In this article we’re gonna do five top tips to look after your inflatable boat.
All of these inflatable boats, out of all of the brands, need to be looked after. Unfortunately it is what it is, but it takes a little bit of effort and then it’ll last a long time.
But it goes for all of your gear, you’ve got to look after it or else you’re going to just go through gear and break things and all that stuff.
The tip number one is a very obvious, easy tip. Don’t drag it on the floor. Why?
Because you don’t know what is on that floor. There could be little nails, there could be hooks, there could be all these little things that can hook into your boat or puncture your boat. You don’t want that!
Tip number two is got nothing to do with your boat itself, it’s got to do with your battery, your battery for your trolling motors.
These deep-cycle batteries actually use charge if they are left on the ground. I don’t know why, I’m not a I’m not an electrician or electrical engineer, but basically don’t store your deep-cycle batteries on the ground. Put it on a piece of wood, put it on a shelf or something, but make sure it’s not grounded.
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The reason why I’m saying it is because there are a lot of guys that have been boating for years and they all say store your batteries off of the ground.
Tip number three is when you store your boat, make sure to wash it, because when mud and stuff dries, it gets crumbly and then it gets abrasive
That abrasive stuff will go against your material and will actually cause damage to your boat.
That is the first part of number three. The second thing is when you do store your boat, make sure it’s in a place where there are no rats.
Rats for some reason love chewing this material. In rats, teeth keep on growing their whole life and they must gnaw so that their teeth don’t grow through the skull. So they find things to gnaw on. Unfortunately inflatable boats that are made out of material that is very delicious to them.
They will chew on that thing all day. So you leave your boat for a couple of months and then you will find a big hole in your boat, which is very difficult to repair.
Try to put you boat in a place where the rats don’t float, try to keep it away from baits and grains and all sorts of food items, because if they’re not likely to go there, they’re less likely to eat your boat.
For tip number four, let’s talk about the science, especially about molecules. Air is made out of molecules, so is water, so is solid, so is everything.
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When there’s a lot of air in your boat, when you pump your boat up, it’s got lots of molecules. Those molecules are moving around and they they’re bumping into each other and bumping against the inside of the boat. They are trying to get out and they are doing it all the time.
What affects those molecules is heat. The cooler it gets, the less they fight against each other and less they hit the inside of the boat trying to get out.
When it’s cold and your boat is pumped, those molecules are kind of fighting and they’re trying to get out. If it heats up in the day, that same amount of molecules are now fighting like crazy, because heat increases the molecular movement.
This can actually over stretch your boat. So tip number four is to make sure to release air out of your boat when it gets to the hottest time of the day.
In the evening and whet it’s cold, your boat will get a bit softer and in the day, when it’s about 12:00 or 1:00 o’clock, your boat will get super hard. So before twelve o’clock, maybe at about ten o’clock or 11 o’clock, just let a little bit of air out and that will help your boat not get too stretched and will help the longevity of your boat.
Here is tip number five. make sure to store your inflatable boat fully inflated. Iif it’s left there for months and months, it will deflate a little bit, but leave it fully inflated. Why?
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Because when these boats are bent they are bent on the seams, in the folds. It perishes the material, especially if it’s left there for five, maybe six months.
Those folds really get perished in it and you can actually get holes in your boat. If you leave it for too long when it’s folded up, yes it’s great that they can be folded up and you can transport them, but once you have transported them to where you will store them, inflate it and you’ll keep your boat nice and strong for a long time.
So these are my five top tips for keeping your inflatable boat nice and healthy for a long time.
How to Fix a Hole on an Inflatable Boat
Here is the technique of how to fix the hole in an inflatable or rigid inflatable boat.
- First you need to identify the fabric that your inflatable boat is made from.
- Secondly you need to locate the leak and thirdly you need to repair the leak.
- Pump the tubes to the maximum manufacturer’s pressure.
- Use a mixture of washing-up liquid and water and spray it in the suspected area and look for bubbles.
- To carry out the repair, make sure the tube is perfectly dry and clean.
- Next make sure you have the correct glue and patch material to carry out the repair.
- Let the tube down flat and lay the area to be repaired on a flat surface.
- For PVC fabric, use acetone to clean the area.
- Next we lay a sufficient size patch over the hole and we mask off the area.
- It’s important we carry out the repair in a clean dry and warm environment.
- Mix your glue to the manufacturer specification and paint the area to be repaired thoroughly with glue.
- Apply the glue to the back of the patch.
- Leave these two coats to set for 20 minutes.
- Now apply a second coat both to the tube and to the patch.
- While the glue is still tacky, roll a patch onto the tube, making sure you do not trap in the air.
- Clean off excess glue and leave for 24 hours.
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