strengthen pvc against shore rocks etc

_well__

Recruit
Joined
Mar 3, 2012
Messages
1
What materials can be applied
to underside and/or front of PVC inflatable so as to make it more resistant to sharp rocks (when pulling the boat onto shore), fish hooks and such ?

Fiberglass patches?
Thick paints?
Other fabrics?

Thanks for any help or advice
 

SimonB

Cadet
Joined
Nov 8, 2008
Messages
11
Re: strengthen pvc against shore rocks etc

Hi there
I have an Alaska Series inflatable fitted with their reinforcement. It works really well .. also on the sides for protestion against barnacles etc on pilings.
 

TOHATSU GURU

Admiral
Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
6,164
Re: strengthen pvc against shore rocks etc

It shouldn't be necessary to add any material....It's the equivalent of adding an extra sole to the bottom of a shoe.
 

CapeAnn

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 4, 2011
Messages
141
Re: strengthen pvc against shore rocks etc

It shouldn't be necessary to add any material....It's the equivalent of adding an extra sole to the bottom of a shoe.

The sole is typically the reinforced part of a shoe. For extra tough applications adding a little more material at the bottom of the pontoons makes sense for inflatables that get tough chores like the Alaska series inflatables. I've used one strangely enough in Alaska. The inflatable got dragged onto barnacle covered rocks with bits of rusted metal, gravely beaches and dragged up onto sharp rocks to get the inflatable out of the surf zone. The failure zone on the Alaska series was not on the reinforced areas, just right above it.
 

TOHATSU GURU

Admiral
Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
6,164
Re: strengthen pvc against shore rocks etc

Like I said, its the equivalent of adding an extra sole to a shoe. It does not make sense to do so under any kind of normal condition. If you worked in a nail factory and normally walked around on nails that would penetrate one sole, but not two. It would certainly not be completely ridiculous to get a shoe with a thicker sole. Inflatables are a little different. Typically anything that would penetrate one layer would almost certainly go through two layers. That's because it doesn't usually happen even through one layer. Most inflatables are damaged by sharp point objects that are not natural in origin. IE screws and nails. The Alaska inflatable was imported into the U.S. with the double layer bottom as a marketing gimmick rather than as an actual damage preventor( is that a real word? It should be). However, a variety of brands and models are made with additional chaffing pads on the bottom and sold as "heavy duty". They aren't, but that's the power of words used to promote X over Y. In the end, a double layer doesn't hurt anything other than the extra weight so it's a benign lie rather than a hurtful lie.
 

CapeAnn

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 4, 2011
Messages
141
Re: strengthen pvc against shore rocks etc

Your shoe analogy doesn't correlate well to the long-gone OP's posit. If I were walking in a factory with nails on the floor - I would much prefer to get a shoe with a sole that had a higher degree of resistance to penetration vs something that didn't. That, or not walk on the floor or get the nails off the floor.

If I were dragging inflatables onto a shoreline covered with nails, sharp glass shards, or newly-formed obsidian I would much prefer to have an extra layer on the surface of the pontoon most exposed to these materials. While PVC, Hypalon etc are incredibly tough I can guarantee you that if I used a ice pick I could poke a hole faster through one layer than two.

At the end of the day - inflatables are not all that fast so the extra hydrodynamic drag of reinforcement probably isn't a huge factor, nor would I be taking a inflatable into those areas where repeated bashing and cutting are everyday events. In Alaska, aluminum craft are norms. Especially for landing craft, or boats which need to be beached every so often.

If we were to get crazy about actual performance vs. opinion we could always ask for objective information from the Gary King company, or actual users of reinforced bottom inflatables. Note post #4.
 

Sea Rider

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
12,345
Re: strengthen pvc against shore rocks etc

And definitely a reinforced 2 layer bottom will hold more sand abrassion if boater is an avid "beaching" user, that is, exiting a boat under power against sand shorelines repetively, some takes this as a "beach sport"

Happy Boating
 
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