Need help refurbishing tender

importmonkey

Opinionated Member
Jul 9, 2015
1,056
Space Coast, FL
Boat Info
2005 260DA (sold)
2007 44DA (sold)
1989/2015 Hatteras 65c
Engines
12v92TA
Got a dinghy with our boat. Didn't hold air and 25hp Mercury wasn't worth anything. Need to get a new 9.9 but also need to clean up and seal the inflatable. Anyone have experience and/or know of a good shop to do this around DC/Baltimore?

AB 10.5

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AB makes a pretty decent inflatable. And the Merc looks decent. Do you know what's wrong with the motor? Have you checked the dinghy for leaks. Looks fixable for a DYI.
 
Motor needed too much to get going.

Hope to bring the dinghy back to life. Not sure how good she'll look when I'm done, but it better be great or the admiral will sink her.
 
I have a 12.5 foot Zodiac with a 1981 20HP Merc. The Zodiac has been on planes to the artic a few times and down some rough rivers. It has a soft bottom. I have put holes in it and scuffed it up a bit but I found the Zodiac dealer does a very good job fixing it. Take it to the dealer ask what he would do and what it would cost to fix. If he has no concept try a different dealer. Same goes with the Merc. Mercs seems to be bullet proof. I have had mine fixed a few times and always came back in good condition. If the lower unit oil has no water in it top end repairs should not be too expensive.
 
I bought a new Zodiac from Annapolis Inflatables and all was smooth. My buddy took an Avon to them for repair and it turned into a long drawn out mess.

I don't know that there's really anyone else in that area. Just make sure to lay out cost and timeframe expectations up front.
 
I have a buddy who painted his dinghy this past fall and he says it turned out great...
 
A lot of sign shops will work on inflatables. We have one here locally that does a great job. He completely resealed my Zodiac for a good price. For the engine if you haven't had a shop go through it I would I have seen a many of engines that were sold as non-repairable that were repaired for a reasonable cost.
 
Check out the thread I started here: http://clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/dinghy-rehab-project.82830/ I went through a rehab of my own dinghy and couldn't be happier with it. I just wish that I was able to make it work with my davit system, but it's too heavy so I'm intending to sell it and find something lighter.

It really wasn't that tough to do with the Inland products, it was just time consuming and I had to deal with heating the garage since their products have a minimum temp to cure and I was well below it when I did the refurb.

Kevin
 
Check out the thread I started here: http://clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/dinghy-rehab-project.82830/ I went through a rehab of my own dinghy and couldn't be happier with it. I just wish that I was able to make it work with my davit system, but it's too heavy so I'm intending to sell it and find something lighter.

It really wasn't that tough to do with the Inland products, it was just time consuming and I had to deal with heating the garage since their products have a minimum temp to cure and I was well below it when I did the refurb.

Kevin



That's pretty badass, Kevin. Thanks. Makes me think I can actually restore this thing. She's pretty beat, but it my be possible. Now, if only I had a garage like that to do it!
 
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Finally finding the time to start into the refurbishment of the tender. Got her up on the operating table, pumped up and found a few abrasion leaks.

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My plan is to clean her up, seal it from inside, put a coat of rubber paint on and also paint the trim with top paint. I think I'm going to go with white with blue trim to match the mother ship.

A few more shots...

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Does anyone know how I can get the painted numbers off? Should I use some fine grit sand paper to "level out" any rough spots?
 
If painted use EZ Off oven cleaner. Try a small area first.
 
I'll be interested in the progress and outcome of this project. Glad to see the liquid rubber works with Hypalon and PVC. I inherited an AB rib that was left in the sun for years, so I'm facing a similar situation.
 
I went ahead with the rubber paint. Here's before, during, and after. made quite a difference. One caveat to this, be extra careful about spilling distillates on it. My gas fill line overflowed, and the gas bubbled up the paint where it ran down the side. Only fix is to remove any paint that is no longer sticking, clean the area, and repaint.
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Nicely done, looks great! I've had a couple of wear spots on mine that I need to touch up. How well did your touch up areas blend in with the rest?
 
Nicely done, looks great! I've had a couple of wear spots on mine that I need to touch up. How well did your touch up areas blend in with the rest?
The biggest issue is that it's very difficult to mix a small batch. So, I haven't redone it yet. Waiting for a moment when I will just put another coat on the whole top.
 
WOW!! My old Maxxon may have some life left in it afte all!!
 
Screw it.

Got a great used 2010 Avon Hypalon with 2010 20hp Yamaha 4-stroke from Annapolis Inflatables for $3,250.

Much happier!

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