Leaky Zodiac Tender

[fontmell]

Hi help please my old tender leaks a little I suspect from the transom seams or the corners by the tubes. I have patched but still have small ingress, is it possible to pour in a liquid which will set/seal the small holes - I am thinking Capitan Tullys - or anyone a different solution. thanks

 

[sarabande]

I've seen this stuff

http://www.ribstore.co.uk/shop/home.php?cat=14


but have no direct experience of it.

 

[Gordonmc]

I used similar stuff bought from Polymarine with some success.
Just pour the contents into the inflated sponson/s through the valve, then turn the dinghy over a few times, all ways.
On my Hypalon Avon it sealed slow leaks for about two seasons. I will maybe repeat the exercise to get a few more years.

 

[Seajet]

I had a wonderful Zodiac 240, a brilliant tender for over 30 years; however it eventually developed multiple leaks and I had to bin it.

I suspect its departure was hastened by my lending it to two careless types when I thought their lives may depend on it for a long trip, and when I eventually got it back - after a punch up as the idiot preferred to keep it - it was damaged; moral of the story, don't lend valuable inflatables to gits, it's only interfering with Darwin's work !

 

[LittleSister]

Just pour the contents into the inflated sponson/s through the valve

The OP refers to 'ingress', and the transom seam being a possible culprit, so I take it he is talking about a leak of water into the boat, rather than a leak of air out of the tubes.

Assuming that to be the case, to help track down the location of the leak try partially filling the boat with water when it is dry and while supported a little off the ground. It is much easier to see where the leak is on the outside than it is on the inside, where the exact location of the leak may be hidden in a corner or between the tubes and the floor.

I suspect once the leak location is found you might need to peel back the joint between parts, clean up the faces, and then reglue. (Make sure you are using the correct adhesive: it's different for PVC and Hypalon type fabrics.)

Adding patches without knowing where the leak is seems to risk making a bad situation worse.

Also consider getting it repaired by a specialist: it might be cheaper than a new inflatable if you're not confident of success..

 

[Seajet]

My 1980's Zodiac developed multiple leaks beyond patching which I did try, rather hard; while I'm sure misuse by the gits I mistakenly lent it to hastened its end, time has no mercy and I had to get a new dinghy to be reliably safe.

 

[GrahamM376]

The OP refers to 'ingress', and the transom seam being a possible culprit, so I take it he is talking about a leak of water into the boat, rather than a leak of air out of the tubes..

I seem to remember a few years ago, reports of Zodiac transoms coming unstuck from tubes, can't remember if it was a bad batch or general fault.

 

[FulmarJeddo]

I was given a Bombard AX tender (made by Zodiac I believe) that had a small leak and one side of the transom rather badly repaired. The black reinforcement patch to attach the transom had peeled off the tube on one side. I patched the hole and did what I could with the bodged transom reinforcement. I left it inflated overnight to test it and the transom reinforcement peeled off on the other side. I assume it was something wrong with the original glue. I must have another go at one day.

We had a Narwhal rib at one time that literally fell apart after a few years use if left out in the sun. The glue just went soft with heat.

 

[ex-Gladys]

Had a Narwhal tender that came with the old boat, so I did the right thing, inflated it in the garden overnight...

Next morning both major side seams behind the rubbing strip had given up over about 3' per side... briefly (as in for 10 sec) thought about getting it repaired, until I realised I couldn't trust the other seams

 

[BobnLesley]

If it is tiny air-leaks that are being asked about, then we had good results on an increasingly porous dinghy using the white liquid wood-glue (like all the best ideas, it wasn't my own):
Mix the glue with water at a ratio of about 50/50 and inject it past the valve, taking care not to get any on the valve itself, pump the dinghy up really hard and swing/roll/generally slop it about to spread the glue/water mix over the inside, then suspend with the area you know/think the worst leaks are at the low point and leave for at least 24-hours. Giving it another swing around from time to time might help - it certainly didn't do any harm. Hot weather aids curing as does deflating and re-inflating - very hard again - the dink to change the air inside - I gather it's contact with oxygen that cures the glue? It extended the life of our hypalon rib by a couple of years and a much cheaper alternative to the proprietry sealants. We used about 3/4 litre of glue to treat all three air chambers on a 2.7m rib.