Avon floorboards

Greenheart

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Sorry, not a very fresh theme.

I now have two round-tail Avons, a Redstart and a Redcrest. Both very antique, both reassuringly heavy and robust.

Both also seem able to bear my weight if I step on the rubber floor, but they dip in that spot as if I'd dropped a pétanque ball on a soufflé.

Is 6mm 1088 marine ply the stuff to make floorboards from, or is 9mm better?

Is a piano-lid hinge the thing to use to make the boards foldable? I've never cut a piano-lid hinge to size...can it be done without ruining it?

And is there a preferred hard-wearing brand of epoxy or deck-paint to cover the boards with?

Thanks for reading. Pictures here when the job's done. (y)
 

Kelpie

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I don't often bother putting boards in the bottom of my Avons (I have three... I reckon the first two must have been a breeding pair...) Makes the dinghy considerably heavier, and when stowing upside-down on deck I'm a bit worried that a board could slip out of place.
Mine are probably 9mm, if not 12mm. They are in three parts, with some sort of plastic extrusion strip to join them (it's a H profile).

What you do to finish them is up to you really. The Rolls Royce standard would be to get Robbins Elite hardwood ply, and epoxy seal all edges and faces, then finish with a 2-pack product. That would cost many times more than the dinghy is worth, and likely outlive it.
But you could equally buy some WBP stuff from Jewsons and slap some own-brand Screwfix garage floor paint on them, and assuming you're not leaving the dinghy full of water for months on end then they would probably last many years.
 

Travellingwithtoby

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Have planned similar, and after a trip to the wood shop, 6mm really isn't very supportive but that's just my opinion!

Ss piano hinges just put some masking tape where you want to cut, but just above so you end up with a bit of the round sticking out get a pair of moderns or flatten the end with a hammer and anvil (you have an anvil right?) Haha

Doing so stops the rod coming out and making a hole....

Paint I am still deciding on what paint to use on the steel boat! Haha
 

johnalison

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I've had Redcrests and Redstarts, the later Redstart with boards. I used them a few times and then gave up as they made setting up harder, the boat heavier, and potentially gave rise to chafe, without making enough difference to comfort or speed. If making a dip in floor is a problem, the answer might be a pair of snow-shoes.
 
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oldmanofthehills

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I have never fitted the boards in any of my four inflatable. Harder to fold up and get in locker. Harder to lift on deck.

For a tender a floor might be ok if all stored inflated ashore, but a hard dinghy is better still.
 

NormanS

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My Avon(s) have some sort of a PVC(?) sheet on the floor, which has four athwartships slots, into which strips of wood are inserted. I have to deflate and roll the dinghy up, before and after every trip, and this makes it easy since the boards stay in the dinghy. The boards are approx 150mm x 10mm soft wood.
 

Pete7

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I made a set out of Wickes 12mm plywood, only the micrometer said it was actually 10.7mm :mad: I cut the fold length ways and used 3 HD plastic hinges to hold them together. That worked well enough, shame despite the several coats of gloss paint the plywood layers separated in short order. I cut the boards to the same size as a set of wooden Avon boards we had, but they were too difficult to fit so chopped about 1" off each side, then trimmed the corners so they fitted properly to the tube joins.

They were a pain to store on board so ended up lashed to the lifelines. Sold the Redcrest and went back to our transom dinghy with slats which is much more stable :)

Pete
 

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neil_s

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Another Redcrest owner who doesn't bother with the floor boards, here. If you need something a bit more solid under your feet, why not just cut a rectangle of ply, say, 2 feet square, and drop it in the dinghy when you want to use it? A lot easier to stow than official Avon boards.
 

Ceejay

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I seem to recall that I slipped a piece of laminate flooring into the sleeve when mine broke. It was exactly the right width, just cut it to length and smoothed the ends. That was a few years back and it’s done the job ever since.
 

pvb

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I always found the boards a pain. Just get used to having wet feet (or a wet bum). Alternatively, get a nice new dinghy with an airdeck!
 
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I had an airdeck Lodestar 290 until the airdeck sprung a terminal leak, then I made 12mm ply boards on grounds of cost. Two, not hinged just butted together about one third back from the bow, under the thwart. Instal them half-inflated. Top edges half-round routed to avoid chafe on the tubes, Primacon and Danboline. Heavier but far more solid, but mine is stored inflated on a stern arch davit. I wouldn't want to dismantle and rebuild it each time.
 

BabaYaga

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Is 6mm 1088 marine ply the stuff to make floorboards from, or is 9mm better?

Is a piano-lid hinge the thing to use to make the boards foldable? I've never cut a piano-lid hinge to size...can it be done without ruining it?

Not an Avon, but a similar type of small, round-tail – Achilles LT-2: I seem to remember mine are 8mm, the hinges are "soft", made from four strips of hypalon fabric that are riveted to the boards. (The original aluminium rivets were not up to the job, I replaced them with copper rivets).
Any screws would be very short, too short in my view.
I find the floor boards rather essential for the over all usability of the dinghy, also suspect it rows better with them in. As they indeed are awkward to put in and take out onboard a small boat, I keep my dinghy stored folded on the coach roof with the boards in place. Makes a wedge-like shape that fits nicely under the vang. I am sure some will disagree on how sensible this is, but it suits my boat and type of sailing.
folded.jpg
 

LittleSister

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Another possibility is slats. These make to possible to roll up the deflated dinghy when in place, and might weigh less than full boards. They are also much easier to store aboard when not in use. Have worked well for me.

In a couple of inflatables I've had, the slats are athwartship, with ends held vertically in place by the inflated tubes. The corners and edges of the slat ends are rounded off.

They are stopped from sliding forward and backwards by being slotted under straps arranged in two parallel rows the length of the floor, and made of flexible PVC (?) material glued either end to the floor.

I'd guess the slats in one boat were varnished ply and about 4" wide and 1/4" thick (some of these broke, but only when they got quite old), and in the other they seemed to be painted solid wood, about 5" wide and 3/8" thick. There might also be some plastic suitable for slats.
 

Greenheart

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Thanks for so many prompt responses...my email isn't alerting me, I only found these by looking for the thread. Is that affecting anyone else this weekend?

It seems most people, whether they made floorboards, or bought them with the boat, found them more bother than they liked.

In spite of that, I'm going to have a go. Doug is right as I see it. I often have heavy or pointy things with me in the aged Avon, and I'm no lightweight elf myself this year. The whole inflatable concept is a large amount less appealing if the boat isn't structurally quite stiff.

49980309777_1f1f177410_c.jpg


The rubber floor under significant burden gives a good impression of the PVC beach-toys I had 40 years ago, and I bet it was the same when it was brand new, probably at about the same date...hence, Avon provided floorboards.

I guess it depends how long you spend in the inflatable. If it's only for brief use to-and-from the yacht, and if it needs packing down small at both ends, woodwork is sure to be a pain. I like a long idle row on the river, with a heavy coolbox of lunchables, grapnel and other bits that offend a soft floor.

Thanks for some helpful ideas. (y)
 

arcot

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I had an airdeck Lodestar 290 until the airdeck sprung a terminal leak, then I made 12mm ply boards on grounds of cost. Two, not hinged just butted together about one third back from the bow, under the thwart. Instal them half-inflated. Top edges half-round routed to avoid chafe on the tubes, Primacon and Danboline. Heavier but far more solid, but mine is stored inflated on a stern arch davit. I wouldn't want to dismantle and rebuild it each time.


Air deck now
Available
From
Ebay
Or
Alibaba

Custom sizes too
Just ask the seller
Must draw floor on squared paper to scale with every dimension
 

Greenheart

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February 2023

My, how time flies. I long since sold the yacht to which my Redcrest was tender.

I still have the inflatable though, and a smaller Redstart. I wanted a dinghy for fun at the beach last year, and picked the Redstart as it takes up least room in the car. I bought a couple of sheets of 6mm 'marine ply' from B&Q, cut them to size and epoxied them fairly thoroughly. Photo from before I coated the boards. I used H-section plastic strips to join the boards, as recommended here.

52433358264_f94a64a46f_c.jpg


I mixed black and white 'Fortress' all-surface paint (very tough stuff, recommended) into the exact same shade as the classic Avon grey. Two coats made a thorough covering, plus I knew that if I could ever see any unpainted wood, that area would be subject to chafe.

I knew DIY-store grade of marine ply was a gamble which risked wasting the epoxy and paint and all the time spent measuring, cutting, sanding and painting. I have to say the ply hasn't failed yet, nor did its thinness make me worry. I suppose if, without boards, loading the unprotected rubber doesn't actually deform more than a few square inches of the floor, then pressing substantial localised weight on 6mm ply which is itself supported by the rugged yet flexible bottom, doesn't subject the wood to breaking forces.

Late in the summer I met a mate who used 18mm or possibly 20mm ply for his Redcrest floorboards. They looked tough enough to load up with commandos and their kit, but they also represent a significant bulk and weight burden...

...so, to the many contributors to this thread who simply don't use or own floorboards for their Avons, I can say that having made my own for the Redstart, I will gladly repeat the effort for my Redcrest this year because it's so much better than the soggy rubber floor of these old-fashioned tenders. Thin, light ply is strong enough if treated, and isn't a monstrous bulk to carry or stow.

Knowing I'd have to carry the dinghy, floorboards, pump, oars, anchor and substantial picnic from the carpark to the beach, I decided to make a trolley. I found a Conwy kayak scupper trolley (that's a link to my review), clearly designed for kayaks but quite easily adapted, using the oars as handles and the floorboards to make a platform for the other kit. A real success...sadly no better photos.

52668704234_4019037d70_c.jpg


Even further off the floorboard topic, I'm looking for an additional pair of the heavy black rubber lugs which sit on the outer underside of the Avon round-tail boats' tubes, in which the engine bracket fits securely. I've no idea why my Redstart is missing those - the dark circles are present, so perhaps it was over-engined and the lugs worked loose, or maybe the bracket was used to lift the boat onto davits. Whatever the cause, I can't mount my Tohatsu without a replacement pair of those loops.

I found an equivalent product, here...but they look very lightweight, more like the things one sticks on a windscreen to hold up a sunshade, than the thick semi-solid rubber of the Llanelli originals...

...it occurs to me that I could get what I need if somebody was scrapping an old Avon, although that assumes these boats ever die. If anybody is himself getting rid of one of the old round-tail boats, or sees someone at the end of his tolerance with the old tub's shortcomings, I'll gladly pay for a pair of the originals.
 
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