foam in inflatable pontoon

[richard beberman]

I have had a constant problem with air leaking from the rear pontoon of my RIB and was thinking about the possibility of just filling the pontoon with a two part expandable foam . Any suggestions or advise would be greatly appreciated
Dick Beberman - Catch 22

[SecondWind]

West Marine sells a sealant, sloshed inside of the tube, about $60.00/qt, or you can buy a gallon of tire sealant at Wal-Mart for about $30.00. You need to put it in. re-pressurize, and turn the dinghy such that the leak is at the low point to use this stuff. U've seen many repairable dinghies ruined with expandable foam.

[maxicrom]

Dick,

If it is leaking the foam will eventually take on moisture and you'll end up with a 400 lb dinghy. Is there no way to locate the leak? If it is in a seam then the sealer is probably the only way to fix it. A good way to find a leak is to pump the dinghy up hard, best on a sunny day when the air will expand. In shallow water fill the dinghy up with water - most of the invisible areas (inside and outside) will be submerged and leaks will have visible bubbles. Any top or side leaks bubbles can be located by pouring water over the dinghy. When the dinghy is full of water any valve leaks will be apparent, this could be done on land (or in a swimming pool if you have access). A small tube puncture in an exposed area is best patched and a better fix than the sealer. It's a pain one way or the other - but I know many folks that have returned to the inflatable shop multiple times for a "professional" job. Even using a pro it's best if you have already located the source of the issue.

MB

[Page 83]

We used a foam-filled rib as a coach's boat at the Naval Academy. A bad idea at best, it was the saddest looking excuse for floatsam I had seen in a long time. It got so water-logged that the 90 hp outboard could barely plane the poor thing with one person on board. It was a bad idea to begin with, and then got worse!

[Ed Ellis]

If you can't repair the leak yourself, as a last result, you can always take it to a dinghy repair shop. I've bit the bitter, swallowed my humility, and resorted to using a pro once when I had a leak right on a seam and couldn't fix it myself... I'm so glad I did.
Ed

[richard beberman]

thanks for the information , it was just a thought, but both of you changed my mind and I had the leaks patched and the dinghy still gets on a plane - Richard Beberman