Steve, you came up with the exact solution Stephan Lance did. I sent him an email the other day asking about his opinion. He called me on the phone to discuss and then followed up with an email. His reply (partially edited) is below.

Now bear in mind that I bought this dinghy back in 2001 from Defender, so it certainly doesn't owe me anything and it's long beyond any sort of implied warranty period. If any materials would have been needed, I would have been happy enough if Stephan just would have told me what to order from his web site, and I would have been more than satisfied with his advice. He went way beyond that and had his tech cut a patch for me, and shipped it to me with glue -- No Charge!

Thanks Stephan -- for going above and beyond. The least I can do in return is tell everyone what great service you provided.

> Larry,
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> Spoke to my tech and also had him cut a Hypalon apron for you It is an Avon Military Gray fabric, but it was thicker than the recreational stuff we had in pre-cut circles. It may be a bit darker than your boat.
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> I am sending this out to you today. Should be there tomorrow. The glue is Achilles Hypalon adhesive, a bit better than the one-part Shore adhesive Whitewater uses, but either is fine.
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> Trick is to mark the circle where the patch will go.
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> Scuff inside the circle with sandpaper, fine grit, light scuffing.
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> Scuff the backside of the donut / apron.
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> Wipe all surfaces with Acetone or Toluol to clean.
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> Tape our with pieces of masking tape the perimeter of the circle marked so that glue oversmear is easily removed and repair will look clean.
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> Thin coat of adhesive on both surfaces, let dry until tacky.
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> Then another thin coat on surfaces, let dry until tacky then line up apron and apply.
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> Roll out the air bubbles (there are tools for this, but I have used an old thick spoon many times).
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