Just thought i'd through a rave out there for a product.
I have been rocking Fiberfix Flex Patch on a crack on my boat for 4 months and it's holding up great. Highly recommended for throwing in the patch kit for interior side repair.
That's so serendipitous that you post this today! I was actually testing different patch material today! Tyvek tape to be exact. There was a 5" tear all the way through the material on a thwart. I didn't put an inside patch, I just put a single 8" piece over the area. I aired it up to the recommended 3psi and it held with no deformation at the cut. The tape held perfectly. The tear didn't show any signs of the air pressure that was inside.
So I figured...... let's see what this tape can do....... thwarts are cheap enough to replace.....
I put that baby up to 6psi and it held! I was shocked! I couldn't believe that the adhesive held so well! In all honesty, I didn't leave it at that pressure long but the fact that it held at all is impressive.
The tape is still on the thwart at 3psi. I want to see it's long term use/damage/wear. Also the effect, if any, the adhesive has to the material. I'll post updates as the results come back.
I'm not recommending any Tyvek tape yet. I'm still testing its durability, "permanence", and if it leaves a residue when removed to do the repair. Most of my time doing repairs is spent cleaning the area first. The repair is actually really fast compared to the cleaning needed to do a repair correctly.
I am not recommending Tyvek at this point. My opinion is still out on it.
If you want to give it a try yourself, on your own liability, it was the clear 1.88" tape.
Tyvek sounds awesome, I'm going to look into it for throwing some pieces in the just in case bag. Might be nice for those of us with OC1 friends who're always repairing float bags too.
FiberFix Flex Tape/Patches are 1 time use per package
i just saw the info on not being able to reuse FiberFix in comments on the FiberFix website. Also, several users were surly about receiving material that was not usable (suspected the packaging had been damaged), so be sure to check the flexibility of your tape/patches when you buy it, protect the packaging from punctures, and use it all at once!
On the Tyvek tape, other reviewers agreed that the white tape with blue lettering was superior and that it can become permanent if not removed for a permanent patch. Alpaca echoes this warning in their repair instructions for their packrafts.
I think the original post was about patching over a crack in a hard shell kayak...so it definitely doesn't need to be as flexy for that application and is probably why the FiberFix stuff worked well.
For inflatables...its hard to pass up just using Tear Aid, which is the stuff most Rafting Manufacturers recommend and include in the patch kits they provide with the boat (at least my Hysides and Aires do). Tear Aid is great because its stretchy, sticks well, but is still easily removable for when you want to do a real repair once you get home.
The Tyvek stuff is great for general "durable temporary wildnerness repair" though...just might be a bigger pain in the ass to remove later. Talk to a friend that does house construction...they often have a few partial roles left over in their truck after a job.
Totally agreed, with the twist that the tyvek is durable and sticky enough that (unless you don't like the white tape on your boat) it can be left on as a permanent fix.
I've used Tyvek Tape to repair cracks in a hard shell kayak with excellent success. In fact I had a Pyranha Ammo that had an 8" crack under the seat. I pulled the seat, drilled out the ends of the crack and filled it with Aquaseal. Then covered both sides of the crack with Gorilla Tape and then put a couple strips of Tyvek Tape over the Gorilla Tape inside the cockpit. That thing was 100% water tight for 2 more full seasons of heavy use before I voluntarily retired it.
Home Depot carries the Tyvek Tape with lettering right next to the Tyvek. Usually at the back of the Building Materials section.
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