Well I finally finished renovating my NSM1 (3326) .. and have enjoyed a good summers sailing with the kids as a willing, if undersized, crew.

However I am on a very tight budget and have one remaining silly problem.. both of my crewsaver rear bouyancy bags leak, one quite badly. But the leak is entirely from the valve and the fabric is completely fine. So the prospect of handing over in excess of �60 for two new bags fills me with indignation, considering I have just paid only �11 for a camping airbed that is 4 times larger, has a built in airpump and is made of identical fabric !!!,  so I have been thinking of ways of "refurbishing" the existing bags. 

My current favourite is to fill the bags with polystyrene balls which would cost �30 for the pair. 

But has anyone else done anything similar..??

Steve

Yes, but I'm not sure its a good idea....

Keep an eye on ebay for bags - generally half price but without doubt crewsaver are the toughest.  I had the Holt ones and something got caught on one of them and it was totally shredded - buy cheap, buy dear.
As an alternative though I wonder if putting a good squirt of Gap filling superglue around the cloth where the valve goes in would seal it well enough - worth a try.  Use "Zap a gap".

We picked up a couple of secondhand Crewsavers for a tenner at the Chandlery Barge in Bursledon. 
Holt bags are soft plastic and distort easily under pressure. They can be glued with Bostik All Purpose glue though (that's what's in the repair kits) and we've fixed a leak around the valve by applying a patch of similar material from a tent mudwalling/airbed repair kit.

I can remember trying very much the same with Crewsaver bags in the past.  Though it worked, it didn't work for very long and the thought of the repair breaking down at the time you actually need the buoyancy is not very appealing.  The only plus side to it is that new bags will last a very long time.  The fact that the bags cost about 4 times as much as you would expect for a similar thing in a non-marine application seems to me to be a distressingly common feature of any item of chandlery.

Why not contact Crewsaver directly and ask them if they sell replacement valves?  At the back of my mind, I have a feeling that they do.

I've used a glue called 'Aquasure' for years on neoprene waders and wet suits with great results, it's air curing, best applied when the glue is warm and runny - it gives excellent adhesion and strength. It is totally flexible when cured and very strong. To strengthen a high stress area around the filler it would be perfect. Its £5 or £6 per tube

crewsaver will refurbish the valves or flog you new ones - mine are fine now

Instead of polystyrene balls, I wonder if a tube of Expanding foam would work?
About 8 quid's worth should fill 2 bags.

It expands like mad though so could as easily burst the bag as fill it !!!

There are a couple of 36x12" buoyancy bags listed on the cvrda site under the heading National 12 on the boats and bits for sale section of the forum

Link and choose forum from tool bar

I have been in touch with Crewsaver and apparently they dont hold stock of OLDER kit (my bags are 10 years old) and they dont refurb them either .. so its back to the drawing board.

The expanding foam idea was interesting but doesnt it go brittle over time and surely would just break up?

The milk cartons actually it not so silly but i would like to try not to destroy my current bags until there is no other choice, as they do stay up for around an hour at the moment.  

Any more ideas ??