http://www.tear-aid.com/index.htm
Type A.

Used some 2 nights ago - on a couple of tears in the sail (one 10 cms ) brilliant.
Use on both sides - it is transparent - can be hard to spot the tear after applying.

Yet to see if it is as durable as a patch / sew but when I tested it it was a stronger than the rip-stop on either side (fairly old bit of cloth but impressive none the less).

I bought a 1 metre strip and cut to shape as required.

Cheers
AP

+1 for Mylar,i stock a Mylar sheet thats about 650x900 can cut it to any shape and its tough as and transparent,for holes and tears up to around 150 mm its awesome ,self adhesive just stick it both sides of the tear and your good to go,costs about $30 a sheet,fixed a kite 5 years ago with it and saw it the other day still exactly as i repaired it,you can get it at sail shops,Peter Lynn carry it in NZ.

Thanks for the good advice guys

So you guys reckon a yachting chandlery will have the goods?
I'd certainly prefer patching with something that doesn't need stitching.

Here's a couple of pics of the holes; it looks as though the bladder connector was rubbing on the canopy when it was folded up at some time.

Buying a used kite I expected to find a couple of things like this, I'm not too worried about it, just want to make sure I fix it properly.

Holes seen from the top of the canopy;


Someone's example of how not to do it;


Looks like it was caused by rubbing when folded;

Hi Peeps,

We used to use Tear Aid, but it isn't ideal, for one, it's stretchy so that makes it inappropriate for tears bigger than about 2". It also tends to eventually peel up around the edges, even when you round the corners. This starts with the oils from your fingerprints where you peeled the backing off, it's practically unavoidable.

As an emergency patch, it works well but should be considered a temporary and less than ideal stop gap. Tear Aid also gets soft with heat which also helps the edges lift and attract sand after a while.

A much better option is the Mylar material. It's micro thin, doesn't lift, is almost completely invisible when stuck on correctly, and doesn't stretch at all making it ideal for larger and small tears. I have done some big tears with Mylar that never warranted additional attention when stuck both sides with a 1" overlap.

Tear aid is unbeatable for bladders and that style of repair, Mylar unbeatable for canopy repairs. Dacron with double sided spinnaker tape is ideal for leading edges when applied internally. Any external repair to a LE or strut casing will fail unless stitched and attended to properly.

DM

neil @ hold the line kites wembley

I think that coin was the cause of the hole remove it before it does more damage

that's a speed hole dude, it makes your kite go faster. don't cover it up

dave...... said...

I know Neil HATES tear aid.

For bladders? Why? And what does he use instead?

(I'm aware that I risk my life even thinking about asking about trade secrets, but hey, if I die knowing more about bladder repair, I'll be happy.)

Cheers DM, all makes sense.

my brother put 2 band aids on his switchblade in FIJI, they lasted over a year, and i sold the kite with them still on.