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Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to check in with the forum here and see if anyone is having any similar issues, and if anyone has found a potential fix. The issue only seems to present itself in areas where the non-TPU side of fabric is exposed, allowing for pretty constant wetting out of the fabric (seat, seam strips, tie downs)
For backstory, before assembling the rafts, we did quite a bit of testing to dial in our heat sealing methods, and high stress seams were tested with a bit of force before moving on. All these seams and such held well, and I was confident they wouldn’t tear apart. Now after about 21 days or so on the water in the last year, I’m having TPU to fabric bond failure on seats and attachment points.
The first photo is of the original seat bottom. It takes about 3-5 lbs of force to peel the fabric (which is also fraying) away from the TPU, but I am unable to separate the welded TPU. I feel like I could peel away all the fabric and have a nearly intact mega ultralight seat made of only TPU.
The next one of failing tie-in points. Note I didn’t get the best sealing on the edges as I didn’t want to risk overcooking the actual boat, but this is what the tie-ins look like after 10-12 II-III rapids:
I am guessing the constant water and sunlight exposure is deteriorating the nylon, which then ends up separating from the TPU. For the seat, I have a new kit, and am considering sewing it together, sealing, then sealing the sewn seams– that would essentially just make the TPU an airtight bladder within, which might hopefully last a bit longer. Not sure what to do about the tie-ins, though.
EDIT:
Unfortunately, I’m on a bit of a time crunch– I have an Alaska expedition coming up, and up until the last couple trips our rafts have been relatively bombproof, and what wasn’t bombproof was predictable. Even if I had the cash for new Alpackas, the availability is so thin that getting new rafts before the trip seems to be an impossibility.
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