What's the best way to repair a blow up port on a rubber raft? A heavy duty raft, the port section fell out?

Question

There is a 2.5" hole made in the material, and the blow up section with the air valve has a rubber flange and was glued into the material. I don't know if I should clean it and use rubber cement, or what would work better. Some good info on this from someone who knows how to do a durable repair would be very helpful. No speculation or guesses because if it comes out in the middle of the lake with a motor on the raft it will be a real problem, possibly life threatening to my children, so if you don't know don't act like you do for the points as so many do here. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

It's too hard to say for sure.  One thing to make sure of is that you have the correct type of cement and patch material for the specific material the boat is made of.  Fore instance, I use Shore Adhesive for Hypalon and neoprene repairs, but I use StaBond or Vynabond for PVC boats.  The adhesive needs to be compatible.  Try contacting the manufacturer or a local paddle shop to get specifics before you do something you can't undo.