Using Cordura and 3M 9485 for packraft

[Benjamin]

For a lack of Tpu coated Nylon 66 here in Europe I was thinking about ordering the packraft plans on this website and some Pu coated Cordura from Extrem Textil. Instead of heat sealing the fabric I had the idea to use the 3m 9485 seam tape which is supposed to be extremely strong and watertight. In different forums people say the material itself fails before the seam rips apart, it sticks very well to all kinds of synthetic fabrics such as Nylon, cuben fiber and also Pu coatings.

Wondering how legit this Idea is and if anybody has experience with using this tape as a seam for boats.

Topic

[Mike]

A friend and I made a different style ultra lite raft out of Cuban Fiber and a Cuban Fiber adhesive tape.  The raft went together well, weighed 8 ounces and held air nicely for a while.  the problem we ran into is the tape let the fabric bond creep when under pressure.  It was a slow process but the raft failed in a short time on the water.  I would test to be sure the tape you plan to use will hold as well as a fabric weld, which I think it will not unfortunately.  Do some tests with scraps of fabric taped together and sheer force pulling them apart.

Mike

[Benjamin]

That’s what I was afraid of. I will definitely try it out first before making a raft. The guy from http://www.cubenmaker.com uses aquaseal to additionally protect the seams from peel forces this might also make a difference.

[Author]

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