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NORTHLAND Sea Safety

 

Inflatable Boat repairs

Boat repairs

 

Inflatable boats have many varied uses and when you need to store your tender and then have a large carrying capacity nothing can replace an inflatable. One problem they all share is the fact that they are all basically balloons; oysters, nails, coral and anything sharp are their enemies. The sun can over heat an old tender and burst its seams, so don’t cover them with a tarp use something like shade cloth instead.

 

All the above are fixable and your tender can kept serviceable for many years. Valves sometimes start to leak and are simple to remove and good idea is to take it out and wash it in warm soapy water. If it continues to leak it may require complete replacement it will need to be cut out, this takes about an hour and is probably best done by us.

 

Preventative measures are ample and can be done at the time of purchase. Inflatables tend to be dragged up the beach and one look at the underside of your boat will give you a good idea of which areas need further protection. Almost always at the rear end of the straight tubes and at the shoulders of the boat.

 

 A Substantial D-ring for towing is required and maybe a smaller one either side to spread the load. These are known to wear out and again replacement is easy.

 

More problematic would be a baffle leak or a seam split. Most inflatables over 2mts have divided chambers separated by a baffle of the boat material. This sometimes bursts when one side of the chamber comes under a significantly higher pressure than the other. Boats can still be used with these problems but the safety advantage is gone and for those people who use them for Cat 3 races they are no longer suitable.