Kurtincincy
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Registered: 5-11-2008
Location: Cincinnati
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inflatable dinghy floor repair
I just picked up a 94 Zodiac 310 (10 ft). It is in rough shape, missing two pieces of floor hardware and a portion of the rubber floor has come
seperated from the pontoon in the bow. The previous owner used some kind of automotive adhesive but it only worked in one of the two problem areas.
I am going to attempt to restore it.
Has anyone successfully glued or cemented one back together?
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Pops
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflatable_boat
Repairing:Should a section puncture it can be repaired while still underway. More extensive inflatable boat repairs - due to pinholes, punctures,
peeling, leaks or worn fabric - can be done in dry dock using two-stage synthetic rubber coatings (SRC).
Subject to a great deal of wear and tear from the elements - both water and sun - inflatable boats are often replaced when they could be restored or
even repaired. Products that aggressively adhere to the damaged Hypalon or PVC shell can fix virtually any surface damage through a unique chemical
bonding between the undercoat and topcoat that permanently vulcanizes the two rubber coatings together to make the inflatable as good as new. However
since the Hypalon material increases the cost of the inflatable up to 15% not all manufactures provide the option. Some, such as the Brig and the
Zodiac brand inflatable boat offer the option between the PVC or the Hypalon which is recommended for environments of increased heat and sunlight.
Gotta make it home before the chairs do!!!
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Pops
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http://lakecumberland.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=33063&pag...
Before buying a used inflatable, please be sure you know what you are getting into.
We get several inquiries a week from buyers of used "like new" inflatables that are very costly or impossible to repair!
Small repairs and adding accessories that will not receive heavy stress may be attempted by the owner if the instructions are followed.
Tears or holes longer than one inch in the air chambers or within two inches of a seam should be repaired with interior and exterior patches by
professionals. You might get through the season with a simple patch, but have it redone properly over the winter. We recommend that major repairs and
addition of heavy duty accessories such as Weaver Davits® and towing rings be done by a qualified repair center.
Bottom or Floor Fabric coming loose from the tubes?
Repair of the tube to floor joint is not easy. You first need to determine the extent of the separation. Pull hard on the seam. If you can get it
apart, it will fail soon anyway.
Then check the condition of the floor. A common cause of glue separation is gasoline spills from filling the tank. The floor fabric will often be
stiff and crackly like brown wrapping paper. If the fabric is not soft and flexible, forget the repair.
You also should check the transom attachment joints, which also are glued. If the floor glue is giving way, they also may fail soon under warmth and
stress.
You will need to remove all traces of the old glue by scrubbing and a solvent such as MEK from a hardware store.
You can try gluing the joint together with a two part glue for PVC coated fabric. It can be ordered from our link at
http://www.shipstore.com/ss/HTML/WVR/WVR3001KIT.html
Only available in continental US, by ground shipment.
Gluing must be done in a temperature and humidity controlled room, where the boat can stay 48 hours while the glue cures.
Adherence to the exact timing instructions for layers of glue is essential.
The overlap of the glued floor and tube is quite narrow. To achieve a satisfactory joint requires professional training and exact adherence to
instructions. For home repair, you should glue a 4" backing strip over the joint to reinforce it. We often do in our shop. Such strips need to be cut
from a 36" roll. You will then need perhaps six or more strips, to cover the length of the bottom on both sides. Adjacent strips cannot be glued in
the same glue cycle, thus you will need at least three cans of glue to glue the six bottom backing strips.
If you need to glue an extensive section of the bottom or glue the transom also, you will need more than one glue kit also. The glue is a contact type
and bonds instantly on touch. Placement of the bottom fabric on both sides in one glue cycle is very difficult.
Zodiac packages their two part Universal Glue in an 800cc can (Part Z7098), with 3 bottles of accelerator, which delivers three glue doses of glue.
They would provide an less costly alternative to several cans of Weaver glue; however, they cannot be shipped at all due to HaxMat restrictions. You
would need to pick them up at a local Zodiac dealer.
We strongly recommend you contact a repair shop rather than attempt a home repair. Except for minor repairs to our local customers, we do not
undertake these repairs in our shop. You can expect to pay a minimum of $500 for this repair for a 10 foot or less boat. More for larger boats or if
the transom also needs repair.
If your boat is still in warranty and you have a seam coming apart; the wooden transom separating from the cuff; or the fabric is turning yellow and
sticky, don't delay. Call your dealer or us. Bad seams or sticky fabric often mean you can get a new boat for free or a small prorated fee. The longer
you delay, the more your share will be. You cannot repair a seam and may void the warranty. You did register your warranty and keep a copy of the bill
of sale didn't you?!
continued on link above
Gotta make it home before the chairs do!!!
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Captain Bob
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Good luck, Kurtincincy...
I owned a zodiac once --that was enough for me. Constant headaches.
The older model that I had used a marine-grade plywood floor and it held up well. You could make a new one for your boat but you must use
"Marine-Grade Plywood" -NOT the treated wood you get at Lowes!. Then, you need to sand all the edges so they are rounded and smooth (to avoid
puncturing the hull) and then coat with 2-3 coats of marine varnish or polyurethane.
If the rubber floor is coming loose, you might have luck taking it to someone who repairs convertible tops. They have some adhesive that MIGHT work.
If the rubberized fabric of the hull is showing cracks or wear, save yourself a lot of time, trouble and money --buy a new boat.
Zodiacs are nice boats and very handy but they are not made to take much abuse or too much sunlight. They simply don't hold up well compared to other
boats. I replaced my Zodaic with a Walker Bay. It was lighter, easier to handle, faster, indestructible and will last nearly forever. (It also had
a great sailing rig!)
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MarineAssist
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I used to own a retired US NAVY 7 meter (22') Hurricane inflatable RIB with diesel power and Volvo drive. It was fully rigged as a towboat. I used it
here on the lake twice before selling it. It needed several repairs when I bought it. I attempted to do some of the small ones myself and was
generally successful, but there were some issues where I was not experienced enough to dare attempt repairs. Those areas were near or around seams, or
were larger areas where the material seeped air.
I took the boat to a dealer in FL that did repairs, and they were done well.
First of all you need to know what your boat is built from. Inflatables are built from either PVC or Hypalon material. Each one takes it own different
adhesive to work properly.
Then you need to have scraps of matching material for the repairs.
The most successful repairs are done from the inside out beause the air pressure pushing out on the patch helps to keep it sealed.
Small punctures can have the area cleaned with MEK solvent and the tear glued together with Krazy Glue. Then you fashion a round patch 3-4 times the
size of the repair and adhere it with the proper adhesive. The patch has to be rolled flat with pressure to ensure there are no wrinkles or air
pockets in the adhesive.
For larger tears you need to make a patch to fit inside first, then follow up with a larger outside patch.
No matter what, the cleaning is very important for adhesion. A strong detergent wash (Dawn) with warm water will remove waterborne contaminants, then
wiping with MEK will clean and soften the material and open the pores to accept the adhesive and patch.
I also painted my tubes. There is special water based paint that is used for refinishing inflatable tubes. It is applied with a foam roller and brush.
This work pretty well for an old boat where the material is starting to get sun damaged. The paint will help to seal some of the porus material and
give a protective coating to the material to extend it's life.
You can expect the service life of inflatable tubes to be roughly 12-15 years for PVC and maybe 17-20 for Hypalon. Older than that, you really need to
replace the tubes, which is very costly.
I sold my RIB after seeing this lake on a Memorial Day weekend in 2006, with all the debris. I knew the combination of the possiblity of puncturing a
tube and knocking off the drive would simply not work out well for a towboat here.
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Kurtincincy
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Registered: 5-11-2008
Location: Cincinnati
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I think i am going to get some advice from a repair shop. Going to search for one near Cincinnati or Cumberland. I assembeled and blew it up today,
one chaimber has a fast leak and the other has a slow leak. i didn't locate either leak yet. Between 2 leaks and the floor tear it might not be
feasible to repair but i still have hope.
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RELAX
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Kirt,
I enjoied, for a few years, a 16ft Zodiac with an aluminum snap in floor board when we lived in Miami. Had a blast diving all around Pennycamp state
park, from Carysfort to Alligator light. Had a small boat hull cleaning service that we used the Zodiac regulary to come along side the clients boat
while we were working changing prpos, anodes or just cleaning.
We would take it off shore beyond the sight of land, with confidence. Made many a night dive during lobster mini season under the old bridge
foundations in the Zodiac. We could even ski with it because it had a 55hp Johnson tiller manual start.
However if your having problems with it Capt Don is right you need to take it to the pros who have the glues and clamps to make a sound repair so you
can enjoy the lake and not worry about a leak! Good luck.
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