RIB dinghy repair

[Dave22q]

My aging West Marine 310 hypalon RIB needs constant repair. There seem to be 2 approaches: paint the outer surface of the tubes to build up the thickness and increase UV protection and sealant to apply a seal coat to the tube interiors. There seems to be a variety of products out there. Please advise what your experience has been.

[Vasco]

If the hypalon is going you need a new dink.

[JPA Cate]

We had a dinghy on which the outer hypalon got so thin, the sun shone on the scrim underneath. That, indeed, is usually the death knell.

Sometimes, you can have new tubes put on a dinghy (we've had this done twice). In your shoes, i'd contact the maker of the dinghy and ask if they will re-tube it, and how much they would charge for that. Our experience was that they asked about 1/2 the cost of a whole new dinghy.

Ann

On edit:

Some friends tried painting theirs with paint used primarily for re-furbishing truck tarps. It worked well for keeping the air in, but when the dinghy was disinflated, the paint cracked, and it started leaking again.

Comment: I think the best thing you can do, beginning when the dinghy is new, is to cover it with a dark color Sunbrella or WeatherMax cover. However, there is a downside to the practice: it is harder to keep the interior of the rib clean, and sometimes spiders like to try and live there. Our dinghy is covered.