Dry Suit repair

about how much would it cost to replace the seals on the ankles and wrists of a dry suit? and where would be a good place to take it?

Where are you?

I used to be the marketing directorof a Drysuit Manufacturer.

Technically you can do it yourself with some basic items. What suit is it and what kind of seals do you have?

20 per seal - send it back to Oneill (if thats the brand), back in 3 weeks.

well the seals started melting and dripping all over the place so my ex gfs mom decided to cut the rubber off with scissors at least 50% off i was sooo pissed at her..... so the 20% thing is out of the picture....

the drysuit is an oneill boost what would be the basic tools to do it myself?

Shouldn't be more than $50 for DIY, I've seen all seals for $150 - $175. I have to do mine this weekend and found a place around Chicago called Dive Rite In. They sell iron on glue so all you have to do it take off the old stuff, clean it up real good and iron on the new seals. I'm going to upgrade my suit and put in socks, quick change wrist seals and a neoprene neck (have to glue that). Only bad part is they are a dive shop and divers don't use all the same seals I wanted so I ordered them from some where else.

The glue doesn't look too bad either if you happen to have something to fill out the part your need to glue, lots of vids on You Tube.

Links here to let you know how to do it at home. Literally super basic tools required plus some Aqua Tape and the Seals.

http://www.ndiver.com/site/nd_viewer...ex_c_seal.html

Seals shouldn't be more than $10 each. Neck seal a little more.

In the future, keep plenty of talc on the seals - keeps them from doing this and makes getting in easier.


If you want someone to do the job for you, look for a Scuba diving centre...pretty much all diving is done in dry suits now and theirs are way way better than what you'll find in the wakeboard world. They are used to replacing seals regularly (they last 18 months at most under regular use).

You need to tell them that you have a "Membrane Surface suit with Latex seals." Get them to fit the nicest latex cuffs they have... cost wise it will be literally a couple bucks more and you'll be grateful for it in the future. Make sure they glue AND tape the joints.

Ask them to leak test it whilst it's in.... will probably be free and it'll be cheaper for them to fix it whilst they're working on the cuffs than to come back later... the smallest pin prick in the material can lead to lots of water later.

Hope that helps

Oneill Boost doesen't use aqua tape. Don't waste your time taking the original seal all the way off with a heat gun and cleaning all the glue if the seal isn't peeling up, and they usually aren't, but instead trim the original seal right up to where it glues on the suit and leave the glued section on and simply clean the surface of the original seal and the new seal and glue the new seal right over the section of original seal. This method is much faster and produces a better repair. Hardest part is finding the correct size tapered item to support the suit and new seal while your glue sets up. I gave up looking and just bought the specific mandrels that the shops use. These make it much easier since getting the seal square and flat with no wrinkes while the glue dries is what makes a solid, non leaking repair. Not as easy as some people will tell you. Good quality latex seals will run 15 to 20 each also.

A mid size cola bottle/Tonic Water bottle works for holding the seal/suit tight whilst glue cures.

If you're paying $20 for seals you got ripped off. I can send you nice quality ones from the UK for less than that inc shipping and still have change left over for beer...

Sparky Jays Idea of not removing the seals is fair enough.... it is a short cut but once you've changed the seals a few times you'll want to remove the cut down bits... better practice is to do it right the first time.

"A mid size cola bottle/Tonic Water bottle works" ...... Thats what I thought untill I took my new seals with me to Safeway, found the perfect fit, got home and it wouldn't work. On the Boost suit, a taper won't work because the suit stops the taper before it supports the new seal correctly. The mandrels work perfectly because you squeeze them down and once in place they expand back out for perfect support. The seals I use are .030 commercial seals, take only 2 days to reach me and fit the Boost perfectly. You know what I like to say, "if it ain't broke don't fix it", thanks for the offer on the cheaper seals though.

Jay - Ah I can see your point there... A more sever taper would catch I guess. That definitely sucks!

We only ever used the more 'cone' shaped seals, not the ones with the shoulder in them where is slims down for the wrist.

Yeah once I spent the money on the mandrels, everything went smoothly after that. I've done a few now for other people too so the mandrels have kinda paid for themselves...

I've also noticed that depending on the year of the Boost suit, the suit and cuff are sewn differently and the seals attatch to the suit differently. I do believe there are some years of Boost suit that you can get away with the correct size bottle, and some, like my own, where you have to have the mandrels.