Is there hope for my V3…?

[ltk1144]

Hello, this is my first forum post and I’d first like to thank everyone for their advice I’ve silently read. As much as I’ve enjoyed reading about everyone who finished their packraft in less than 30 hours with no issues, my boat is not the same.

I’ve spent over 50 hours on this yellow V3 and it’s in terrible shape. It inflates, but barely. I don’t understand how anyone has avoided this fate. I had a maddening time even getting the seams to stay in place. Now when I find small air leaks, they easily tear apart into 3 inch holes. On multiple occasions I thought it was almost done, so I used aquaseal to fix leaks. Which has only made it harder to reapply heat.

I really am thinking perhaps I should give up. Even if I do get it to hold air with (I predict) 20 hours more effort, can it be reliable? Doesn’t seem like it.

What can I do with it? Would anyone want a partially completed kit?

Sorry to bring ya down,

Landon 

Topic

[ltk1144]

Thanks Matt and krstahl,

I think I would be interested in letting it go pending some details. I’d be happy to talk directly, sending you a message.

Landon

[Matt (Admin)]

Hi guys, I had to disable direct private messaging between forum members because people were getting too much spam, so if you’d like to connect directly out of the public eye, just send me a message through the contact form and I’ll send you each other’s email addresses. I won’t do that until both parties have requested it though. Sorry for the inconvenience, but even an obscure site like this has to deal with a lot of bots.

Also, I second krstahl’s take on the temperature.

[krstahl]

ltk114,

I would be interested to give it a try if you really have given up on it.  I live in Montana but get down to AZ (Grand Canyon) a couple times a year – no plans to get back there till late September.  The seam in your photo looks like it needs a lot more heat.  If that is the only type of error made then it might be repairable with some effort.  If all the seams are like that then maybe just do them all again with more heat.  If the welds of the tube sections to the floor are like that then maybe the raft would have to be turned inside out somehow.  Or, maybe cut the seams at the center of the joint to reseal the floor welds and then re-do the outer seams with wider seam strips (that can cause wrinkling if the strips are too wide.  Did you check your Black Baron temperature with an oven or meat thermometer?  Mine was set too low (375F) out of the box.  There are directions here on the forum of how to increase the heat for the Black Baron iron by accessing the rheostat.  I had to do that with mine.  I set mine for 405F – 410F.  That made a huge difference.

If you really want to bag it, let me know.

[ltk1144]

Thanks Gustav, I will look into the hotter irons you mentioned. The raft isn’t in the EU though. I’d probably be willing to ship it and take a loss on the materials, but I understand if you don’t want it.

It’s in Arizona, USA for future reference.

[gustav.kraft]

Hi,

Really feel for you. I know that feeling when a project goes sour and you just work in frustration and anger.

If it is in EU I might be interested. But to be totally honest, you wont get all your money back as it is sounds like a gamble. I have built one myself but my brother is also interested in one and I might build it for him as a present.

First I would want some more details on how many of the joints that have glue in them and the status on the floor joints as those will be tricky to go over.

I first used a modified soldering iron but quickly shifted to one of those lether irons. I can use it in 50% temp and highly recomend it for the thicker fabrics and thougher seems.

Still have hope for you and think you should wait a little bit with the decision. Maybe try with a higher temp iron and really let it take the time you need.

If you decide to sell it you will probobly get more money from someone who could inspect it more and pay a correct price so maybe start there.

/Gustav

[ltk1144]

Thanks Matt, I really appreciate this genuine kindness and willingness to help. I have the coverite black baron iron, as recommended, and have been running it on the highest temperature setting. I did spend some time before the construction phase attempting to learn to make solid welds, and it seemed to work. I was able to get pieces bonded to the point of being unable to pull them apart. But I had so much difficulty with the tube-to-tube seam welding that I guess my welds were much lower quality, and I’m having a hard time fixing the mistakes.

If someone really would want to buy it, I think that I would be interested in going that route. If you think it’s possible, what can I do? I’m usually pretty competent at making and fixing things, but it has been rather demoralizing and I’d rather not end up with a construction issue in the wilderness Again, really appreciate the assistance.

Landon

[Matt (Admin)]

Hi Landon, I’m sorry to hear you’re having such a frustrating experience! It sounds like your iron might not be hot enough to fully weld the TPU layers together – after they’re welded it should be impossible for the seams to peel apart in the way you described.

After spending so much time on it already, it would be totally understandable if you just wanted to get rid of it, and I’m sure someone would want to buy your nearly complete packraft.

If you decide you want to give it another try though, first I would revisit the “Finding the Right Temperature” section of the Heat Sealing Technique page (and re-watch the video on that page) to make sure your iron is hot enough. Also remember you need to keep pressure on the welds as they cool so the fabric doesn’t wrinkle and lift up. Then I’d do several test welds on scrap fabric, let them cool fully, and pull them apart to make sure the TPU on the two layers of fabric is actually welding into a single layer that can’t be separated without tearing it away from the woven fabric.

When you’re sure that the iron is actually welding the fabric together, I’d go back to the packraft and give all of the tube-to-tube seams and reinforcing strips a once-over with the iron (and as much of the tube-to floor seams as possible through the zipper). If necessary, tube-to-floor seams can be reinforced from the outside with a strip of fabric. You can iron over Aquaseal without causing any issues – just place a piece of parchment paper between it and your iron (thanks to Stefan for this tip).

The above will likely take several hours, so if you decide you want to sell it I’ll try to help facilitate a sale. Cheers!

[Author]

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