I busted a seam under the arm of a new Nylon drytop. Its about 1.5" long along the seam and is torn right through. I was wondering If anyone has some advice on how to fix the hole. Since its on the seam, I’m worried that just patching it wont be enough to stop it from splitting in the future.
Here’s my tentative plan:
tape the outside of the rip to keep everything in place.
turn inside out and seal the hole with aquaseal and a small patch, let set
sew the patch to the jacket making sure the thread helps pull the rip/seam together
use a bigger patch and aquaseal to cover the smaller patch and stitching on the inside and use a small amount of aquaseal to cover the outside stitching
Ive never done this before so any input is appreciated
Is the fabric “just” coated Nylon, or are we talking about a breathable fabric sandwich like Goretex?
I ask because I’ve owned various drytops over the years, and when I bought my first two, the fabrics were not a breathable sandwich, but just coated Nylon.
Now, it isn’t easy to find a true drytop (latex gaskets at neck and wrists, double tunnel to mate to sprayskirt) in a single layer, non-breathing fabric. And repair to fabrics like Goretex is a little different.
Your approach could work, but I’d probably try it without the sewing. Aquaseal and the thinner Seamgrip are quite adhesive. And I might try a single layer patch, so I don’t have such a stiff patch around the arm.
If yours is a “name” brand, inquire as to their repair service. Kokatat, for example, fixes them.