clear vinyl repair tape?

[adornato]

I had some re stitching done on my 20 year old bimini on my Mainship 30

Curiously, one of the clear panels is now split and they are telling me it is a coincidence.

The bimini is old and someday needs replacement but meanwhile is there a clear tape that i can put across the 10 inch length of the split that will last a year or two?

 

[psneeld]

Check RV stores or sites for Clear Awning tape. Clear Gorilla tape is pretty good too and available at big box stores.

I would also melt a teeny tiny hole at the end of the crack, much like stop drilling the ends of a crack in plastic or metal.

If the tape doesn't work (stick for very long) it ca be sewn on by creating tiny melted holes and then stitching with monofilament fishing line. All crappy stop gaps but generally will get you though a season at a time....maybe longer out where you are.

 

[tiltrider1]

my experience is that clear means translucent and not see through clear. I found a bullet hole in in one of my clear vinyl windows (found the bullet as well lodged in a piece of wood trim). I looked for clear vinyl repair but all I found was translucent repair tape, of course it was labled clear.

 

[SIBERNUT]

If after 20 yrs all you needed was a restitch you should be thankful

 

[guy with a boat]

I'm not recommending this approach but I have seen clear packing tape used on an isinglass repair with some success.

I was on a friend's boat heading to Alaska early in the season and it was cold. One of the flybridge window panels was left unsnapped (fortunately by the boat owner) and between the cold temps making it brittle and the 30kt winds, it was fractured into multiple pieces that were only held together by the sewn borders. We put the panel on the salon carpet and taped that jigsaw puzzle back together with packing tape that was on the boat. It lasted through that summer season and into the fall when he could get it replaced.

 

[Comodave]

Sew another piece of eisenglass over the crack. It will look like crap but so will tape and it will give you more time before replacement.

 

[USNA74GRAYGOAT]

You might look into “Tear-Aid Type B Vinyl Repair”;

 

[Bmarler]

It’s not at all surprising to get a split in a 20year old vinyl window. I had some that looked perfect as I took great care of them, but at about the 20 year mark they were still clear but started cracking from being brittle. The plastic only lasts so long.
Shops will replace the windows, sewing a new one over the old and then cutting the old one out. It’s not too expensive to have done.