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.

 

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 ...

 

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...

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

....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.

 

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

 

Man I love the buzz you can find answers to anything

THANKS

 

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.

 

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?

 

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.

 

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...

 

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.......

 

As stated above, My maravia is 13+ years old and I bought it from a guide that used, abused, and left it in the sun it for half of those years. And I have put over 400 miles a year on the boat for the last 5 years. The floor gets soooo abused. If this were an NRS boat the floor repair would have been needed as well and near impossible for me to do.. Plus Maravia's are made in Idaho for Idaho boaters..

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

I am in the same boat, just bought a willowa 1 that needed a bunch of work. I glued a 2" bias tape around the entire floor, it was harder than I thought, but worked about 90%. the glue is harder two part urethane glue is harder to use than a hypolon contact type because you need to set it at just the right moment, you will need a lot of mek. I used a quart with 2/3 of a pint of glue. the guys at maraia were very helpful. I just three nights on ruby horse thief and it needed a little air twice a day, at least half of it is the valve, that I cant get parts for. its an obsolete halkey roaberts. I think I am going to use internal sealant because there still a lot of very small leaks that seem silly to patch. then maybee a few coats of urethane.. I used a palm sander with 80 grit for the prep, and had all sorts of gunk to get off. seems like the glue works better if you really let the material get soft with the mek, a pro will give you better advice. I think after two days of messing around with it I got the hang of the glue. I would not to bent the tape around the front and back of the floor, just over lap the tape and do only gentle bends. I mixed the glue using animal syringes for the proportions. . good luck. any one know who has an old deep halkey roberts valve cap?

 

Internal Sealant for Pin-Holes?

I think I am going to use internal sealant because there still a lot of very small leaks that seem silly to patch.

Anyone had any luck with internal sealant on Maravia floors? I have an old Marv that has already been bias taped. It still has pin holes and needs to be either re-urethaned or some sort of slime internal sealant.

 

thanks Luce

the glue I got from them (cartwrights, iirc) is a one-step glue, so no mixing. I guess I put three coats on the tape and the boat (drying between each coat) then, re-activate it with MEK a foot or so at a time as I move down applying tape.

my bias-tape is 3", but cut down the center so 1 1/2" wide. it's $4/foot at 3" wide! pricey!

that's the plan, at least!

 

mek

your glue should be a little easier to use, but I would get a lot of mek on the pieces before the first coat, that's what will facilitate the bond into the patch and boat. I cant recommend enough to use a respirator with voc cartridges. mek is brain melting stuff. I felt it after a day of mucking about with it. I used about 20 pairs of nitrile gloves until I put a pair under a pair of coated fabric nitrile gloves. I also found that I needed to clamp some of my patches..

hope it helps, good luck with the resurrection.

 

Use a heat gun on low and lots of roller action. The roller and the heat will get out any air and really make it bond together. Just don't get it too hot, but heat is a key to success.

 

Maravia floors do leak but it is often from operator error. Most people top off the drop stitch floor until it is hard as a rock. When your floor is this hard you severly stress all of the seams and the drop stitches just having it inflated let alone getting stuck on rocks or loading a bunch of gear on it. I used to top my floor untill it was drum tight but a conversation with my local maravia rep showed me the way. If you leave the floor a little squishy you will greatly extend the life of your floor and avoid what seem to be the common pinhole and seam leaks found in maravias. There is another bonus to a semi squishy floor better tracking. I always felt that marvs tracked like a cereal bowl untill I stopped topping them off and now I find they track as good as an I beam floor. So a coupla tips from a 10 year guide who worked exclusively on maravias.

 

I used to top my floor untill it was drum tight but a conversation with my local maravia rep showed me the way. If you leave the floor a little squishy you will greatly extend the life of your floor and avoid what seem to be the common pinhole and seam leaks found in maravias. There is another bonus to a semi squishy floor better tracking. I always felt that marvs tracked like a cereal bowl untill I stopped topping them off and now I find they track as good as an I beam floor.

Tony, what PSI did your local rep tell you to inflate to? I just got a new Maravia and it is hard for me to not top it off to rock hard.

Thanks.

 

Tony, your right. When I rebuilt my floor I added a pressure releaf valve. I ALWAYS watch the air pressure of my boat. even carry a pressure gage on the river. 2.5 lbs. I never go over 2.5 on the floor. Usually happy around 2lbs. But, I am supprized at the amount of air that builds up in the hot sun.. Thats why I installed a pressure releaf valve.

 

Island marine makes a sealant you might try

Not sure how well it adheres to their urethane. You might call cascade

 

Do you mean this stuff from Inland Marine?
Inland Marine - Sealant

Anyone used it with success?

 

Thats the stuff. I've used it and it works. Just not sure if long term it will separate from maravia material, or if it's a permanent seal