Bladder repair - DIY?

[coss]

Hi,
I am new to this sport, so might ask something stupid.
The problem I have is a damaged bladder. Well, not the bladder itself, but just the top material, nylon. It has a rip about 50mm long. Bladder inside seems to be fine. How do I repair it? I would like to do it myself. Found lots of different materials on internet, but not sure which one to use. Would nylon ripstop repair tape do the job? Or would it be better to use some other material and some proper glue? Please help!
Thanks!

[cglazier]

Hi
We call that a rip in the leading edge. The material is dacron and usually you will want an experienced repair place to sew a patch on and use seam tape to glue it. To get the sewing machine inside, they usually have to open the leading edge seam.

Or there is self adhesive tape available from Airtime in Hood River, but I wouldn't trust it to hold for a rip as big as 5 cm.

[sflinux]

Dacron repair tape is what you want, as that is what manufacturers use to reinforce joints.
For a solid repair you can tape both the inside and outside and stitch it together. Else you can put tape on the inside and use something like aquaseal on the rip on on the outside, for a cleaner looking repair. Don't get aquaseal near bladders as they'll dissolve while wet. Do a good job sewing up the leading edge seam, i.e. backstitching.

[Bigdog]

kitefix.com if you don't have access to a sail repair shop.

Sticky dacron will not work worth a poop unless it is sewn. Kitefix is a urethane 2 part glue and a system of mesh tape that works well. I have seen kites fixed with this and it holds up as good as anything and can be done quickly.

But if there is a good sailshop get it sewn.

Stan

[coss]

Thanks a lot everyone, now I got an idea. Will probably buy and use KiteFix mini repair kit. It seems to have everything needed.