What are Bombard boats made of?
PVC. Short for polyvinyl chloride, it’s a synthetic plastic polymer. PVC comes in two basic forms, a rigid and flexible one. PVC is used for all kinds of things, sewage pipes, clothing, furniture, toys, and of course, inflatable boats.
What material is used for inflatable boat?
Inflatable boats were mostly made with rubber for a long time. However, nowadays, most of the boats are made of plastic polymers like PVC (polyvinyl chloride fabric). New materials, such as Hypalon or Neoprene are synthetic rubbers that are gaining momentum due to higher resistance and efficiency.
How do I know if my inflatable is PVC or Hypalon?
Hypalon is glued, with lots of material overlap, PVC has narrow overlaps and welded impressions. PVC also shows fabric print-thru because the material is thinner.
Is my raft Hypalon or PVC?
If you can see both sides of the material—from a tear, loose seam or by removing a valve—you should be able to tell. If the two sides of the material are different colors, it’s probably synthetic rubber. If the colors are the same, it’s likely to be PVC or urethane.
How do I know if my boat is PVC or Hypalon?
Is PVC or Hypalon better?
Sand the material; Hypalon will matt down and produce a dust and suede like nap to the abrasion. PVC will just scratch, remain glossy and there will be no difference in colour (click on the image to zoom in).
How do I know if my boat is Hypalon or PVC?
Hypalon material is a dull dark grey or black colour on the back face of the fabric, whereas PVC and polyurethane (PU) is the same glossy colour on both sides of the fabric.
Is Hypalon or PVC better?
Generally speaking, CSM/Hypalon RIBs are more expensive – sometimes more than twice as – but they also are much more resilient to UV exposure and to accidental gas, oil, or chemical exposure, such as fuel spills, than their PVC counterparts.