lifespan of an inflatable

ratherbefishin

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Messages
240
how long is an inflatable good for?I'm looking at an older Zodiac-Hypalon I believe.What do you look for in determining condition-apart from leaks.
 

deejaycee_2000

Captain
Joined
Mar 28, 2006
Messages
3,447
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

I would say about 5 years depending on how you take care of it .....
 

jnewtonsem

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Mar 20, 2006
Messages
100
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

I have a 1990 Avon-(hypalon)- No leaks, 1 smal patch- so far so good. I've had it about 3 years and was well cared for by previous owners.
 

ratherbefishin

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Aug 11, 2003
Messages
240
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

so-apart from obvious leaks and cracks-what do you look for in determining condition?The seller says the boat was used in the summer on a lake and stored in its bag the rest of the year out of the sunlight.He has a 5 hp Honda 4 stoke out board used under the same conditions and is looking for $1100 for the package.
 

jnewtonsem

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
Messages
100
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

Is the material soft/flexible, discolored/faded, valves in good shape, seams look sound not peeling back, few patches/scrapes, transom in good shape. In orher words has it been taken care of stored out ogf the sun etc.

I will say, I think I hold a minority view on this board about longevity. I believe Hypalon holds up much better than PVC and mine doesn't get a lot of use, but I do use it on the coast and up to about 2ft seas. So far holding up well.
 

nobrainsd

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
230
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

It is not always easy to tell if a boat has water leaks, particularly while sitting in someones driveway! I would suggest you do what I did to locate leaks and check the seams in my boat, inflate the boat and fill it with a couple of inches of water (being careful not to splash water outside of the boat). Small leaks in the floorboard and water seeping at seams on the transom will be obvious.
 

TOHATSU GURU

Admiral
Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
6,164
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

It's not unusual to see 20 year old Hypalon boats. It's very unusual to see 10 year old PVC boats. Virtually all Zodiacs are PVC, not Hypalon.
 
Joined
Jun 24, 2008
Messages
60
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

So the Saturn are also PVC, is it worth the difference in $$$ to get the zodiac pvc vs the saturn pvc?
 

TOHATSU GURU

Admiral
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Jul 22, 2004
Messages
6,164
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

Material aside look at the differences. A dealer network for Zodiac that will perform warranty repairs versus no dealer network for Saturn. If you want a compromise I would look at Mercury. In between on price with service available in every(almost) state.
 

ratherbefishin

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Messages
240
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

Pardon my ignorance here-but I asked the man selling the Zodiac whether it was PVC or Hypalon-and he said he couldn't see anywhere on the boat what material it was...so how do you tell?
 

TOHATSU GURU

Admiral
Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
6,164
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

In general, Zodiac does not produce a boat in Hypalon that is available to the public, so it has a 99.999 percent chance of being PVC.
 

jnewtonsem

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
Messages
100
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

What's the year and model?
If it is a consumer model after about 1990 it is going to be PVC. I understand that there are different qualitiy levels of PVC. I have not had direct experience with Zodiacs but my impression is that they use a high quality material which MAY hold up better than the many of the Asia models. Zodiac seems to have a good reputation and there are satisfied owners out there. Certainly see many more older Zodiacs for sale than Asia brands. Again not speaking from experience and trying to "flush out" some opinions. Maybe someone else can comment.
 

jnewtonsem

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
Messages
100
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

Of course if its Deejaycee's boat-life will be measured in weeks not years no matter what its made of!
 

Palssonater

Seaman
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Messages
60
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

My MKI and MKIII Futura are 21 years old with no major repairs. Patches here and there but that's the fault of the operator. Keep them free of grit and gravel, dry and out of the sun and you'll have em forever.

At the end of the day, they are not that hard to repair.
 

nobrainsd

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
230
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

I have a 98 zodiac futura made with pvc. I inspected a number of used boats before I bought it. I have to admit that a well made hypalon boat (like the dink we used with our Westsail) will stand up to exposure and abuse much better than a pvc boat. It is also true that many of the hypalon boats I looked at had been directly exposed to excessive amounts of sun and were in really bad shape. Certainly a well cared for garage stored boat is the best bet regardless of material type.

The tube seams on the zodiac pvc boats are heat welded. I only saw heat welded seam issues on pvc boats that were totally sunbaked. I have never had issues with my tubes. However, the speed tubes, the pvc bottom seams and the transom are just glued in place. I looked at a number of older pvc boats that all had issues with these seams. I would expect them to be an issue at some point on any zodiac. Filling the boat with a few inches of water (the bathtub test) will show that even some pretty good looking boats have water leaking at points along the floor and seeping at the transom. It isn't always obvious without a test. I have repaired my Futura and none of the seams have separated or leaked since (almost two years). I go out to surf in my boat and it takes a pounding running over shoaling swells. I like my pvc boat, but think that anyone buying a used zodiac should expect to do some work on these seams at some point depending on age and exposure.
zodiac14.jpg
 

WLG347

Cadet
Joined
Jan 30, 2006
Messages
6
Re: lifespan of an inflatable

I bought a used 1986 Zodiac MKII 14 footer a few years ago. There are plastic cones at the pontoon ends that are glued on. I had my first air leak around the cones the end of last year, and was able to re-glue them and the seam by myself. (Zodiac Dealer wanted $500, glue was about $45.) My boat is made of PVC, and so far has held up to Minnesota summers and winters. I was told by Zodiac that the best way to store them is inflated and out of the sun. Not folded up. I was also told that storing a boat folded up is the worst way. If you buy an older boat have the seller inflate it and spray all the seams with Dawn dish soap mixed with water in a spray bottle before you buy it. The leaks, even small ones, will bubble up and be exposed. Put some water in the bottom on a dry drive way and see if any leaks out of the floor seams. I was told that I should watch my transom because as the glued surfaces grow old, the wood transom may separate from the boat. So far, not a problem. I run a 15 HP on mine, it's rated for 55 HP. If you find leaks in the seams be ready to glue if you buy, or it may cost alot to repair.
 
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