Matt (Admin)

mttgilbert replied 1 year, 3 months ago

is there a way to tell between the two batches? I got a kit six months ago and haven’t put it together yet. Should I just to put it together with Pex out of an abundance of caution?
- Matt (Admin) replied 1 year, 3 months ago
  
  I don’t think there’s an easy way to tell, but the stiffener is something that you insert and remove each time you use the packraft, so you don’t really need to worry about it beforehand – if it’s not stiff enough to keep the skirt on when you get to that point then you can replace it.
BigFatRick replied 1 year, 2 months ago

Thanks for addressing this issue, Matt. I found that with 1/2″ PEX-b for combing, the spray skirt stays fairly well attached to the spray deck through class III. However, it’s still far from dry in that boat. As my body rotates while paddling through whitewater, the waist shock-cord tends to drop down my waist until it sits quite low. Water then pools on the skirt and slowly drips through my shirt and into the cockpit. After running my local 2 mile stretch of whitewater, I had 50-70lbs of water in the boat. So while it won’t negate the need for a drysuit in cold conditions, it does at least prevent having to get out & dump the boat after every rapid. I think my next adjustment will be adding shoulder straps to the skirt to keep it higher on my waist. After that, I may look at aquasealing the holes along the deck where the tube-fabric-joining strips prevent a seal, as you suggest in the tutorial.
- Uncle Fred replied 1 year, 1 month ago
  
  I found the same issue with the skirt. You can correct this by adding adjustable straps to your skirt. These will prevent the skirt from gradually shifting down. I also found I needed to add additional fabric panels to offer more ‘give’ to the skirt, allowing me to shift around in the boat a bit more without putting tension on the skirt.

kdfisher replied 1 year, 3 months ago

Great Video. I’m just about to start assembling my second packraft and I know my sealing technique needs improvements. After using he first packraft a few times I found the edge of the seams would develop little bubbles of delamination between the TPU layers which I spot hit with the iron. I think not having to move the iron back and forth along the seams during the sealing will help me get a better initial weld.

itxhinwil replied 1 year, 2 months ago

Do you have any instructions for using the Masterseal instead of the Superseal. I have two Masterseals lying around from another project. I don’t need one of them and would like to use it for my Telkwa, maybe as seen in a customer build in the center of the rear seam.
- Matt (Admin) replied 1 year, 2 months ago
  
  I haven’t made specific instructions yet, but you can either install it the same way as a SuperSeal or you can iron it directly to the tube fabric from the “inside” side of the tube. You will be on your own if you want to install it in a seam, at least for the time being, as I haven’t done that yet myself.
Matt (Admin) replied 9 months, 1 week ago

Sorry, I don’t know anything about that. Maybe ask Kipara?
Matt (Admin) replied 9 months ago

These zippers cannot be shortened like a regular zipper, they have to be ordered in the desired length from the factory.
Uncle Fred replied 8 months, 3 weeks ago

This is great. I could see these zippers being very nice for bow bags and ultralight builds. I was hoping Matt could offer a few master seals in a couple of different lengths.

Matt (Admin) replied 1 year, 5 months ago

Personally, I am only skilled enough for class 2 whitewater, but skilled paddlers have used DIY packrafts in class 4 rivers. More on this here: https://www.diypackraft.com/faq/whitewater-capabilities-of-diy-packrafts/

JYP replied 1 year, 6 months ago

Seems like a large round log of firewood might have a similar radius. Could that work instead?
- Matt (Admin) replied 1 year, 6 months ago
  
  If you cut off a thin slice and sand the edge smooth then yes, but if it’s too long it will not work in corners and if it’s not smooth then you won’t get even pressure under the iron… I think a scrap of lumber would be easier to make serviceable.
Matt (Admin) replied 2 months, 1 week ago

The exact dimensions aren’t critical, but it helps if the radius of the form is about the same as the curve you’re working on (or a bit less), so for the DIY Packraft tubes the radius should be about 5 1/2″, and the width of the form should be about the same as the width of the seam strip (30 mm in the case of the DIY Packrafts). There are some other tips posted on this page (scroll down): https://www.diypackraft.com/proper-heat-sealing-technique/

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