The annual neck gasket question

[jwhipple]

'Tis the season, so here it is ...

Yup, the drysuit neck gasket has ripped. Not a lot, but "not a lot" won't matter the minute I try to put my head through it. I've read the old threads on the website about replacement, and am checking out options mentioned there, and getting in touch with Ravenspring and with United Divers (just down the street from me in Somerville). For replacement, the old threads seem to cover the topic well ...

I'm posting this to understand if repair is a viable option. The rip's only down about 3 rings, so I'm thinking one option is to trim the gasket down just below the rip and hope the thing still fits, with replacement as the backup if it's too loose. Brian ably demonstrated how to trim them at the cold weather workshop, but here's my silly amateur question: when cutting, should you trim to/above/below a ring, are those rings there just for reference? Also, is there any other available method for repairing/reinforcing/sealing a short rip like this?

Thanks for any and all input, and happy holidays!

Judy

[djlewis]

I'm no expert, but three rings of trimming seems like a lot, and might change the size too much. You might try putting it on (holding onto the tear to prevent it from ripping altogether, if that is possible) and trying to get an idea if it will still seal with three rings gone -- that is, does the fourth ring press against your neck. I do doubt it though, given that it fit you before.

Since this sounds like an incidental tear -- as opposed to a totally degraded gasket, which was the shape of mine when I put it on in October -- is there a way to do a rubber repair with a cemented patch or something? I know little about this, but considering the stress on the gasket, that might not work. On the other hand, if it's three rings down, it might take stress only when donning and doffing it, and not continuously.

If you do get it replaced, I had a good experience with United Divers. Without my asking, they put on a new gasket of the exact right size for me, so it needed neither trimming nor stretching. That eliminated two significant sources of problems. In particular, the fact that I originally stretched rather than trimmed mine probably accounts for its early death. I now agree that trimming is better.

--David.

[cathyfoley]

I would trim it first. If it's too big, then replace it. I trimmed downed 4 rings on my ravensrping (but I have a fat neck). I used a plastic bowl inserted into the gasket to stretch it a bit and then trimmed with an x_acto knife. Has worked well for two years.

[markstephens]

I would suggest that you trim out only the tear. In other words, don't remove three rings when you can clean up the tear by just trimming out a small section of those three rings. Make a uniform shape without acute lines so that there are no new natural tear spots. This way the gasket should still snug around your neck with a very small area for leak potential.

I've found that a very sharp pair of Fiskar's scissors work better for this kind of trimming than a razor blade.

[scamlin]

Unless it has had specific trauma, when latex begins to tear, it usually means the rubber has degraded to the point where it is fragile. Telltale signs are stretch marks (stripes of thinner/lighter material) when you stretch the rubber with your fingers.

Ultimately, you need to replace it. However, you can patch it to get through a trip or the rest of the season. I had a split in a 5-year old wrist gasket on my dry top that I found the night before a paddle in Santa Cruz last August. On the kitchen table, I patched it with AquaSeal, the bombproof glue that should be in every kayaker's repair kit.

After cleaning the surfaces with Cotol (AquaSeal solvent and accelerator), I squeegeed a thin layer about 1/4" wide lengthwise along the split, lapped the other side of the split over it and then pinned it togther using common pins. Then I smeared more AquaSeal onto both sides of the joint along the edge of the split. I let it dry overnight and viola, had a crude but functional repair of wrist gasket. The loss of circumference compensated for five years of stretch and the slight bump of the joint was insignificant as far a sealing properties.

I don't kid myself that this is a permanent fix since the rest of the gasket is on borrowed time. But for a quick repair, Aquaseal does the trick. The key steps are to clean the latex with a solvent (common rubbing alcohol will do in a pinch) and get a solid mechanical contact while the glue dries. In past repairs, I've used needle and thread (glove seams), common pins (spray skirts), wooden clothes pins (neoprene bootie soles) and plastic sheeting over 2x4s and clamps (a seam on a nylong paddle float) to keep the material in contact while the Aquaseal dries. Once dried, Aquaseal is stronger than the material it joins.

As for neck gaskets, the trim or stretch controversy is a religious one, akin to the skeg or rudder debate. I'm on the trim side of the divide and I'll tell you why. The secret is that gaskets don't need to be tight to be waterproof. The reality is that latex has a pretty strong memory, so stretched latex tends to return to original size until it degrades. So trim for comfort and be happy.

Last summer, I had a new neck gasket on a reconditioned dry suit from Kokotat and was headed out early one morning to Monterrey Bay. Stopped into a Long's Drugs for a single sided razor and an Albertson's for a quart of yogurt. In the front seat at the beach, I slipped the yogurt container up through the neck gasket, ran a razor around the second band and less than a minute later was comfortable and snuggly waterproof in a new neck gasket. I'd done it before so I knew where to cut, but it was that simple.

Good luck.

Scott

[rcohn]

Bicycle tube patches are reported to work. I would try the older style latex rubber patches that come with a tube of glue, rather than the newer peel and stick patches.

Ralph Cohn

Elaho DS, blue & white with yellow trim

[Brian Nystrom]

As Ralph said, bicycle patches will work to repair the rip, though they will make the torn area stiffer. You'll need to clean it well if you've applied any 303 or other preservatives to the latex. MEK and toluene are good for this.

As for patches, don't bother with the stick-on variety. They don't work well on bicycle tubes and they won't work on your neck seal. If you have a Pep Boys store near you, they carry the "Monkey Grip" line of patching materials which are excellent. I use the 1 1/4" round patches on my mountain bike. They hold well, have some stretch to them and have nicely tapered edges. If you can find it, buy the glue in the can, as opposed to the tube. The canned stuff will last forever if you keep it tightly sealed. The tubes have a tendency to dry up once opened, usually when you need them most.

Mark is correct that you can try trimming away just the torn section. Make sure you remove all of the tear, or it will just tear again. I suggest a long, gradual taper (~3" long). That will help distribute the stresses on the trimmed seal better.

Neck seals are not terribly difficult to replace. Kokatat has excellent instructions on their website and I've got some pics at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom-reg

The pics are in my "Drysuit Repair" album on the second page. It just takes some simple forms you can make at home, some double-sided carpet tape and a bunch of inexpensive spring clamps.

[jwhipple]

Thank you everybody for your time and effort (your Christmas shopping is already done, evidently) and all your helpful information! I now have a much better understanding of the issues involved and the options available. The message board is like magic -- just type a few words with a question mark at the end, and this huge wealth of knowledge and experience and helpfulness surfaces out of it ...

Happy holidays, and best wishes for just the kind of marine conditions you're hoping for, in 2006.

Judy