Leaving dink in salt water for season advice

[RobG]

Looks like a more challenging season this year with a seriously blown out back. I've thought a lot about more judicious use of winches for things like raising the main ect but due to the dink dock layout at my marina there seems to be no alternative to leaving the dink in the water. I'm salt water in CT, the dink is Mercury Sport roll up with Orca Hypalon, 9 yrs old (I think) but in really good shape because I always kept it in the dock racks and covered when not in use.
The motor can tilt up out of the water and I'm thinking I can get the cover to stay on while in the water but what about the bottom? Will it degrade the Hypalon rubber to be constantly exposed to salt water? Is bottom paint worth it? I can get help to haul it out and clean the bottom but I'm more concerned about permanent damage or non removable growth or stains.
It has wood slats inside but I was looking at the Mercury air floor conversions and I may be able to do that if the cover doesn't work in the water. Any help from those who do this is much appreciated.
Rob

 

[Mark Maulden]

Yore going to get the same growth as boats around you. Cleaning the soft stuff may not be to hard, but when the hard stuff appears, it's much more difficult. They do make bottom paints for inflatables that work well.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Mark's right, probably the only way to do it right.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Barnacle spat will settle within a couple of weeks; they stick pretty good. Consider a winch-mate for hauling high enough to just clear the water? Pole dinghy (with lift bridle attached) on halyard slightly out from boat with spinnaker pole while in the slip. Slip wide enough up forward?

 

[Gunni]

No problem for the hypalon in seawater, having the boat fill up with rain water and bird poop is. That will damage your rollup floor. Need a bow or center support for your cover to shed rain and birds. You can paint the dink bottom with bottom paint. Clean it well with Acetone and Hydrocoat will stick to it (Hydrocoat sticks to everything, believe me).

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

This has been covered before and Stephen Lance of Defender made some paint suggestions for inflatable bottoms.

Also, I had a Hypalon dinghy (achilles) that I bought in 1979- It was packed away for years - Recently unpacked it, sold it and it's still going strong.

My second dink, also a Hypalon Achilles, was towed, every day, for almost 3 years- no deterioration of the Hypalon

None of this is true for a PVC dink- those might last 5 years

 

[Chief RA]

Smear boat bottom with Desitin salve like you would use on your butt(contains 40% zinc oxide). Put cover over it and your good. Chief

 

[Gunni]

This has been covered before and Stephen Lance of Defender made some paint suggestions for inflatable bottoms.

Also, I had a Hypalon dinghy (achilles) that I bought in 1979- It was packed away for years - Recently unpacked it, sold it and it's still going strong.

My second dink, also a Hypalon Achilles, was towed, every day, for almost 3 years- no deterioration of the Hypalon

None of this is true for a PVC dink- those might last 5 years

Here is a shot of my Zodiac310 PVC dink as she lays ready for season 12 Reports of her early demise are greatly exaggerated

 

[Chief RA]

TSBB2 Your right, this has been covered before and it seems that you still havn't realized that ol' bull about PVC boats is STILL NOT TRUE! Chief

 

[jibes138]

If you leave the drain plug open in the transom the boat will only fill with water to the point of reaching equilibrium and then will float at that level. When you go to use it you will have to bail maybe 5 to 10 gallons of water, but I can assure you an inflatable boat that stays inflated will not sink. I used bottom paint on my Achilles and kept it in the water for about 20 years. Worked good. Still need to wipe off the slime but only barnacles were right on the water line where the paint is exposed to the atmosphere.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

TSBB2 Your right, this has been covered before and it seems that you still havn't realized that ol' bull about PVC boats is STILL NOT TRUE! Chief

Tell that to my dock neighbor- his came apart in three years. And another friend who had the floor come loose from the tubes in 4 years.

They are really good boats- for the price. Just don't expect the life span from them that a Hypalon dink will give.

 

[Chief RA]

Yeah, Gunny and I's PVC dingys are probably just exceptions to that longevity stuff. The other 6 I have had were probably just exceptional dingys too. Chief

 

[capta]

If you are in a marina, why must you have you dink in the water at all? Why not just roll it up and stow it when not in use?
I've left a dink in the water in Ct for a season and the barnacles were more than an inch thick by October. That stuff does not come off w/ plastic scrapers, so you are using metal scrapers on a rubber boat, "Caution, Will Robinson, caution". The sea water or the growth will not harm the hypalon, but the cleaning might.
So in answer to you question; don't.

 

[RobG]

On a mooring

Oops...forgot to include I'm way out on a mooring. The launch runs 8Am - 6PM "off" season and 8 - 8 "in" season. Wouldn't want to overnight w/o a dink there and the launch hours are too restricted. Not s slip king on guy. Love being out there...
Thanks for all of the suggestions so far.
Rob

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

Yeah, Gunny and I's PVC dingys are probably just exceptions to that longevity stuff. The other 6 I have had were probably just exceptional dingys too. Chief

You think perhaps the sun and heat here on the south Texas coast had something to do with it? You're up the California coast above San Francisco and he's in Annapolis, Md..

 

[dparilla]

PVC Inflatables.

Tell that to my dock neighbor- his came apart in three years. And another friend who had the floor come loose from the tubes in 4 years.

They are really good boats- for the price. Just don't expect the life span from them that a Hypalon dink will give.

I dunno about longevity, but I have a PVC dink that I purchased with my boat in 2004. It is a West Marine by "Grupo Zodiac" and is at least 10 years old. Still works like a champ with only one patch on it. (where some idiot...I mean friend...ran it into the steel mount for our winter bubbler on the end of the dock.) It has been on the water for 8 of the last 10 years.

 

[capta]

Those cruisers who do not have davits use a halyard to pull the dink up out of the water a few feet, every night. This helps keep the bottom clean, prevents theft at night (or loss, which is much more often the reason a dink disappears at night), and the biggest danger, getting flipped over by a gust (it only takes about 20 knots to flip some of the smaller ones w/ a motor on the back), putting the engine power pack under water.
Some pull a block and tackle up a ways w/ the halyard to facilitate the hoisting. Any inflatable boat repair shop can install lifting eyes for a reasonable price, then you just need to build a bridle.

 

[Chief RA]

In prior years my PVC boats were used most of the time on Lake Oroville where temps exceed 100 degrees (like Texas) many days in the summer. I deflate them some and cover them and that contributes to their longivity. Proper care is the answer to keeping a boat in good condition no matter what they are made of.
Chief

 

[Gunni]

PVC requires UV protection. I use 303 protectant after a good cleaning. 3 coats top and bottom pre-season, another coating mid season. I suspect that some products spec'd to make plastic look good, may actually damage the PVC coating. See a lot of neglected, bedraggled dinks out there, like a rusty rifle, all wrong.