Inflatable Dingy question??

gwp · #1 (**permalink**) 04-14-2003

Recently bought a sailboat which came with an inflatable dingy and a foot pump. It doesn''t leak. Problem is it will not blow up good and tight. The air inlet is about 1" in diameter and has a turn plug to cap it off. When you remove the pump fitting, quite a bit of air escapes before you can cap it. This is driving me crazy. There''s got to be a better way. Thanks

capnjim02 · #2 (**permalink**) 04-15-2003

What Brand? I just bought a new Mercury and when I first inflated it the same thing happened. then I realized that the center had a small thing in the center of the valve that turned and engaged a check valve. I guess that in the position your talking about is so you can use the suction side of the foot pump to deflate it completly.

hamiam · #3 (**permalink**) 04-15-2003

i have a zodiac and it has a special valve inside the intel. in the "open" position it lets air in and out freely; this is so you can deflate the boat and not stand there with your finger in the valve. In the closed position you can only pump air in. You might want to call or email the manufacturer and find out what kind of valve it is and how to operate it. It is very possible that the valve is worn out and needs to be replaced. You can usually do this yourself although you make need a special tool to remove the old valve and insert the new one.