Repairing A Tear In Yurt Sidewall

zapple · 09-26-2017, 01:09 PM

Howdy Amigos,

I found a small tear on the wall of my purple Nesting Bird yurt that needs some love.

Tear is about 8" long right next to a seam on the side wall. I believe these are canvas walls.

Any thoughts or best practices for going about fixing something like this?

Thanks!

Zap

Bob Rowlands · 09-27-2017, 07:17 PM

Here's a bombproof repair. Pro raft companies use this stuff on their rafts. I've used many tubes of the stuff over the years and it is STRONG adhesive.

Get a couple tubes of 'Aquaseal' urethane adhesive. About $10 with the Cotol accelerator. Since you aren't going to remove the cover to lay it flat, use the cotol accelerator to shorten cure time to a couple hours instead of 24 hours.

Clean the tear with alcohol. Cut two strips of material that are say five inches longer than the rip and about two inches wider. Cover the patch with a fat bead of glue. Spread it with a finger so it is buttered up all over. It is runny for awhile. Glue a patch to either side of that rip. Do one side then the other. If there is two of you do both sides at once. If the rip is on any kind of vertical surface you'll have to stay there awhile and keep the glue in the patch. Once cured this Aquaseal is mind blowing strong. I've used it at least a dozen times on everything from work boots to tent flies. Never had an fails. This product is BOMBPROOF. Have fun!

Bob Rowlands · 09-27-2017, 07:20 PM

Forgot, get yourself some throw away latex gloves unless you don't mind having gnarly fingers like me. lol

Bob Rowlands · 09-29-2017, 12:00 PM

As for testimony of strength of this type of adhesive, Feathercraft Folding Kayak hulls $$$$$ are made with material that is fully impregnated with urethane during its manufacture. SOTAR rafts and cats $$$$$ are made with similar material albeit a heavier base material.

I coat the toe of my work boots with it. The toe lasts forever. I kid you not. You guys need to try this stuff. I use it on all outdoor gear that needs a seam seal, and/or reinforcement. No fails, ever. This product is to sealant and glue as a yurt is to tents. The best, ever.

zapple · 09-29-2017, 06:04 PM

Thanks for the ideas Bob! I had another (completely toxic also) solution in mind, but I will check out the Aquaseal.

I stopped by my friend's sail loft earlier today and scored a scrap of patch material. Raining today so I have to get on this puppy.

Thanks again,

Zap

zapple · 10-07-2017, 04:53 PM

Repair update:

I ended up using a product called Prime Adhere. It's a roofing product but found it worked well during the install of my side wall B-vent flashing on the yurt. Repair went super smooth and rain fell the day after the repair was made. Hooray!

Thanks for your thoughts!

Zap