Avon Inflatable Valve Leak

[Panamuna]

I just purchased a yacht with on older Avon inflatable. It leaks to almost flat in about 6 hours, so i poured diluted washing up liquid over the whole boat and found the valves were leaking.
The boat probably hadn't been used i a while, so i tightened all the valves and reinflated. Front half of the boat is great, hardly deflated, but can't say the same for the back half...luckily that's where the crew sits!!
Anyone have any advice for servicing these valves? it has 2 parts, one with a one way flap type valve, which can be unscrewed for rapid deflation, and the other which acts as a cap over this valve, also threaded.
I was thinking vaseline or something to lubricate the rubber seals, but open to any suggestions
Cheers
Nic

[GordMay]

ALL valves will leak slowly unless the cap is screwed down tight.
Sometimes just adjusting or "fluffing up" the "seal" or O Ring may stop a slow leak.
You could try sliding a strip of dental "tape" under the seal to raise it.

See the Valve Rebuild Kit (#V00001) Instructions:

➥ Avon A7, B7, C7 Valve Repair / Rebuild Kit (Avon Part #V00001)

➥ Westport Marina, Avon Inflatable Boat Valve repair kits and instrutions

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Panamuna

Anyone have any advice for servicing these valves? it has 2 parts, one with a one way flap type valve, which can be unscrewed for rapid deflation, and the other which acts as a cap over this valve, also threaded.

I was thinking vaseline or something to lubricate the rubber seals, but open to any suggestions
Cheers
Nic

The last Avon acquired was of unknown vintage (and free ) - the 7 foot version making it a bit easier for my Father (75) to carry on his shoulder singlehanded accross the beach - but the downside was also dodgy valves, I tried tightening them up. and broke one . "advice" taken was that basically they perish inside so replacement is the only real option. No doubt DIY for some, but the Boatyard did the job (but not cheap ) but the thinking was if the repair did not hold they would get to redo. No problems so far - from looking at it and given past experiances with Avons I reckon she is now good for 10 years (plus?).

One thing I would also suggest is regluing any seam covers (probably not the right word ) and also the rubbing strake where they have started to lift. If the seams lose this protection and start leaking can be a pig to fix. A touch of prevention works well and DIYable over the years even by myself! (between father and me we have 4 dating back to the mid 70's all still servicable - they just dont seem to wear out, with a bit of TLC and care).

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

The last Avon acquired was of unknown vintage (and free ) - the 7 foot version making it a bit easier for my Father (75) to carry on his shoulder singlehanded accross the beach - but the downside was also dodgy valves, I tried tightening them up. and broke one . "advice" taken was that basically they perish inside so replacement is the only real option. No doubt DIY for some, but the Boatyard did the job (but not cheap ) but the thinking was if the repair did not hold they would get to redo. No problems so far - from looking at it and given past experiances with Avons I reckon she is now good for 10 years (plus?).

One thing I would also suggest is regluing any seam covers (probably not the right word ) and also the rubbing strake where they have started to lift. If the seams lose this protection and start leaking can be a pig to fix. A touch of prevention works well and DIYable over the years even by myself! (between father and me we have 4 dating back to the mid 70's all still servicable - they just dont seem to wear out, with a bit of TLC and care).

11111

[David_Old_Jersey]

I only stuff a bit of glue in where a seam* edge starts to lift - can't say I do this as and when first noticed. But gets done eventually (a Biannual basis? )

* I think it is more of a protective strip over the actual airtight seam - a few bits lifting here and there certainly doesn't cause any deflation problems.

[Panamuna]

I removed the o-ring from the valve and put tape behind it, will see how it goes. Standby for an update in a few hours!!
On closer inspection of the o-ring, it has a lot of cracks in the rubber, so i'll try and source a new o-ring somewhere as well, hopefully cheaper than the Avon replacement!