My luck has not been that good here lately. After using our new to us dinghy this weekend that I got a "deal" on, the floor fell out! It is a West Marine Zodiac High-Pressure floor inflatable. The glued connection between the black floor material and the tubes separated for close to 1/3 of its entire length around the dinghy. I talked to the folks at WM and they said that this model of boat around this age (1998 or so) had problems with the connections at the seams. They thought the boat was out of warrenty by now even though Zodiac extended it because of this problem. They said they have heard that just rebuilding the entire floor was the solution. Has this happened to anyone else and did they have to take it somewhere for repair since the problem is that extensive? If so, approximately how much did it cost to get the thing fixed? If not, how did you fix it (2 part glue or 5200 or what)? If you use that 2-part glue, how many bottles (the $40 kit) would it take?
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Well It Depends
on what material this dingy is made of. Hypalon can be reglued with good success by a repair station. However, the PVC material is more difficult to repair. If it is PVC, see if you can replace the floor section. This is what I did on my Mercury dingy. Good Luck.
on what material this dingy is made of. Hypalon can be reglued with good success by a repair station. However, the PVC material is more difficult to repair. If it is PVC, see if you can replace the floor section. This is what I did on my Mercury dingy. Good Luck.
I'd call the people you bought it from..
and ask for my money back. Then mention that you're willing to take the matter to small claims. They didn't disclose this obvious pre-existing problem to you and the courts are very sympathetic when it comes to consumer protection.
and ask for my money back. Then mention that you're willing to take the matter to small claims. They didn't disclose this obvious pre-existing problem to you and the courts are very sympathetic when it comes to consumer protection.
May Be Bad News
I had several PVC dinks come apart at the seams. Once they started, they all eventually got so bad I gave up. Since you have nothing to lose, I'd give them a call and get their recommended repair adhesive and give it a shot. I got a couple of additional seasons that way. I had it done professionally and DIY. I don't recall the repair adhesive I used; it was a lot of years ago. It was off-the-shelf. Both the pro and DYI worked OK, but the pro work was a whole lot better looking. Rick D.
I had several PVC dinks come apart at the seams. Once they started, they all eventually got so bad I gave up. Since you have nothing to lose, I'd give them a call and get their recommended repair adhesive and give it a shot. I got a couple of additional seasons that way. I had it done professionally and DIY. I don't recall the repair adhesive I used; it was a lot of years ago. It was off-the-shelf. Both the pro and DYI worked OK, but the pro work was a whole lot better looking. Rick D.
Happened to mine
I have a Westmarine/Zodiac and the floor seperated from the tubes right the way around. In fact the only thing holding the floor on was across the transom. I had the Zodiac distributor in Fremantle repair it. The cost was from memory $250.00aus. The job was done about two years ago. They did a perfect repair. Could hardly tell it had ever come apart. It is still going strong.
I have a Westmarine/Zodiac and the floor seperated from the tubes right the way around. In fact the only thing holding the floor on was across the transom. I had the Zodiac distributor in Fremantle repair it. The cost was from memory $250.00aus. The job was done about two years ago. They did a perfect repair. Could hardly tell it had ever come apart. It is still going strong.
lots of work
1. the glue is heat sensitve. you can use a hair dryer to remove the floor the if you need to. Get adhesive form a repair facility. about 50 bucks. blow up the boat and tape off the line with masking tape. use mek to clean off all the old glue. Miserabe job that takes a couple of three hard hours. The proper glue is a two part mix. mix a small portion of glue and apply to both surfaces. let them sit untill tacky and then put surfaces together. when you touch the surfaces together it is stuck and wont move. once you get it all put on turn it over and do the flap on the inside. the glue costs about 50 bucks. dont both to use anything but the right glue. store the boat in a cool place not in the heat. You must do this project in a cool dry place with low humidity. like an airconditiond garage. the mek fumes are bad. and it will burn your skin. You may get a couple years before something else gives up. Plan 2 is to throw the damn thing in the trash!
1. the glue is heat sensitve. you can use a hair dryer to remove the floor the if you need to. Get adhesive form a repair facility. about 50 bucks. blow up the boat and tape off the line with masking tape. use mek to clean off all the old glue. Miserabe job that takes a couple of three hard hours. The proper glue is a two part mix. mix a small portion of glue and apply to both surfaces. let them sit untill tacky and then put surfaces together. when you touch the surfaces together it is stuck and wont move. once you get it all put on turn it over and do the flap on the inside. the glue costs about 50 bucks. dont both to use anything but the right glue. store the boat in a cool place not in the heat. You must do this project in a cool dry place with low humidity. like an airconditiond garage. the mek fumes are bad. and it will burn your skin. You may get a couple years before something else gives up. Plan 2 is to throw the damn thing in the trash!
Here's a link
Here's a link with some good info on PVC repair http://www.allinflatables.com/support/pvc.html
Here's a link with some good info on PVC repair http://www.allinflatables.com/support/pvc.html
Estimate
Well, I called and got an estimate from a repair place. They said they do about 20 or 30 of these a year and it runs about $650 to get fixed... I bought it from a co-worker who is an honest guy, so he would not have sold me something he knew to be bad. Haven't talked to him about it yet, but I think it was just luck of the draw that it gave out on my watch. I may just try to fix it myself. The $40 glue doesn't sound too bad after the $650 repair estimate...
Well, I called and got an estimate from a repair place. They said they do about 20 or 30 of these a year and it runs about $650 to get fixed... I bought it from a co-worker who is an honest guy, so he would not have sold me something he knew to be bad. Haven't talked to him about it yet, but I think it was just luck of the draw that it gave out on my watch. I may just try to fix it myself. The $40 glue doesn't sound too bad after the $650 repair estimate...
Mine TOO
Had the same floor problem with my WestMarine 285. I used the two part adhesive from WM, followed the instructions, and it has held for the past year and a half. Don't forget to mark or tape off the original position, both inside and out, so that the bottem can be reglued in it's original position. Acetone or MEK for the cleaner and prep. This seems to be a common problem (Heat and Humidity) with the PVC dingy's. I went to the local repair station in Pensacola and he had two floors that he was working on in warranty. He was helpful and I stayed and watched him re-lay the first one. This is probably why they only have a 5 year warranty on the PVC dingy's.
Had the same floor problem with my WestMarine 285. I used the two part adhesive from WM, followed the instructions, and it has held for the past year and a half. Don't forget to mark or tape off the original position, both inside and out, so that the bottem can be reglued in it's original position. Acetone or MEK for the cleaner and prep. This seems to be a common problem (Heat and Humidity) with the PVC dingy's. I went to the local repair station in Pensacola and he had two floors that he was working on in warranty. He was helpful and I stayed and watched him re-lay the first one. This is probably why they only have a 5 year warranty on the PVC dingy's.
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