[BLott]

I have a 1996 Maravia Williwaw 1 (14' SB). I just bought it, used, (with full knowledge) that the floor leaks.

I want to try to repair this myself. It is a laced-in floor, and where the non-inflated perimeter meets the inflated portion of the floor, the material turns ~90 degrees (more like 70*). Not everywhere, but in a lot of places there are cracks developing up and down this corner...one is so big you can hear it hissing. The rest of the boat holds air beautifully.

The old owner put Silicone caulk in some of the places, which is peeling out easily, and doesn't seem to help.

I spoke to Maravia, and they recommend Bias Tape. I know nothing about repairing rafts (especially PVC/Urethane) but I'm good with tools and can be fairly meticulous.

What do you think? I'm thinking getting all of the silicone out, cleaning the area with a brush and MEK. then applying the bias tape with a (hopefully) one step glue.

any other ideas? a new floor from maravia is $1000, so if I could repair it to make it last a year or two that would be great. i got the boat for a good deal, so I'm not to stressed.

thanks!

 

[mttodd]

Sounds like you are on the right track. I would do exactly what the guys at maravia told you. They have repaired hundreds of older boats like yours. I would suggest applying the two part urethane they sell on top the bais tape repair after it has cured. That stuff will hold air by itself and will reinforce your fix by a large factor. It is a little pricey but worth the money. They recommend it for the repair of pinhole leaks by itself.

 

[slamkal]

anyone have experience using Aquaseal for this type of fix? Seems to work great on everything else --- heck I've even used it to fix nylon gym bags where the strap started to tear off the bag ......

but I have no experience with it patching Maravia floors so I'd defer to them ...

 

[gwheyduke]

You can patch those spots as you would a normal leak as well. If you have a lot of area to clean up a dremel with a sanding spool on it works really well. I bought a 1992 Maravia, before I bought a pump, so i found out the hard way that it is always better to buy a pump first, then a boat. ~ 85 patches later, the floor holds air for the entire day. At least I have a good training boat if new people want to learn...

 

[mttodd]

Aqua seal doesn't have any uv protection in it. It is clear and will degrade in sunlight after too long. I tried some on a yeti seat pad(pos) that got torn. It yellowed and got stiff within the summer. Don't think it would be a good long term solution for raft repair.

 

[BLott]

cool. thanks for the advice. I do have a dremel, and that's a good idea. the silicone on there is going to make the job a little harder.

Thanks to all. I'll look into the urethane coating that Maravia sells.

Otherwise, the boat looks great. huge tubes, holds air, only a patch or two on the floor and one on the boat.

 

[troutfish]

Hi a couple of questions related to this type of issue, I bought a 1991 Maravia Ranger floor has a slow leak ( pin hole) but holds air overnight. Got a great deal on it and I'm psyched

I just cleaned and scrubbed it with boat cleaner and then 303'd the snot out of it. It holds air great everywhere else. There are a some frame marks from the emt frame that I could not get out (not hugely woried it's a different style home made EMT frame which has bars inside the tubes that's where the rub is) Hope to have gary build me a frame soon.

One thing that I have noticed is the rubber on the tubes seems to be a tiny bit abrasive I assume this is just an age thing, I don't exactly know how to describe it other than abrasive and not "shiny/smooth" from what I read in other posts it doesn't seem to be white like it's oxidizing is this something I should be worried about??

Wish it would stop snowing here
thanks

 

[gwheyduke]

Maravia adds a sand to their coating so that the boats aren't slippery. Nothing to worry about.

 

[Wadeinthewater]

....1991 Maravia Ranger.... the rubber on the tubes seems to be a tiny bit abrasive I assume this is just an age thing, I don't exactly know how to describe it other than abrasive and not "shiny/smooth"

I have an 1989 Maravia (bought new and going strong). It has always had a bit of texture, mostly on top of the tubes. I believe Maravia did that on purpose when they sprayed on the urethane so the tubes wouldn't be so slippery.

 

[troutfish]

Man I love the buzz you can find answers to anything

THANKS

 

[dirtbagkayaker]

Hey I have a 13 foot maravia about the same year/model. Same issue. I taped it up about 4 years ago. I didn't have much luck. It seems that the floor was leaking everywhere. Pin holes and seams. It was a mess. I bought urethane paint and drill sanding bits from "man of rubber" and did the top and bottem of the floor with the primer and coating combo with a brush. I also replaced all the gromlets, added a pressure relief valve, and a new valve. I have put 400+ miles on the boat since and it was the cure. Its like new again. I think the total rebuild cost under $300 and It looks good too.

 

[gwheyduke]

Can you explain your process for replacing the grommets? I have a couple of leaks from the edges of the grommets which I was told means the seam on the inside of the boat is leaking. Fixing that would require I cut open the floor, re-glue the seam and then re-glue the floor. Given all the drop stitching in that floor, that sounds pretty difficult. Did you have any leaks from the grommets before you replaced them? I assume they were fixed when you replaced them?

 

[rg5hole]

my buddy REZ had this problem, could NOT FIX IT. Went as far as coating the floor totally with crazy epoxy then when that did not work too it to Jacks Plastic Welding to no avail.

Called Maravia and they hooked his ass UP!

Now he has a new floor...

 

[dirtbagkayaker]

Can you explain your process for replacing the grommets? I have a couple of leaks from the edges of the grommets which I was told means the seam on the inside of the boat is leaking. Fixing that would require I cut open the floor, re-glue the seam and then re-glue the floor. Given all the drop stitching in that floor, that sounds pretty difficult. Did you have any leaks from the grommets before you replaced them? I assume they were fixed when you replaced them?

Your right. The floor did leak right where you discribed. But the gromlet were NOT causing any leaks. The gromlets hold the two pieces of material together and provide a lacing point. No air holding capabilities what so ever. I cut the brass gromlets out with side cutters. I believe that the seam is welded from the inside but did leak. However. I painted the inside of the two pieces of floor material and smashed them together before the paint completly dried and was still tacky. Then put the new gromlets in. I got the gromlets at home depot with a tool and puch to install them. Lacying/unlacying is actually simple and quick. I did remove the floor. The whole process took about two weeks. But only because I let the paint cure for 10 days before I restiched it in the boat. With all that said "THE FLOOR STILL LEAKS" but very slowly. I top it off in the am and it takes a pump or two mid day.

 

[Moon]

Wow, I was looking at buying a new Maravia but sounds like I should look at other boats if there are this many problems with the floors.......

 

[gwheyduke]

Moon,

At least in my case, the boat I bought had been mis-used severely. Drug around, scraped over barbed wire, etc... Again, I should have just bought a pump before I got a boat. I knew it needed patches, but not as many as I have put on. Otherwise, i think it is a pretty nice boat for what it's worth.

 

[Moon]

How is their customer service when the boat is under warranty?? Do they cut a deal if the boat is out of warranty?? Just wondering, didnt mean to hijack the thread.

 

[cataraftgirl]

The Maravia rafts that are being talked about on this thread are 14 - 20 years old. I love my Maravia and would never buy anything else. They are well made, and Maravia stands behind their product.
My friend's 11 yr. old Willy 1 developed it's first slow leak last summer. In the floor, in a crease from rolling it up. He did a temporary fix with Tear Aid, then Maravia did a permanent fix for him in the off season.
The rough texture on the top tube is on purpose like others have mentioned.
KJ

 

[troutfish]

Maravia has been great with me as far a customer service. I asked them a ton of questions about my almost 20 yr old raft and they were really helpful. That alone really impressed me my boat was a commercial rig then it got rebuilt in the factory and then once by a shop (just a couple of small patches). Most people I talk to sing nothing but praises about their rafts and the quality.

 

[BLott]

yeah, I am definitely not bad-mouthing Maravia, or my boat.

This is a commercially used boat that is 15 years old. The tubes still hold air and the boat looks great

Today I called maravia, and they were super helpful, even talked to the repair guy on the phone who talked-me through the whole repair process.

great customer service and one tough looking boat.