i take cat out of water and bring to sailo[email][/email]rs choice my sail repair guy. what about the waterproof sealing tape they advertise on tv, flex tape? Anyone have experience with that product or have a better solution?

I can't imagine you can use tape of any kind to reliably hold what I assume is a mesh tramp together. The only repair I would trust is a through-sewn repair patch with double zig-zag stitching around the entire repair. I'll be interested to hear what other more inventive minds might do.

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Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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never seen flex tape in real life but i have owned and used guerrilla tape.. several different flavors -
that is some STRONG STUFF - can probably tape a guerrilla up and he would be stuck

that being said i would NEVER trust this stuff on a critical load bearing (me being the load) area (esp if it gets wet all the time)

if you fall through it on the water - you will probably live with only some scuffs and a funny story
if you fall through while stepping or un-stepping - you will defiantly explode (just kidding but the broken leg/ankle that slammed into your trailer below would still hurt a lot

confession: in haste I and friend put new Dart 18 tramp on upside down(I should know better, I have 3 Dart 18s)when launching and we can not remove tramp from front cross bar insertion track! So tramp cant be removed to be stitched by machine,; looks as thou Im going to hand stitch with large sewing needle(done it before on hobie, nacra & prindle tramps) and tape over(gorilla tape under and over); tear is on right forward area approx 6 inches from where front cross beam connects to hull, not a spot where someone ordinarily is positioned. Just hoping someone knows of a new product like a heat patch or something.

Hello,
Purchase a sewing/easy awl and some 4 inch wide webbing and you should be able to do it yourself. You even could put the webbing on both sides for overkill. Easy awl is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNFMzAEW0V0

Forget the tape. No tape adhesive is going to hold for any length of time especially as temperature changes. Adhesive tape will make terrible backing. You are going to have to stitch it with some strong backing. Use similar, if not identical material, and sew with Tenara to minimize sun damage to the thread. Use a blunt needle that won't cut the mesh. A sailmaker will use "tape", but it will be non-adhesive fabric that is super strong. Otherwise you are wasting your time, effort and new tramp on a repair that will fail you. For what the new tramp cost you, I would take it off and have it professionally repaired, regardless of the situation. That tramp, especially on a Dart, is a structural piece of the boat, not just a place to sit.

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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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Quote

and we can not remove tramp from front cross bar insertion track!

Do you mean because it is rigged or in the water or is it stuck?

Stuck, atomic tarp makes superior tramp, brand new and thick where its inserted into front cross beam so 2 men tugging after silicon spraying not able to pull out,wedged in! Friend who trailored cat to beach at Bay to launch unintentionally tore tramp.

wow that stinks

take it out with the front beam? ...

I've had a patch on my mesh H16 tramp for years. I sandwiched the tear between two pieces of vinyl (cut out of an old dry bag) glued it with PVC pipe glue, clamped it between a couple of 2 by 4 scraps, and let it sit for a few days. A friend of mine did the same on an older solid H16 tramp and it worked well there, too.

My tear was only a couple of inches long, and our climate here is relatively mild, so this technique may not work for you. (Maybe you could do this and stitch it, too, for added holding power?)

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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thanx for ideas, have old tramp for patches, will return/exchange contact cement for pvc glue, do you have a brand name?

nofearofflying

thanx for ideas, have old tramp for patches, will return/exchange contact cement for pvc glue, do you have a brand name?

Pretty sure it was this standard Oatey stuff from the local box store:
http://www.homedepot.com/…-Cement-310133/100345577

FWIW...the rest of the story......I stuffed the scrap 2 x 4s into old socks to sort of cushion/even out the clamping pressure, then wrapped them in some cling wrap so they wouldn't get glued to the tramp by any excess glue. (My patches were solid, so there wasn't very much.) The small amount of cling wrap that got stuck was fairly easy to remove. Good luck!

P.S. I also cleaned everything good with rubbing alcohol, starting fluid, or some such solvent before gluing.



Edited by rattlenhum on May 11, 2017 - 01:26 PM.

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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never gave thanx to pvc pipe glue patch idea;never a problem all summer tramp good as new

rattlenhum

Pretty sure it was this standard Oatey stuff from the local box store:
http://www.homedepot.com/…-Cement-310133/100345577

FWIW...the rest of the story......I stuffed the scrap 2 x 4s into old socks to sort of cushion/even out the clamping pressure, then wrapped them in some cling wrap so they wouldn't get glued to the tramp by any excess glue. (My patches were solid, so there wasn't very much.) The small amount of cling wrap that got stuck was fairly easy to remove. Good luck!

P.S. I also cleaned everything good with rubbing alcohol, starting fluid, or some such solvent before gluing.

This is a great repair tip.

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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
--

nofearofflying

never gave thanx to pvc pipe glue patch idea;never a problem all summer tramp good as new

So glad it worked for ya! My patch has been on for several years now and is still going strong.

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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Did you use the purple primer for the tramp as well? Mandatory with real PVC repairs. Softens the plastic prior to bonding.

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Prindle 18
96734
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