raft repair ??

brendodendo · 07-29-2004

I have an Aire Super Puma that has got a small tear in the shell. I was wondering if someone in my area (ASPEN) is knowledgable in fixing this type of rip. If not, are their any tips any one has in repairing the hole. Should I take it to a professional for an expensive fix? I do not believe that the bladder is compromised. any help would be appreciated

Andy H. · 07-30-2004

With as many outfitters as there are in Glenwood, that would be the first place I'd look. Get the yellow pages out and start calling their 800 numbers, and ask around. If there's no one there, Denver may be where you'll have to look. A couple of things to consider:

- if the boat's fairly new, you'll probably want to preserve the value as much as you can and a crappy looking patch won't help on that aspect,

- will the extra bucks you shell out for a professional patch job still pain you as much as looking at a sloppy patch in a year or two?

- how soon do you want to get back onto the water?

That said, if you bring it to Denver, Downriver Equipment's right there off Ward Road as you come into the metro area on I-70 and you can drop it with them rather than plunge headlong into the belly of the beast. If you do decide to go further into the city there's AAA Inflatables downtown or Inflatable Technologies down in the south part of Denver. They're all competent shops.

SYOTR,

--Andy

bkp77 · 07-30-2004

I'm far from an expert on Aire warranty repairs stuff but I think if you ship it up to them on your dime they do the repair for free. They weld the patch which is the best looking/ most solid patch you are going to get for PVC. Give them a call and see what the deal is, ya know? Can't hurt.

cstork · 07-30-2004

AIRE has good customer service and most of their boats have good warranties, but the warranties explicitly exclude "abrasion", which makes sense.

whip · 07-30-2004

Whitewater Rafting rocks (Glenwood) They stock more gear/supplies.
Do lots of repairs on their gear and are super friendly. I order everything
from them pretty much.

bkp77 · 07-30-2004

yeah, i checked out aire's warranty for kicks:

"10-year Warranty
We are so confident in our products that we back them up with the best inflatable warranty in the world. The 10-year warranty covers all the costs of fixing your boat, including labor and materials. If you have a problem, send your boat to AIRE, and well fix it for free. If its our fault, we pay return shipping; if its pilot error, you pay return shipping."

basically, they do fix it for free but you pay all the shipping cost cuz it was 'pilot error'. fair enough.

brendodendo · 07-31-2004

thanks for the imput. by the way, how is a weld on patch applied. Is it actually heat. Still new to this game, so i better learn now.

One can not gain knowledge or wisdom without being first given the chanse to learn. -BP

puma2fish · 07-31-2004

I would not send your boat to Aire for a small patch. It is pretty easy to do, if you call Down River, they can send you everything you need, some MEK and glue. I have a superpuma too and put a 4 foot rip in mine. For that I sent it back($150 round trip). I used to work at Down River and if you want them to fix it, they can do it. What is great about Aire's is that you can patch it on the inside. Then there is nothing ugly on the outside. If you have more questions, feel free to ask...
-puma2fish

bkp77 · 07-31-2004

I wish I could remember where I read this but I think they use sound or radio waves for the weld. I'd be surprised if they used heat. Hopefully someone with more certain knowledge on this stuff will chime in...

Fedex ground or even lesser known dhl are both cheaper ways to ship than UPS.