• UL finished. The centre seam weld at the stern was not up to the quality of the others, so I decided to use some Seam Grip there, but otherwise I avoided it altogether. Happy to report that it is holding pressure. No leaks.

  • Sorry for the delay in replying. To answer your question, yes I did seal the inside of the seams with the Seam Grip. Now that I’ve just finished another boat (UL), I believe I made two mistakes on the Skeena: not consistent with my linger time when welding, not using a good enough bowl/jig to shape the seams at either end. Lessons learnt. Not had…[Read more]

  • Thanks. To try and minimize leaks, I actually reinforced all the points where the seam strip intersects the floor with a small TPU patch. I’m feeling brave. Think I’ll try without sealing and fix through T-Zip if needed. I’ll report back.

  • I’ve completed welding all tubes/seams on either side of an UL, so only bow and stern seams remaining. It’s my second build and this time around I took more time to make sure the welds were tidy. I think they look good. I am at the stage where I should seal the seams, but I am wondering if I really need to. It will add a little weight and a little…[Read more]

  • Ah. I just found the link to installing the zipper on the UL, which covers both the position and orientation. I’ll get my coat.

  • Currently building an UL and really enjoying it. The 115 GSM TPU is much easier for me to work with compared with the 250 GSM used with the Skeena. The thinner, more translucent material allows me to visually gauge the weld and so provides more confidence in the overall quality of the build. It’s also faster to assemble as the heat from the iron…[Read more]

  • Skeena maiden voyage yesterday on Bronte Creek, ON. The boat performed very well. This was my first diy packraft and I thought I’d post some thoughts whilst it’s still fresh.

    First off, I’d like to say thanks to Matt for making all of this possible. What a blast. The boats are well engineered, the instructions are clear and there’s a great…[Read more]

  • Thanks for the response. That totally makes sense. It was the fact that the heavier fabric is coated on both sides that I’d missed. I was able to build confidence by watching the videos, but found myself pausing the videos at various points to check if the floor was shiny side up or down. My Alpacka has the floor shiny side up, which was also…[Read more]

  • Newbie here with what is probably an obvious question. So I’ve got my Skeena pieces cut out. Got my tools ready. Tested my welding technique. Watched a bunch of videos. Feeling more or less ready to start welding my first DIY packraft. I have this nagging question. When you are joining two pieces of fabric, is there a principal that guides how the…[Read more]

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