I love my raft but my spray deck is fried. The velcro doesn’t stick well. Does anyone have specific ideas for improving this? I’d like to send it in this winter but I want it to be ski season by then.
I experimented with standard tension snaps and an inexpensive snap installation tool, from West Marine. Standard snaps didn’t provide enough tension and the tool ruined about 1/2 the snaps I tested. I then purchased some hard-action snaps and a Press-N-Snap tool from http://www.rochfordsupply.com. My snaps were placed every 5 1/2 inches from the bottom back corner of the Velcro. The solution works great.
Snaps.JPG
Thanks… I’ll stop at the West Marine store tomorrow. How is it wet exiting from this setup?
I am still here (smile). Seriously, the red pull tab on my skirt applies vertical pressure to the snaps so that they release. The horizontal pressure from bracing or having water on the deck doesn’t release the snaps.
If you plan on using the inexpensive West Marine installation tool, I strongly suggest you try about a half dozen snaps on scrap material before you use it on your boat. If you read the reviews on their site, I wasn’t the only one who had a lot of problems with this tool. There may be other less expensive installation tools that work well but, I only tried two types. Another option to consider is to take your boat down to your local upholstery shop and have them install the snaps.
I would like the Alpacka folks to weigh in on this type of modification. Are they willing to do it or do they have a better solution for worn out Velcro?