Punctured Halcyon Pioneer

[raposarose]

Hello all,

I need to know what to do about this occurance. It is upsetting, because I just finally bought my last piece of gear (tank) and it was my first dive with no rental equipment. I am not really ready to buy whole new wing, so this could derail my diving for a few months until I am. I still have yet to contact Halcyon to ask about the warranty.

After only about 13 or 14 dives I was very sorry to learn that I had a puncture in my Pioneer wing.

While diving I kept hearing a sound like a boat motor and I wondered where it was coming from. It wasn't until later and I was rinsing out my wing that I noticed there was a small hole in it and that the sound must have been air escaping the wing. It could have been a problem because it was a night dive, and neither my buddy (wife) nor I are especially experience divers, though we are very careful and would have known what to do (still, if my B.C. filled up with water it would have been pretty scary).

I don't really know how it happened. I did hit a rock on the way swimming out, but it didn't seem that bad, it was a pretty easy entry (Breakwater at Monterey for those that know the area). The puncture is on the side facing me, so it must have come from the plate scraping the wing.

I need suggestions about what to do about this. I don't really feel too confident about trying to repair it myself. Maybe Halcyon will replace it if it is covered by the warranty (I moved recently and have yet to dig out the manuals that came with it to check their policy). I thought that the wing was pretty tough and it is disappointing to have this happen. Overall I was happy with the system (besides the cam buckles scratching the tank), while diving, but it seems that it should have been tougher. Especially with so few dives on it.

Oh, well, thanks in advance for your feedback. It's great at least to have Scubaboard to share these experiences and get advice.

 

[jagfish]

If the wing was punctured when you got it and was leaking air, definitely a warrantee issue. You said you hit a rock, and who knows, maybe the wing got pinched between teh rock and plate, but why would that be an issue for waarrantee.

Maybe they'll help you out, their customer service is quite good, but imagine it was your company...would you want to routinely warrantee that kind of condition?

If you want extra resitstance against puncture go with a model that has a bladder within a shell, like the Eclipse...

 

[pdoege]

It happened when I trapped the wing between the tank and the BP.

Anyway, if the leak is small enough you can fix it with AquaSeal. No real skill involved. There are instructions here on SB if you search.

Peter

 

[jonnythan]

I repaired a 1/3" gash in mine with Seam Grip. Looked like someone shoved the tip of a knife through my wing.. and it was through the upper portion, right where the top of the plate would touch the wing, so it was through the nylon coverings on both sides also, which made it more difficult.

I was able to access the area on the inside through the hole the inflator connects to. Since it was my wing and that's pretty important, I took great care to fix it. This is what I did, after thoroughly cleaning the entire area with soap, water, and alcohol:

Slapped a 1.5" diameter piece or repair tape on the inside of the hole on both sides. Using a small brush, patched over the holes with a 1" diameter area of Seam Grip, making sure to shove the brush into the cut to get the Seam Grip well into it. The next day, after that dried, I removed the repair tape from the interior of the bladder and applied a 1" diameter area of Sean Grip to the inside of the cuts. Then on the third day I applied a larger area of Seam Grip to the outside - maybe 1.5" in diameter.

So I have three layers of the stuff on each hole - two on the outside and one on the inside. Very strong repair, and I'm so confident in it that I've forgotten it's there.

 

[cool_hardware52]

raposarose,

I can't speak to the warranty issues, good luck.

A couple thoughts however:

I'd suggest fitting the wing up to the plate as you had it rigged to try and determine it there is a sharp edge or other pinch point that may have contributed to damaging your wing. Even if you replace or repair your wing, avoiding a repeat is key. Some plates can be quite sharp.

Wings (and bc's) are made using two basic methods. The traditional approach uses a sewn ballistic nylon outer shell that provides the basic shape and the structural strenght of the wing, combined with a pure urethane inner bladder that acts like an inner tube in bike tire, i.e. it's job is just to hold air.

This traditional approach offers greater flexibility in the shape of the wing, and the inner bladder can often be repaired if damaged because you can access it, (through the zipper) Because the inner bladder is not a structural component, aquaseal type repairs of small holes are usually OK.

If the urethane inner bladder can't be repaired, it can be replaced, typically $40-60.


The second approach to wing design is to use a urethane coated nylon fabric for both the structural and air tight layer. This urethane coated material is welded together. This approach allows for designs, like "donut" wings that can be hard to produce using the traditional outer shell / inner bladder approach, but they can be very difficult or impossible to repair.

The urethane coated nylon fabric is usually very tough, but if it is pinched or "holed" the problem is that ofter you can't access the inside, you can't make a structural repair like sewing the edges together, and the urethane that you want the aquaseal on is on the inside of the wing.

Both approaches have merit, and the disadvantages of the single layer style would not keep me from either using one or building that style, but often the repair issues with Single layer urethane coated nylon wings is realised only after one has a problem.


Good luck,




Tobin

 

[raposarose]

Thanks for the advice everyone, for Jonnythan it's not the first time I've appreciated his input. Probably the warranty will not cover it, but I'll still check in for Halcyon's suggestion too.

The holes are pretty small so there seems to be a good chance for repair. My plate seems to be pretty smooth. My wife's that she got from COVCI has been eating away her harness by comparison -- it needs to be sanded. Maybe when she sands hers down I'll give my edges a once over too though.

Aquaseal sounds easy, Jonnythan's repair sounds secure. I'll have to take a look at it to see whether I can access the inside the same way. There is one small puncture in the lower right corner, but also another tiny abrasion that is close to a puncture near that. Similarly, there is an abrasion in the upper left. Must have gotten pinched against the plate. I'll make sure to touch up the other small abrasions too. Each is really small, like 1/2 centimeters or less. I wouldn't have noticed it except for the hiss of air coming out when I blew it up while rinsing.

 

[raposarose]

I would like to report that Halcyon's customer service was very helpful in taking care of this issue. They didn't gouge me on the price for replacing the wing and were very prompy and responsive in taking care of the issue. Puncture isn't covered by the warranty, but they didn't take advantage of the situation either -- basically they replaced it at cost. I was quite pleased with the resolution.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Raposa thanks for the update

 

[BlueDolphin]

RaposaRose....

How much did they end up charging?