Trilam drysuit repair: pinhole leak at (not in) seam

[tmassey]

I found a pinhole leak in my drysuit today that has bedeviled me for a couple of very cold months now. I’ve been getting very cold water in at the crotch. I have been messing with (and falsely maligning) the P-valve I installed two months ago. Seemed logical. But didn’t help.

So today I donned the suit in just my (everyday) undies and got into a stock tank slowly and carefully to see if I can figure out where the leak was coming from. Bingo: cold water *right* at my crotch and a foot away from my P-valve.

Catching it so fast really helped. There’s a tiny wet spot on the inside, and it has a pinhole leak that leads to a bigger gouge on the outside. I’ve attached pictures.

If it were in the middle of a panel, I’d have no problem patching it — as in with a patch. But it’s not: it’s right at the edge of where the seam sealant on the inside ends. It’s also in the very high-wear crotch area, where there are a couple other worn areas just waiting to leak. So, two questions:

= Best suggestions for addressing a pinhole leak right next to but not in a seam

= Best way to protect the crotch area from more damage: whether that’s something applied to the suit or something applied (like a neoprene sleeve?) to the crotch strap.

Thank you for your help!

A

 

[lexvil]

I would aquaseal it with some thin reinforcement pressed into the wet sealer, something like thin material. I have used a piece of towel in a pince when I tore a hole in the leg of one of my suits.