Replacement inflatable floor for dinghy

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The inflatable floor in our twelve year old Avon dinghy is suffering multiple patches, time for a new floor methinks.

Ron Hale in Portsmouth wants >£500 for a new floor, madness! Has anyone found a source of economically viable replacement inflatable floors? There is a firm in the U.S. that supplies but it seems madness not to be able to source locally.

TIA

rob
 
iS THERE NOT A WAY TO COAT THE FLOOR IN FLEXIBLE RUBBER COMPOUND SUCH AS THAT USED IN FLAT ROOFING ? Will it bond ?

Is the main problem leaks, or strength of floor ? I was pondering this recently with my leaky side seal plastimo ............
 
I had the same problem with my Avon Rover 2.8 after losing the inflatable floor in an incident of incompetence, I spent a good while on the dilemma and ended up paying the £400 it then cost and waiting a long while for delivery, check they have them in stock before you pay up. Other option is obviously to buy a second hand boat and use the floor from it.
 
Surely with an inflatable, even a treasured one ( just had to ditch my wonderful Zodiac companion of 30+ years ) - major bit like floor knackered = boat knackered, nature's way of saying ' get another boat '...
 
Seajet said:
Surely with an inflatable, even a treasured one ( just had to ditch my wonderful Zodiac companion of 30+ years ) - major bit like floor knackered = boat knackered, nature's way of saying ' get another boat '...
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I am not sure that is the case with these Avon dinghies, the tubes in ours are still A1 and the replacement cost is rather high. Our Avon Rover 2.8 has lasted very well whilst mates have got through at least two or three PVC dinghies. Since I bought the new floor it has been fine and still looks good and works perfectly, holding air and coping with the abuse that we throw at it.

I guess that it is like the broom that has had four new heads and two new handles.
 
Toutvabien,

well one learns something useful every time on these forums; I am not familiar with the Rover Avons, the idea of replacing modular bits of an inflatable is a new one on me.

My 1980's Zodiac 240 roundtail was brilliant, big tubes - but folded smaller than the cheapo pvc 230 replacement, was also robust, bright orange for safety - but eventually it developed a lot of small leaks.

If I could have brought it back to life for £4-500 it would have been money well spent, but it was all over not the floor.

New Zodiacs have a major question mark re quality and I travel much shorter distances at the moment, have hardly even used the Seago 230 replacement; it seems the best of its ilk for my current use but shortly after I bought it the light 3D jobs came out, as weight is important to me I'd have liked to try one.

When I resume proper cruising I'll probably have to get a better inflatable, so this is an interesting thread...
 
Robih said:
Ours is a Rover 2.8 as well. Mad that a new floor costs as much as a new PVC dinghy!

Harumph!
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The price of the floor is related to the price of a new hypalon dinghy. Difficult to buy nowadays, but a hypalon dinghy like yours would be over 3 times the price of a new floor. So, you have a choice. Invest in a new floor which will mean the Avon lasts another X years, or spend a similar amount of money on an inferior boat that may, or may not last X years.
 
My zodiac has needed new blue floor slats pack at about €40 and hopefully now new non melting row lock replacements at a surprising£100 approx. Not bad running costs for 30 years, and yes it is Hypalon. Never totally dry, but unimportant in sunny Med. paddling de rigour as might be said, as shoelaces try to throttle the driver!
 
Toutvabien said:
I had the same problem with my Avon Rover 2.8 after losing the inflatable floor in an incident of incompetence, I spent a good while on the dilemma and ended up paying the £400 it then cost and waiting a long while for delivery, check they have them in stock before you pay up. Other option is obviously to buy a second hand boat and use the floor from it.
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I'm afraid it's usually the inflatable floor in any dinghy which is the first to go. So purchasing a second hand dinghy will probably result in two useless floors.
If the £500 is considered too high a price to pay, and the existing floor is beyond repair, why not replace it with a hard floor in marine ply?
 
I believe that Airdeck floors are all made by the same company. I know that the airdeck in Quicksilver, Avon and Waveline looked to be identical. I suggest you try another supplier, we had very good service from EP Barrus.

(I wish I had known they were so expensive, I sold an almost new one for £50 not long ago!)
 
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