Basic Field Repair - Alpacka Raft Packrafts

www.alpackaraft.com/repair-guide/ -- Alpacka Raft Packrafts -- Excerpt of our Repair Guide for packrafts below; follow the link in this paragraph to see the full guide.

Always bring a Repair Kit and KNOW HOW TO USE IT if you want to make it home on time!

Packrafts are made of lightweight materials and will require maintenance and repair under normal use. Knowing how to repair your raft is essential to a successful packrafting experience. Read the information in our Repair Guide carefully. Be Prepared!

Be patient! Use an extra pair of hands if available. Dealing with tape, glues, and fabrics can easily get out of hand. Think through your repair before starting.

A note on fabrics: Most of our older boats (purchased before 2014) have a urethane coating on both sides of the fabric. Our current fabric (from 2014 on) has urethane only on one side (the outside) of the fabric, which significantly improves tear strength. The inside of these tubes resembles a woven fabric and does not feel smooth like plastic. We call this the “Uncoated” side. It is important to know which type of fabric you have so you are prepared to fix it. Look inside the dump valve, or stick your finger inside and scratch the fabric, if it feels smooth and a bit shiny, then it is double coated. If it looks like looks and feels like a nylon jacket, its single coated fabric.

Tools of the Trade: Get to know your packraft repair materials.

Alcohol Wipes: Basic denatured alcohol wipes available at your local drug store, great for prepping the raft for a successful bond of repair tape or glue.
Patch-N-Go: A strong, easy, and effective repair tape, great for most tube and floor repairs. Provides for long lasting repairs when applied correctly. This is a great product.
Tyvek® Tape: Amazing on packrafts! (Lowe’s® House Wrap Tape works too) We discovered this by accident. You can buy Tyvek® Tape at any hardware store that handles Tyvek® House Wrap. This tape is almost as good as the Patch-N-Go®, it just isn’t as strong. With 15 feet (4.5 meters) of tape, you can literally re-assemble your boat after a Grizzly bear uses it for a chew toy, and it will probably get you home. Consider wrapping a few yards of it around your paddle or around a lighter in your repair kit. The longer you leave it on, the better it sticks! Be sure to remove any temporary repairs that you don’t want to become permanent when you get home. We have seen small Tyvek® Tape repairs last several seasons, though we prefer more permanent methods.
Tenacious Tape®: A strong repair tape for the uncoated side of raft and spray-deck fabrics. Great for backing (inside) tube repairs and spray-deck repair. Can be used for temporary repair of small holes (smaller than 1/2” 1cm).
Gorilla Tape®: For backing the inside of tube repairs and quick spray-deck repairs. Can be used for temporary tube and floor repair in a pinch. Works best on the uncoated side of fabrics, as in the underside of the spraydeck.
Aquaseal®: Aquaseal is an air-curing adhesive sealant. It’s great for patching small holes, reinforcing stitches, sealing seams, and much more. It’s flexible when dry and completely waterproof when properly applied. Requires a minimum of 6-8 hours to dry and cure! Cotol® Accelerator will reduce cure time to 2-3 hours. Does not work well for attaching grab-loops or bonding fabrics, as it needs air to cure.
Aquaseal® UV: Instant curing version Aquaseal. Apply in the shade and then move to direct sun or use a UV light pen and sealant will cure in seconds. Perfect for instant repairs and long lasting, but not quite as good of a bond as regular Aquaseal.
Urethane tube and floor fabric: You should have received small pieces of both tube and floor fabric in your repair kit. Aquaseal can be used as an adhesive in a pinch, but doesn’t bond well sandwiched between layers, as it needs air to cure.
Learn more on our Repairs Guide page.

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