13 ft dingy??

[tsl]

My buddy gave me a 13' hypalon Zodiac. it's about 25 years old in great condition. It's made in France and a huge difference in quality from the 10ft PVC zodiac I have that was made in China.
I have an O'day 39 that I intend to do commuter Cruising from Lake Michigan to the Bahamas.
The boat has a plywood floor and can hold a 40 HP motor. I have a 15 HP yamaha for it.
What would be the best use for this thing? I beleive I can fit in on the foredeck but lifting it may be an issue. I do not have a davit and don't plan on getting one.

Any suggestions?

Also: I Purchased some flexible Epoxy called Flex Set from West marine. It seems to work great on both the Hypalon and the PVC. Much easier and much more successful than the two part contact adhesives. Anyone have experience with this stuff?

[Kettlewell]

Sounds like it would be a good dink if you can handle its size onboard. Frankly, I tow the dink (with the motor off) unless I'm going offshore, and a 13 footer will tow just about as easily as a smaller one. I'm surprised the epoxy will stick--maybe you have learned something useful there.

[tsl]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Sounds like it would be a good dink if you can handle its size onboard. Frankly, I tow the dink (with the motor off) unless I'm going offshore, and a 13 footer will tow just about as easily as a smaller one. I'm surprised the epoxy will stick--maybe you have learned something useful there.

I agree, Epoxy has never been used on inflatables but this product is advertised and specified to do exactly that. It also says that it can bond to Polyethylene once flame treated. These guys are either over stating their product or they may have something. I'm in Wisconsin and the ice is still 2 feet thick so I can't test it in the water but I can't peal this stuff up. It's a whole lot easier to fix small areas where the floor is peeling up a bit.
Flex Set from Marine Tex

[Lancerbye]

I have had those types of Zodiac boats in the past, I used to use them for hunting , great inflatables. It will be a bit big to stow inflated. I would deflate it and stow it disassembled until I got to the Bahamas or for any long blue water runs and reinflate it when you are in more sheltered areas. You don't want to be dragging it in big seas. Your 15hp won't get it to plane much but will still get you around at a reasonable speed.