Is my dinghy worth repairing?

[kwaltersmi]

I have an 8' Quicksilver inflatable dinghy. The original cost of my dinghy 12 years ago was about $1,900. This past winter I had it stored in the rafters of my garage and unfortunately a mouse chewed a 2 inch diameter hole.

Is my dinghy repairable/patchable? If so, is it worth doing it? I certainly don't have an extra $1,000 laying around for a new dinghy.

[sailingdog]

Yes, it should be repairable. A decent patch kit should be able to take care of a hole, even that large.

[TrueBlue]

We purchased a new 8'-6" Quicksilver 230 inflatable from a Mercury dealer back in 1999, which cost me far less than $1,900. In fact, the dinghy was part of a package offering that included a new Merc 3.3 . . . total cost was about 1,500.00.

After nearly 5 years of use, the PVC skin's surface began to get gummy and lose it's coating due to UV degradation. I was ready to toss it away (considering the low cost), until I heard of the 5 year warranty. Two days before expiration, the original dealer took the "skin" in trade for a brand new boat, for no additional cost. The new skin seems to be of a different compound and has not shown any signs of deterioration after 3 years exposure.

My point is, your inflatable most likely is fabricated of the same stuff as my old one and may not be worth the expense of repair. However, my boat was supplied with a patch kit - which I never needed. The patch kit, IIRC, consists of several 3" to 4" oval patches and a tube of contact cement. It's in a cylindrical orange container. If you no longer have your kit, try a Mercury dealer - I'm sure they can set you up.

This photo was from last year - showing the new skin:

[kwaltersmi]

The $1,900 bought the dinghy and a lightly used 8hp Mercury outboard.

I'll look into patch kits and maybe give it a try.

[TrueBlue]

You've got nothing to lose by trying the patch kit. A bit off topic, but - how does the dinghy handle with an 8 hp outboard? Mine has a maximum size specified on the transom plaque at 5 HP.

[arbarnhart]

When I was a raft guide, we used to routinely patch some pretty good sized holes. On some larger holes, we would double the patch - patch inside and out. The patch for the inside would be cut and then using a small piece of carpet tape an over-sized piece of wax paper was attached to the back of it. Then you roll it up, stick it through the hole and unroll it inside. I should have mentioned the raft is deflated and you have the tube on a flat surface. Position it under the hole properly and put a ring of the patching cement on the patch (don't put way too much!) and a dab in the middle. Then put the top patch on, another piece of wax paper on that, a board or other rigid flat object on that and a 5 gallon bucket mostly full of water on that. If you don't use wax paper the inner patch will get stuck to the other side of the tube. If you don't double patches on large holes, they tend to balloon (like a hull blister) over time.

[kwaltersmi]

Originally Posted by TrueBlue

You've got nothing to lose by trying the patch kit. A bit off topic, but - how does the dinghy handle with an 8 hp outboard? Mine has a maximum size specified on the transom plaque at 5 HP.

She flies with the 8hp and two passengers. 8hp is probably overkill but it doesn't feel unsafe. I can't recall what mine has as a max. rated hp. If I were to start over, I'd probably get a 3-5hp outboard. Actually, I'd probably just get an 8' Walker Bay rowing dinghy and scrap the outboard all together.

[USCGRET1990]

To keep your inflatables in good shape try using Armoral or the equivalent.
That's what we did with our RHI's in the CG.