Replacing Grommet on BCD

[kmmkiwi]

I've had a Seaquest Diva LX BCD for a little over 7 years. I take good care of my gear, rinsing after diving, annual servicing, etc.

Unfortunately on my dive vacation last week, I discovered a problem with one of the grommets on the BCD pocket. There is a decent sized notch/hole that has developed in the metal ring of the grommet and is quite sharp. During my trip it was catching/snagging on everything: skin (ouch!), wetsuit, other gear in my gear bag. I managed to file it down a tad to take out the sharpness so it stops catching. But the notch is still there of course. The notch is very close to going all the way through to the edge of the grommet. My concern is if the notch makes it to the edge of the grommet ring then the material of the BCD will start ripping, which I'd like to avoid. Note that this particular grommet is just on the outer material of the pocket, not on the actual bladder of the BCD.

I'd like to just replace the grommet, but not sure how to go about doing this as I've never replaced a grommet before. Will a dive shop repair this for me or do I need to do it myself. Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

 

[redacted]

How about a glob of Aquaseal to fill in the failing grommet and reinforce the BCD material.

 

[tbone1004]

find a local sign shop, the ones that make the vinyl banners and stuff. they usually will do it for a buck or two

 

[afdgf]

I have had good luck with a sailmaker/canvas shops

 

[tbone1004]

touche, those work well too and you're certainly in the right area for it.

 

[kmmkiwi]

I have had good luck with a sailmaker/canvas shops

Thanks for the tip. There are lots of sailmaker shops in the Santa Cruz area, I'll give them a try.

---------- Post added June 5th, 2015 at 04:25 PM ----------

BCD grommet repaired! I took advice given here and went to a local sailmaker. The owner replaced the busted grommet with a new stainless steel one in 10 minutes and only wanted to charge me $5, but I was so happy that I paid him a little extra. Now its good as new and no more worry of ripping the BCD material.

A great big thank you to those who replied to this post, especially the recommendation to take it to a sailmaker. I really appreciate the advice. Now I'm ready to go dive locally this weekend without worrying about ripping the BCD material.

 

[emoreira]

Could you post pics of the repaired work, just for reference.
Thanks.