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How to Locate and Repair Leak in a RIB - Educate Me

Discussion in 'Tenders & Dinghies' started by DOCKMASTER, May 2, 2022.

  1. DOCKMASTER, May 2, 2022
    #1
    DOCKMASTER

    DOCKMASTER Senior Member

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    I have a 14' Novurania RIB I carry on my bow and it has had a nuisance leak for a number of years in the aft port chamber. We have doused this thing in soapy water so many times but cannot find a leak. We have tested the fill valves, even replaced them to no avail. We tried to put slime in it to see if it would correct but no luck. It's weird, sometimes it will hold air perfectly for weeks at a time. Other times it goes soft in a few days. It's easy enough to pump up with the foot bellows when I use it so I'm not worried about that. But the cover gets lose once the chamber gets too soft so kind of a pain to open the cover to fill it up. Any tips or tricks? I suspect the leak may be where the chamber fits into the slot on the hard bottom and hence why we can't find it. I sourced a replacement pontoon from Novurania but heck, I can almost buy a whole new boat for what they want for the pontoon. I'm worried if I try to remove the existing pontoon from the bottom that it will be damaged and then have to replace. Unfortunately, there are no dealers or repair shops in my area.
    In some of the sand tires we use on our off road toys there is an old trick using Staflo laundry starch to seal leaks. Anyone use this in a RIB pontoon? Something else work better?
  2. Capt Ralph, May 2, 2022
    #2
    Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Is this chamber supporting a seat? An oar point? transom end?
    If not sunburned, a leak adjoining the above parts would of course be suspect.
    Comes & goes when that area is stressed just rite?

    West marine sells the stuff like fix a flat. The trick is, you have to pick up the rib and invert it a bunch of times to coat the inside of the tube.

    Are you sure it is not the safety valve blowing during the heat of the day, then thru the cool night, the next morning it looks deflated?
  3. DOCKMASTER, May 2, 2022
    #3
    DOCKMASTER

    DOCKMASTER Senior Member

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    Does not support anything. All the seats are part of the hard bottom. No oar locks or anything similar. It is the aft chamber so it connects to the transom but it doesn't support anything. The outboard is all mounted to the rigid hull.

    "heat of the day" That made me laugh. A heat wave in Ketchikan in 70 degrees. And this is the only chamber that does this. It is also the least exposed to sun when we do get an occasional sunny day.
  4. Capt Ralph, May 2, 2022
    #4
    Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Well, That's all I had.
  5. cleanslate, May 2, 2022
    #5
    cleanslate

    cleanslate Senior Member

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    Trash it!
    Replace it with a nice old 1980s 15’ Boston Whaler with a 70 hp Honda 4s.

    There all fixed.
  6. DOCKMASTER, May 2, 2022
    #6
    DOCKMASTER

    DOCKMASTER Senior Member

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    Would be nice but too heavy I'm sure.
  7. cleanslate, May 2, 2022
    #7
    cleanslate

    cleanslate Senior Member

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    Hmmm…maybe not.
    Will be interesting to look that up and see.

    It might be close…
  8. DOCKMASTER, May 2, 2022
    #8
    DOCKMASTER

    DOCKMASTER Senior Member

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    Its just a nuisance leak. Not anything to cause me to want to replace the thing.
  9. cleanslate, May 2, 2022
    #9
    cleanslate

    cleanslate Senior Member

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    depending on the model of your Rib
    450/480 dry weight

    15’ old whaler dry 580lb.
    Just a quick search.

    not a big difference to me. Air is a PIA.
  10. MBevins, May 2, 2022
    #10
    MBevins

    MBevins Senior Member

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    I had the same boat, would be a cold day in hell that I trashed that boat. Suspect you are correct it is tube to fbgls leak. Probably you will end up just living with it until it gets worse then you'll be able to find it.
    Check with the factory as to how high a pressure you can safely put in it. Doing so might make the leak a little more prevalent.
    cleanslate likes this.
  11. cleanslate, May 2, 2022
    #11
    cleanslate

    cleanslate Senior Member

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    I got ya.
    Just a little levity that’s all…

    most certainly I would keep what you’ve got.
    I used to use “Monkey Grip” on my old bike inner tubes maybe that will work if you can find the leak! That stuff held!
    Lol.
  12. Slimshady, May 4, 2022
    #12
    Slimshady

    Slimshady Senior Member

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    Can you put a little bit of freon in it and use a sniffer to narrow down leak location?
    I know freon is flammable but just a little and flush with air once done.
    Or for you safety conscience folks add water with food coloring.
  13. DOCKMASTER, May 6, 2022
    #13
    DOCKMASTER

    DOCKMASTER Senior Member

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    Not sure about the freon thing. I would have to locate freon and a sniffer. The colored water might work. Of course, getting all the water back out will likely be a PITA.
  14. Slimshady, May 6, 2022
    #14
    Slimshady

    Slimshady Senior Member

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    Didn't know if you had the equipment. Just a little freon, the rest air would work well. The sniffers are sensitive. Only issues with water is the weight, making sure it is supported when filling.
    Pump will get most of it out, followed by shop vac with adapter for small hose thru the fill valve.
  15. abfish, May 15, 2022
    #15
    abfish

    abfish New Member

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    I could not find a leak in my inflatable, despite numerous attempts in my garage using soapy water (same thing tire techs use).

    As a last ditch effort, I bought a gallon of Slime Tire Sealant from Walmart ($25). Used as directed, spent 20 minutes or so flipping the dinghy over and over. Problem solved, now holds air for months.