Dinghy discoloring

[Peter]

Last night I unfolded my inflatable dinghy to tie on new lines. I have it stored in the basement and have been for 2 years now.I discovered that the rubber areas that hold the oarlocks, grip handle, the place the lines go through all have turned brown. A rust color. The body, floor, sides have not. Just the rubber fitting areas.Any idea whats happening and how to restore the color (Gray)?

 

[John]

No Basement

I was told by my dealer that basement storage of a dinghy should not be done - especially if near a furnace. Whatever combustion products the furnace gives off (ozone?) can react with the glue and fabric and ruin it. On the other hand, if your basement is damp, maybe it is mildew. I think there is a dinghy cleaner around but I never used it.

 

[Steve Dion]

Oxidation?

Peter:I would think that this is probably oxidation and polutants. I would suggest that you contact Island Girl and ask Jim about a cleaner and a sealant for dink. Is your inflatable PVC or Hypalon?I have a Caribe Hypalon RIB and use IG Pink on it each year to clean it up.You can order the products from the website.

 

[Tony Re]

Your in trouble!

The discoloration is actually the GLUE .which has a bacteria / fugus. This was discovered by Quick Silver (I had one) and the ones they made prior to 1995 have the discontinued glue products used to make them. I can assume your dingy is about 10 years old ..and the discoloration is also slightlly sticky. I finally bought a new dingy from west Marine. My Quick silver was 15 years old so I did get my monies worth!

 

[Scott]

is it a quick silver?

I had a quick silver that had the same problems... It was replaced by quick silver NO CHARGE NO PROBLEM! Are you in Portsmouth NH?Scott