Avon Rover R-380

I have just aquired an Avon Rover R-380. It was given to me by a friend so I have no investment as of yet. My son and I have a desire to repair it for use next spring. It states that it has a load capacity of 1400 plus pounds and will accept up to a 25 horse engine.
It looks pretty good other than a couple of 8 to 10 inch rips in the float tubes. It also has no floor. I was wondering if this RIB oringally came with a wood, aluminum or air up floor. Also I was wondering how many air chambers were in the floatation tubes. According to the air valves it would appear that there are 3 but when I try to air it up it acts l like it only has 2. As I said earllier I would like to repairs this boat. I am not sure what yeat model it is but I do have a serial number. Anybody have any advice for a beginner?

Thanks,
Curt

Re: Avon Rover R-380

Hi there, welcome to iboats.

You're going to have some challenges with this boat. Avon's are good boats and they use quality material, hypalon in this case. The Rover 3.80 uses wooden floor boards. I would advise looking on ebay or craigslist for used boards because making boards that would fit is very difficult and even then, they would require special rails that you would have to salvage off other boards. These rails cannot be fabricated, or at least you would not want to pay to have them fabricated.

The 8 to 10" tears you describe are repairable, but tears that big are sometimes quite difficult to repair well. It's a job for an expert, but if you want to give it a try, go here>> www.nrsweb.com for all the supplies and repair instructions you'll need.

That boat is a 3 chamber boat, but it sounds like you have a tear or a rupture in one of the bulkheads that separate the tubes internally. I would just live with that problem, too costly and involved to repair on a boat that old. I'm assuming it's an older model 3.80.

Good luck with your project, pics would be nice!

Re: Avon Rover R-380

Thanks for your response and the web address. I will get some pics soon.
Curt