Saving the Life of a Hypalon Dinghy

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Yep, Niads are hell for stout and will last a very long time. However, they are also bloody heavy due to their construction technique. That weight differential was a deal breaker for us.

Oh, they are very dear, too!

Jim

All Agreed, Jim.

Have been looking at Southern Pacific's Allum hull RIBS.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC INFLATABLE PRODUCTS

anyone have anyfeed back on how they stand up to use.

Their 2.8m weights 35Kg(77lb) and 3.1meter 38kg (84lb)
The Puffin range is lighter again 2.6 meter 27kg (60lb) - only rated for small motors.


They do Repairs and Retubes
Southern Pacific offer a full repair and retube service for any brand and model of inflatable or RIB. Our skilled staff and fully equipped factory offer both PVC and Hypalon services.

Are lighter and cheaper than NIAD and come with 6 year warranty.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by downunder

All Agreed, Jim.

Have been looking at Southern Pacific's Allum hull RIBS.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC INFLATABLE PRODUCTS

anyone have anyfeed back on how they stand up to use.

Their 2.8m weights 35Kg(77lb) and 3.1meter 38kg (84lb)
The Puffin range is lighter again 2.6 meter 27kg (60lb) - only rated for small motors.


They do Repairs and Retubes
Southern Pacific offer a full repair and retube service for any brand and model of inflatable or RIB. Our skilled staff and fully equipped factory offer both PVC and Hypalon services.

Are lighter and cheaper than NIAD and come with 6 year warranty.

No info on these, but have a look at both Swift and Gemini. They use the same alloy hulls (made for Swift and sold to Gemini as well) and we feel that the hull design is quite good. OUr Gemini 3.5 weighs in at 47 Kg, and the hull is now nearly 8 years old and doing quite well. The Hypalon tubes are nearing the end of their useful life after about 5 years of uncovered tropical usage. We'll likely get it re-tubed next year sometime.

Cheers,

Jim

[downunder]

Thanks, Jim

[defever]

i use "liquid rubber" on my dink and have since new (15 yrs old). if you put it on correctly it doesn't look bad at all and will keep the nasty u.v. rays from eating the hypalon . it also is a sort of theft deterrant; the thieves will steal the untreated dink over your treated one every time!!

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by defever

i use "liquid rubber" on my dink and have since new (15 yrs old). if you put it on correctly it doesn't look bad at all and will keep the nasty u.v. rays from eating the hypalon . it also is a sort of theft deterrant; the thieves will steal the untreated dink over your treated one every time!!

I just found this product today. Looks interesting. It's actually paint-on rubber. Seals the boat, gives it a few extra mils thickness, and you can paint 'inflatable topside' paint over it for looks if you wish.

Inflatable Boat Repairs and inflatable dinghy parts and accessories

My hypalon dink is 20 something years old, still looks good, no wear showing through. but I think i might do this anyway just for the extra protection. No telling how much longer it will hold up as is...

[nixontankgirl]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

G'Day NTG,

Ann and I were in a similar position with a 16 y.o. Hypalon Zodiac a few years back. Once the outer Hypalon has worn through and exposed the fabric scrim layer inside, sun rot weakens the scrim to the point that painting is useless, no matter how super the paint is. We used various patching materials scrounged from other defunct dinghies, bladder type water tanks, even some PVC based Herculite fabric (stuff used for pool covers, patio stuff and so on). We tried a lot of different glues. As mentioned, the typical Bostic stuff sold for Hypalon repair (and used in the manufacture of dinghies) has a very short shelf life and is expensive. Either Sikaflex 291 or 3M 5200 works quite well, though holding large patches in place long enough for curing is touchy. Using techniques like this we got another couple of years out of "ZOD the magnificent"!

At any rate, I bet that you can find someone else's dead inflatable somewhere in Fiji and dissect it for patch material. IF you are gonna use Sika for adhesive, PVC material will work ok (if it isn't too dead itself).

IF you can obtain 2-part polyurethane foam in Fiji, filling the tubes with such has been successful, but it can be a bit exciting to work with. And of course, you can't deflate the tubes then!

Finally, getting new tubes put on does work. We had our nearly new Gemini RIB stolen in Hobart a few years ago. The sods drove it up the Derwent to their lair, removed the 12 Y.O. beater Suziki o/b, poured petrol into the hull and lit it off. The police eventually found the charred corpse and we got her back. The powder-coated alloy hull was scorched but intact, and after a lot of work cleaning it up we returned it to the Gemini folks in Southport. They put new tubes on for just one half the price of a new dink. Prior to that, an independent dinghy repair chap had said that he could fabricate new tubes as well, but never got a price from him.

So, there's hope for you... good luck with the job, and we hope that your bum stays dry!

Cheers,

Jim

Well, I hunted around for a 'dead' dinghy I could chop up and glue over mine, but there was nothing. I eventually bought some Bostick marine adhesive sealant in grey and cut up an old sail cover......It doesn't look great but I haven't put any air in for 3 days! The Bostick seems to adhere reasonably well though obviously its not 'as new'. I am hoping I may be able to squeeze a bit more life out of the old girl.....

Cheers!