Drysuit Repair advice??
Tore a cuff on my drysuit, not time to get it mailed off to be fixed before tradewinds, Company is gonnna send me a new wrist gasket seal so I can do it myself. Anyone got any advice on how to do this well?

Did a set of seals a few years back and followed the advice of the seal vendor (Murray's). They sent me a tube of AquaSeal with instructions on how to do the job. From memory, I cut the seal off the suit, but did not remove the part still adhereing to the suit...just the exposed section. Turned the sleeve/ankle/neck area inside-out and formed it over a suitable size plastic tub (like a margarine container or big plastic jar. Select a size that lets the suit seal area fit snugly in place with no wrinkles. I put wax paper of the container first and held it in place with masking tape. The wax paper is to prevent the adhesive from sticking to the container. Scuffed up the inner surface of the remaining attached latex section with a bit of sand paper, then cleaned thoroughly with IsoPropyl Alcohol (common rubbing alcohol). Apllied a thin/smooth coat of the AquaSeal to the now exposed old latex seal area on the suit. Slide the new seal on to that same section. Wrapped a layer of wax papaer over the circumference of the new seal followed by a wrap or two of masking tape (this was to help hold everything together during the set period of several hours).

Afer all is done, trim the small end of the new seal to suit your wrist/ankle/neck diameter...if you look closely you can usually see small lines embossed in the latex to help make straight cuts.

Mike.

P.S., Thanks for your question...it reminded me I need to do my seals ASAP...might be off to the OCR in a couple of weeks.

Outerwear Repair
604 Opening Hill Road, Madison, CT 06443
(800) 595-8552 Phone/Fax; (203) 421-8485 Phone/Fax
Email: outerwearrepair@sbcglobal.net

Kokatat has some pretty detailed instructions on their website you can download.

www.kokatat.com

Amigo's Drysuit repair called me back and did a rush job.
www.drysuit-repair.com/
Nice Guy, does his work on the weekends and does quick turnaround.
Should have it tommorrow, Also found a leak I didn't know I had and patched it Free.
Had the Neck Seal Done while he had it, it was beginning to deteriorate too. Was a bit Pricey, I am gonna have about $155 in Repairs and postage when it's all said and done.
Putting Kokatat seals in, supposedly they're more durable than the ones Gill supplied.
There's the Big Question:
How can I take better care of the Latex so I don't have to go through this again soon.

Cary,

Clean your drysuit in fresh water and apply 303 to seals and store inside away from heat. You can find care and cleaning instructions at the Kokatat site.

well you could start off by spilling less beer on it :P

Nothing destroys latex like contact with oil (well, maybe scissors). If your seals are made of latex, then the best way to preserve them is to keep them clean. After use, wash them with a mild detergent and use a preservative made for latex (as mentioned earlier).

Good luck and good sailing,
Eric

Cary, get some Aqua Seal. Rick may even have it in his online store, otherwise, order it from Treyline!