Dinghy Chaps

[feebs]

Mikedeefieslife, my main reason for putting chaps on Hypalon is to stop cuts and abrasions - just in first weeks use, RIB received a couple of reasonable sized deep scratches.

Ann, I like the idea of reflective patches.

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by feebs

Mikedeefieslife, my main reason for putting chaps on Hypalon is to stop cuts and abrasions - just in first weeks use, RIB received a couple of reasonable sized deep scratches.

Ann, I like the idea of reflective patches.

I know how that feels. Brand new dinghy, and I get it caught under my swim platform. That left some unsightly gouges along one side.

[cyan]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

No, this is a little known hideaway on NW Coast of Tablas Island.
Generally only accessible during the light wind transition period of May, it is easily missed, but just beautiful!

Attachment 166846Attachment 166847Attachment 166848

Good Heavens, Pelagic!! Thanks for the extra pictures and the secrets. You have found a paradise it seems, well done! The limestone cliffs that shoot out of the warm ocean are truly spectacular. I spent some time on a deserted island near there, and I really couldn't remember why I needed to ever return to soul-sucking fluorescent lights of the "real world". You may have made better choices than I.

[Painted Skies]

If your inflatable dinghy has a contoured rub rail like our Caribe, it is possible to use bungee (shock) cord in a sewn pocket along the edge to hold the chaps in place without velcro. The shock cord needs to be sewn into the casing along the entire outside edge of the chaps. Then when the chaps are installed, the excess cord is pulled out at the back and tied off at eye bolts installed through the transom. This holds the chaps snug against the tubes. I find that the shock cord lasts a couple of years, then I need to replace it due to sun/salt rot.

Inside the tubes, I use snaps that are either screwed into the fiberglass (at the transom and the bow locker) or attached to patches that are then glued to the Hypalon.

We find another advantage of light-colored dinghy chaps is it is much more comfortable to sit on fabric rather on the Hypalon itself.

Cheers, Katherine

[JPA Cate]

Very nice work, Katherine. If you use 3 mil "string", you won't have to replace the bungee every 2 years, and I bet you can get it tight enough, if you "sweat" the line a bit when you install it. Still, that's a fine looking set of chaps.

Ann

[Painted Skies]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Very nice work, Katherine. If you use 3 mil "string", you won't have to replace the bungee every 2 years, and I bet you can get it tight enough, if you "sweat" the line a bit when you install it. Still, that's a fine looking set of chaps.

Ann

Thanks, Ann. It is time to make a new pair of chaps - and this time I'm going to follow your excellent idea of sewing some reflective tape on it. Might be a good time to give your 'string' idea (using leech line?) a try instead of shock cord.

I've been putting off the chaps project as I was hoping for a new dinghy as this one is 16 years old now. New engine and new bow roller for the mothership took precedence over the family 'car' this year. This will be our Caribe's fourth set of dinghy chaps; they really do extend the life of inflatables.

Cheers, Katherine

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by cyan

Good Heavens, Pelagic!! Thanks for the extra pictures and the secrets. You have found a paradise it seems, well done! The limestone cliffs that shoot out of the warm ocean are truly spectacular. I spent some time on a deserted island near there, and I really couldn't remember why I needed to ever return to soul-sucking fluorescent lights of the "real world". You may have made better choices than I.

This is the anchorage, right in the armpit of that NW corner and 10 minutes by tender to the cove.


The white column you see is pure marble and you need a beach line to hold your stern into a steep to beach with deep columns of coral surrounding you.

This is one of the little deserted islands we visit from that anchorage.

Now back to Chaps[emoji4]

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Painted Skies

Thanks, Ann. It is time to make a new pair of chaps - and this time I'm going to follow your excellent idea of sewing some reflective tape on it. Might be a good time to give your 'string' idea (using leech line?) a try instead of shock cord.

I've been putting off the chaps project as I was hoping for a new dinghy as this one is 16 years old now. New engine and new bow roller for the mothership took precedence over the family 'car' this year. This will be our Caribe's fourth set of dinghy chaps; they really do extend the life of inflatables.

Cheers, Katherine

Katherine,

Sure, you could use leach line, but what I had in mind comes on a reel, and it lasts a while, good for fish lines for halyards, making stuff that needs to be tied, below decks clothes line, etc., etc. It is polyester: the reel says VB cord; we also use it for flag halyard. But you know how it is: use what you have plenty of.

Ann