Steve

I’ve fixed the broken link – thanks for bringing it to my attention. Just send me an email if you’ve ordered and want to get your password early

Hi Barbara, this is the only failure I’m aware of, and it’s a good lesson for us all: https://www.diypackraft.com/forums/topic/packraft-failure-near-drowning/

The least stress will be near the tip of the stern, so you could try there. Wherever is convenient should be fine though.

Cool! Excellent work, and thanks for posting!

I don’t know what fabric you’re using, but assuming you’ve tested the welds and you’re satisfied they’re strong, then if you’re careful to avoid leaving any gap where the two pieces meet then it should work out fine. You can’t heat seal a fabric patch over Seam Grip though (or to the inside of the tube fabric, for that matter); instead, I would…[Read more]

Looks good from here (see the “note” on the Heat Sealing page about sealing different fabrics together).

It’s nylon.

Excellent work, and thanks for the update!

I haven’t made one, but the easiest way would be to fold a circle or rectangle of fabric in half and seal the edges together. Add a top-up valve for inflation/deflation, and add at least one attachment point by sandwiching some floor material into the edge as in this seat: https://www.diypackraft.com/construction/how-to/seat-bottom-assembly-late-2020/

Good to know – thanks for the update!

Yep, that’s the stuff.

The “Seam Grip +WP” is the same product that used to be called “Seam Grip” and you’re right – I just checked and “polyurethane” doesn’t appear anywhere on the new tube or packaging.

Most of the content on this site was written before they changed their product names and messed everything up, so I’m going back to add “+WP” everywhere Seam Grip is…[Read more]

Hmm, yeah, that’s a problem. The “+SIL” stuff is “silicone tent sealant”, and will only stick to silicone coated fabrics, not polyurethane. It used to be called “SilNet,” but I guess they changed the name to “Seam Grip+SIL” for some reason. I will add a note to the instructions warning people not to confuse the two. Unfortunately I think you’ll…[Read more]

Interesting… what brand is it? I haven’t seen this with Seam Grip before (or any of the other McNett/Gear Aid polyurethane products), but I have seen it with all the other seam sealants I’ve tried, which is why I recommend the Gear Aid stuff.

I used to only seal around the places where the seam strips intersect with the floor, but in spite of my best efforts I always ended up with at least one leak that I had to track down, and finally I decided that for me (and most people) it is worthwhile to apply seam sealer to the inside of all the seam strips.

Because you have a zipper, it won’t…[Read more]

When figuring out the temperature and timing, I find it helps to hold the iron in one place and count out five seconds, then remove the iron and roll (or press) the spot as it cools. Then check underneath for melt-through before ripping the weld apart to see if it’s bonded fully. If five seconds isn’t right, try six (or four, etc.). If no amount…[Read more]

Hi Blair, it sounds fine to me. If it is 1000D then you should be able to get a good weld without permanently altering the appearance of the fabric – just move a bit faster. It takes some practice to get the timing right. Cheers