[Mr Mike]

Completed Telkwa Report

Between Matt’s detailed instructions and scouring the forums I was able to find all of the answers to my build questions. Lots of great information in the forums from other builders thanks!

Including seat, backrest, and tie downs I was 40 hours build time.

I spent extra time carefully fitting and heat sealing where the tube and seam pieces all join at the floor. Only one leak on a floor joint at 3/4 that I hadn’t applied the seam grip. I was able to weld and correct. I found that once the boat was inflated it was easy to check all of the welded seams and edges. I rolled a ball around the inside to use as a form and sealed any loose edges on the seam joints.

I glued on the tube tie down pads with HH-66 adhesive. I tried a couple test patches and it seems to be a very strong bond.

Iron and heat setting – during fabric heat seal testing I was looking for a way to confirm how hot the iron was before beginning on the packraft. I ended up using a thermomelt stick to set-up and monitor the irons temperature. I was able to adjust my iron to be maximum 400F or very close.  I kept the thermomelt on my iron stand to easily check temperature until I was more comfortable with the whole process. I found I would have to watch that the iron would not drop too much temperature when completing the long wide flat tube to floor seams. I would  slow down a bit to keep the iron in the correct heat range.

Mike

[Author]

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