Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

[davelovejoy]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

The bench seat with the white seats are the exact same seats I have in now. Mine are attached to one of those swivel mounts making it easy for the spotter to turn around. The problem I had is the back support giving way. I haven't takin' them apart yet, but something definitely bent or broke and now I don't have back support. My seat screws go up into the seat too. I'm going to take them apart this week and figure this one out.

I've been out twice this week and the first time I took my boat into shore, but got salt in the engine compartment and on the battery. Do you know if its ok to hose them off? I know I don't want to get water in the carb and I don't want to get the battery wet while connected.

I've been relying on these D-rings to support the engine if there was any problems with my not-so great previous transom epoxy job. I just want to get a few uses out of it before I take the whole boat apart and fix and clean everything. I went wakeskating for the first time the second time I took out the boat, it was sweet. How does your minitower work? Anyways, I'll send pics when I have something new to show.

 

[nobrainsd]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

Are your seats made of wood or is the internal frame plastic molded? Mine are wood and I think they are the strongest option. Hard to find anymore. Most seats have the internal plastic frame so they won't rot. The cheapest seats have really cheesy molded interiors. Companies like B&M have a better quality roto molded internal frame, but they cost a little more than the economy models I see out there. They may look the same, but they are not. My buddies really cheap econo mode Wise seats died straight off.

I've seen a bunch of boats with ratchet straps from the transom to the seat supports and the like, definitely will give you some extra lifespan on the failing transom, but I'm not sure I would jack on the tubes from the d rings you have. Be nice to your tubes and the glued floor seams. Put the stress on the floor structure. It's firmly attached to the transom and it doesn't flex as much. You are loading up on the tubes as it stands. Just a suggestion.

I flush and wash my boat with Salt Away after every use. Every so often I carefully wash off the engine with the cover off. Make sure you don't flood the electronics or spray water into the carbs. I give the accessible surfaces a wipe down and leave the cover off until totally dry. Wiping off the battery and keeping the terminals clean is a good idea if you get water in the battery box. The ends of the battery cables are notorious for allowing moisture into the cable and corrosion can make a seemingly good cable fail to carry a full load. Most boating supply stores sell two kinds of cables. One is a little more expensive and has a shrink fit seal on the cable end. Definitely worthwhile even if the end is not left out and fully exposed. Everything in an inflatable gets some salt water exposure, even inside the battery box.

I continued to run around in Mex with my transom totally leaking. Fish for an hour, then run around for a bit with the self bailers open... you know the routine! A lot of water in the boat did affect performance and I made sure to empty the boat before we ran the surf over the bar, but the zodiac handled the ballast pretty well! Have fun and don't forget your lifejacket.

 

[davelovejoy]

Bench Seats Conversion and Salt Away

Bench Seats Conversion and Salt Away

I decided to take the bottom cushion off of the bracket that connects it to the backrest cushion. I then mounted the bracket (still holding the backrest cushion) directly to the zodiac bench seat. This way the plastic seat bottom breaking wouldn't be the weakest link. I then mounted the seat bottom cushion directly to bench as well and used all SS nuts and bolts. As long as those brackets don't bend I should be good. I'm going to try it out this weekend.

I picked up some salt away and am going to flush this engine out in a second. Thanks for the tip. I'm hoping this fixes my no water out of the peehole problem. Unless I run at high RPM I don't see water coming out the hole, just the propellor. I was thinking it could be salt build up. I'll let you know how it works.

I'm off to clean my boat with MEK. Time to put on the mask and do my karate kid work out.

 

[nobrainsd]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

Salt Away is a good product, but with nothing coming out of your pee hole on the boat motor... well, when was the impeller last replaced? It isn't that hard to do with the repair manual open. All sorts of people have recommended to me that I replace it every year, particularly with the beach launches and surf runs (lot's of sand and grit in the water). Really sucked when the old one failed on my second trip (right after I bought the boat/motor). The buzzer was wailing, steam was coming out of the engine and I found a nice head gasket leak when I got home. Unless the impeller has been recently replaced I bet that it is the issue. If the engine cooling passages are actually blocked you will probably need to pull the covers and physically address the blockage. Salt Away has worked well in my experience to help motors run cooler by reducing and preventing deposits internally, but I wouldn't expect it to work like drano

Bolting the seat bracket right to the bench top sure sounds like a good idea to me. Great move!

Ugh, MEK the entire boat to clean it? Dang, That stuff really softens the PVC. It does harden back up, but that sounds a bit over the top. If you must use something hot to clean spots or serious marks, try a quick acetone wipe. Acetone lightly wiped will pull off most everything and doesn't soften up the PVC as much because it flashes off really quick. I would really avoid using any solvent over seams. I usually just ignore most of the small marks on my boat that won't come off with a regular wash. If you are going to abuse your PVC like that then you better re-apply some 303 protectant on it. I read a lot on this forum about other protectants, but the river raft owners and companies I deal with all use 303. Their boats take some real abuse constantly. 303 doesn't interfere with repairs and it won't attack your seams. Does make the surface a little slick for a while. In my el stupido opinion you should not strip the PVC with solvents and fail to coat it with something. I 303 my boat once a year.

Oh yeah, as far as you battery terminals getting a little wet... I have my console off right now and I'm giving all the electrical connections a wipe with a little dielectric silicone grease. Great stuff. Protects terminals and electrical connections. If you are getting a little salt water in your battery box it is a good preventative measure.

 

[davelovejoy]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

I seem to have some carpel tunnel going on in my right hand, so I can't type much right now. But, I agree with the 303. I've had my boat for 6 years and its been sitting in the sun baking and getting dirty. The dirt is imbedded in the zodiac. So I'm going to just use the solvents to get the deep spots, then apply the 303 and try to keep better upkeep this time. I have a cover now for the boat, so this should help as well. I successfully detached the bad glue job from the transom with a blow dryer and plyers. I used a razor knife for the tough areas and it went smoother than expected. I threw the engine on a hoist and deflated the entire boat. Tomorrow I'm going to take pictures of my boat for my before and after comparison. I'll post them to show my mods and for others to learn from my mistakes. Im doing a total zodiac overhaul job. How does your ski pole work? I was thinking of installing something to the floorboard while the boat is apart. Thanks for the impellor idea. I'll look into it. Also thanks for all the previous glue pics and directions. They will be my bible for the next week. Do it right or don't do it at all is my new motto.

 

[nobrainsd]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

I'm stoked to hear that your bad glue job came apart in a relatively easy fashion! So the heat worked well in some areas and not as well in others? Did that correlate at all to where the bond was better or worse? Would appreciate any insight you might impart regarding your process. Always good to refine ones technique.

The wakeboard pole hasn't really been tested enough yet. I got out there a couple of times on just one day. The boat driver and spotter didn't see any untoward movement of the pole, the supports or the floor. I'm just a beginner at wakeboarding so I didn't really get to lean into it and feel confident the assembly is right. I need a good rider to lay it out so I can drive and really look at the whole thing. That said, the assembly is way more secure than the simple deck mount on my buddies boat... I was surprised to find no backing plate on his mount, just a couple of washers. The method of attaching a long aluminum plate to small aluminum plates inside the flooring that extend out to the very edge of the floor where they engage the section end cap and ultimately the side rail works great. I used the same method to mount my bench/console arrangement. There is no cross plate for the console/bench. It is bolted down directly on each side. That has quite a bit of weight on it, takes a lot of loading from the boat motion, gets tugged on by my hands as I steer and has people standing on it regularly when casting. The whole assembly hasn't come loose, hasn't flexed the aluminum floor and is effectively keyed into the side rails that hold the floor sections together. Very sturdy, the strength of the floor is in the sides. I don't expect any issues with the wakeboard pole, I just have to let you know it hasn't fully earned the Nobrain good seal of approval yet. I highly recommend this method of attaching larger loads to the floor. A battery box or gas tank can be strapped down to footman's loops fastened to the thin floor top layer with stainless pop rivets, but anything that gets leveraged will want a more secure attachment point. There are pictures of that mod in my prior Zodiac mod post. I have repaired holes and small cracks that occured in the aluminum floor top layer where there was a bait tank previously installed on my boat. It was simply bolted to the floor and flexed it. Not good. The end caps and all come off the floorboards very easily with a soft mallet. I have one that is made of rolled leather and a couple of whacks frees the sections right up without damaging the surface.

Obviously I'm crazy about my boat. Has it been a bit of a pain? Absolutely. But since I did the whole glue adventure the boat has been reliable, strong and way too much fun. I look forward to seeing your work in progress!

 

[davelovejoy]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

So this is my story. I went to the inflatable boat store to buy the NRS glue, talked to the maintenance crew about the glue process and I totally chickened out. They told me they would do it for $430, and I figured that as informed as I am I may do it wrong again. I felt that since this transom job is so important too this boat operating correctly, that I would pay the money as 2 things of glue were going to cost $60 plus all the extra supplies I would need. So I feel stupid, but secure about at least the job will be done right. The pics are my prep work before I decided to hand the job over.

http://picasaweb.google.com/davelovejoy/ZodiacRepairs?authkey=o-qz-RrfUeY

On another boat topic. I mounted straps on the wooden bow floor behind the bow bag for the gas tanks. I haven't heard of any problems with this, but haven't seen it done yet either. I have two 12 gallon tanks and figured it would be a good spot considering that no one likes to sit up there and its just empty space. My only concern is the weight. Any thoughts? I guess the best way to test is to try, but considering my boat is gone for a week, all I can do is wait.

 

[nobrainsd]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

Well, $430 sure sounds like a deal to me! The local inflatable repair place wanted way more than that from me and their quote didn't include all of the other repairs I made at the same time. May have had something to do with all of the glue globbed on by the previous owner. No one wanted to deal with it. I will tell you, doing the job properly and letting all of the layers properly cure before overlapping took a lot of time. It sucked to glue and then wait 72 hours for the next move. If these guys can do a good job for $430 you are ahead of the game! It works for them because they do a little on one boat and then some on another. Professionals aren't trying to whack the whole thing out, or at least they shouldn't be! Since you have a little info about the process you should be able to have a conversation with the repair guys and make sure you are satisfied with the work flow. It will always be your *** on the line if the job fails, so stay on top of it.

Two 12 gallon tanks! I ran for the longest time with one 12 gallon tank up forward in the exact same spot. The weight up forward was really helpful in getting the boat to ride flatter and have less bow rise. I don't know if you will get a little bow heavy with 24 gallons ... experience will show what you can get away with. I moved the gas tank under my raised console/bench. Now I'm ordering an aluminum tank for that space that is a little smaller. My 50lb AGM battery and box will slide right into the space left by the smaller tank. All of the heavy weight in the boat will be forward, out from underfoot and well secured. Definitely going to hold on to the plastic 12 gal tank for carrying exactly where you have yours as additional expedition fuel. I have yet to end up with too much weight forward regardless of all the camping stuff I have carried upfront. The forward tank location is great, just got in the way when fishing and hauling my anchor in. Sure wish I had a Mark111 rather than the Mark11. There is never enough room!

 

[davelovejoy]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

Sure wish I had a Mark111 rather than the Mark11. There is never enough room!

I think its a syndrom of always wanting what you don't have. I have gone threw similar feelings when I was wakeboarding on my boat... Not a big enough wake and no tower. Then when I wanted to beach launch at Gaviota or beach my boat at the islands... Too heavy and backbreaking to beach launch, possibly blow the speed tubes beaching, wheels sink in soft sand and don't work/break, water/salt/sand in engine when beaching. I will say this... My Mark III is bad at all these things but is great on gas milage for towing and driving the boat, easy to tow, good for tubing and wakeskating, easy to anchor (knowing how to anchor correctly is another subject), kept my mind fixated on a project thats fun for me to mod, safe in the ocean and rough conditions, fast, and a great 1st boat.

As for the boat guys fixing my boat. They are the most highly recomended boat specialists in my 50 mile radius (www.inflatableboats.net), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'll post some new pics when I get it back.

 

[nobrainsd]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

I need three boats... but I don't have room for them. Yeah, the zodiac has it's limitations, but I can't imagine towing a hard hull down Baja. Every once in a while at night I would touch the brakes on the pick up just to see the trailer lights in the drivers side mirror.
Estrero Coyote beach launch

Saw your pictures of your trailer. That was a $400 deal for me before my first Mex trip. Replaced every u bolt and fastener with ss ($), replaced the springs and re packed the bearings. Also added this reinforcement to my frame too. Not as many unpaved miles anymore, but we did bounce the whole thing all over the place! You are right, the zodiac gets around without a lot of weight. You must have some cojones to boogie out to the islands...

 

[myersc1]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

Alright guys I'm gonna jump in here although this has nothing to do with detaching pontoons from the transom...I may have to do that someday. I recently purchased a 2004 futura mark III. My original thinking was to be able to have a sort of dual purpose boat. One with the HD pack and a larger outboard to use locally and a second where I could deflate it, take a smaller lighter outboard and pack it in the trunk of my car for rv trips where I take my tow car. Now the rig I purchased has a 50 hp Yamaha with the pack and seems a bit more permanently put together although when I make up my mind I guess I could tear it down but not going to happen anytime soon. What I like most about it is that I didn't have to buy a special tow vehicle. I tow it with my '94 ford escort. I went to Portland to get it and towed it the whole way back without incident. Just for the record I hate the seats without a backrest. I've been out on a few multi hour days and my back was killing me at the end of the day. So I am going to rectify that by getting some seats with a back rest. I like your tractor seats nobrainsd and thought a lot about getting those then I saw an arrangement I thought I would like and would work well for me on youtube. This is the arrangement I'm referring to... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZDDaUxjzqw&feature=related . Would just like to be able to take out four people at a time and have a seat for them. Once I get the seating thing implemented then I will start looking at how to take the most fuel along. I'll post some pics when I get the seats done.

 

[nobrainsd]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

I picked up an extra zodiac bench seat off craigslist and ran with the four seat set up just like the You Tube boat has. Worked fairly well on smooth bay days, but those two front seats can be a pretty rough ride if you don't keep the throttle down (watch for wakes)! Sliding my drivers seat bench and the console/bench back to fit in the third bench shifted a lot of weight back, but it wasn't a problem with the two extra passengers on board. I'm with you, it's uncomfortable and not pleasant to tour around with no back seats or just sitting on the tubes. I felt that the boat was much more 4 passenger friendly if I removed the console/bench all together. I have run with just the two benches and the ride is definitely better for the front passengers (their bench can be farther back without the console/bench installed). I have been borrowing a smaller tiller controlled outboard to run when the console/bench and 40hp with steering are removed. Cruising around with the tiller control and well spaced seating is much nicer than squeezing everything in (and you won't need an extra bench/brackets). Even my new modified console arrangement unbolts from the floor if I'm serious about taking out four comfortably. So many possibilities... I follow the 90% rule to make my decisions. How will you be using the boat 90% of the time? Generally I'm going surfing alone, fishing with one other person or maybe two at the most. My mark11 isn't really comfortable with four people for anything other than poaching concerts, slower bay tours, some short transport and the like. The boat gets really crowded fishing with four! Yeah, I've taken everything out, installed the tiller control outboard and piled 5 divers and gear in the wide open zodiac, but it wasn't a long run, thankfully. I suggest you really think about what use you will be setting up for 90% of the time. Since I run offshore I choose to optimize my equipment for blasting the chop with two passengers. I can easily accomodate three, but running four involves quite a bit of work to change out everything. I guess my point is, for me and my use, that four person set up shown on You Tube was less than ideal. In my el stupido opinion a tiller control outboard is a preferable option to adding a third bench. I would rather swap the console and seats.

I have changed my console /bench mod a bit. Since the modified console is taller I had clearance to lengthen the bench top. Used marine plywood and polyurethane to seal the new bench. The console sits farther out to the side now. The control cables don't impinge on my leg room when driving anymore. There is a lot more space to move forward in the boat when it's set up for two and I can pop a single seat on the bench easily for a third person. That third person doesn't have to deal with tight leg room where the boat narrows (that is a problem with two people on a bench/seats set forward). I really don't think my boat is all that comfortable with four people in general. I suppose I'm old and decadent. When I poach concerts I bring a collapsible chair and slouch out in the open bow... I certainly don't think my set up is better than some other. Hopefully someone will get a few ideas of their own from my version of zodiac life. Have fun!

Space is tight between the tubes. The higher console/bench and tractor seats let me spread out. The console is about 5.5" farther out.

fatboy relaxation

 

[myersc1]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

Well nobrainsd thanks for the most excellent comments. It sounds like you've tried quite a few different configurations and use different configurations for different uses. I especially like the console mod you did where it's up higher and out further. Like you said that really opens up the boat. I have two primary uses for the boat at the moment and they are taking it out to the different Channel Islands which I think I'm going to limit to smooth water days. When I went out last Saturday I got pounded with two of us. I need to be able to take four out including two adults and two 7 year olds. I thought, contradictory to your statement, that the two highback seats in the front like on the youtube video would be more comfortable than a simple bench. I guess I'll find out. My other use is to the lake tubing where again I need seating for four. Hmmm maybe I need a larger boat. Anyway I'm frustrated trying to get a bench seat because it takes so long. The back order stuff from zodiac is 10-12 weeks. Finding anything that specific on Craigslist is well just luck. If anybody out there has a bench seat assembly that they want to unload let me know I'd be happy to take it off your hands.

 

[nobrainsd]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

Well, I have to give the You Tube zodiac guys credit. They have the back seats right up to the outboard, the console is definitely tight to the seats and the front seats are back as much as they can be. Probably a decent ride? All I have to say is sit upfront and take that ride. It isn't quite the same as sitting farther back. If I was serious about bopping with four I might go with a tank upfront, really forward console, a set of bench/seats and the second bench/seats right aft. The bow will always have a lot of motion. Better for stuff than people. Nice to have weight forward though, that's why I keep working fixed weight toward the front edge of my aluminum floor. Had to replace my control cables to shift the console as forward as I did. Just far enough back to cover the rear of the tank under the console. Tank fills from upfront. Front edge of tank is even with aluminum floor section front edge. If the tank wasn't under the console and was installed on the wood section of flooring, the console could be mounted right up to the aluminum track/flooring edge. That would maximize the room aft for your two rows of seats. Just a suggestion.

Sheeeit! I keep hearing from people who make the run to the Channel Islands. Are all of you certifiable or is it not as nasty as I imagine? I am so going to have to get a good chart and look at the actual distance.

I may be moving to Seattle. Doesn't make warm water man very happy, but I've been looking at destinations and I hope to hit Barkley Sound this spring. Hope to live up to the example of all you Channel Islands runners.

 

[myersc1]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

From the public access boat launch at channel islands harbor Anacapa is only 12 miles. The first day I went, on a Sunday about three weeks ago, the water was as smooth as glass. I went full throttle the whole way there and made in just over 20 minutes. That was my first time out in the ocean with my boat and I just went by myself to try it out and to get acquainted with the gps and vhf radio. Check out this site for wave info: http://www.17ft.com/ . The day before I was at Lake Piru and it was rougher than the ocean on that Sunday! I go down to San Felipe over turkey day and was wondering if there is anything special I need to know about taking my boat down with me? Most surely I would get some form of mexican insurance...is there anything else I might need?

 

[nobrainsd]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

If you look online many sites will tell you that to fish in Mex you need a fishing license for each individual in any boat carrying fishing gear (in use or not) and a boat permit. The boat permit is no longer required. Here is a link to the proper Mexican official website in english. The fishing regulations are also posted on this site. http://www.conapescasandiego.org/contenido.cfm?cont=MAIN&CFID=185696&CFTOKEN=72158653

It was my understanding that a tourist card was required to travel to San Felipe, but I have been told that the border zone has been extended? You should check that and be sure to get your tourist card if you are leaving the border zone at all. http://www.mexonline.com/visamex.htm

If you are going to be running mexican gas you should definitely consider a fuel filter that separates out water and particulates. Simple funnel models from places like West marine work great, are easy to carry and work when you fill the tank. The gas/diesel available does fluctuate in quality quite a bit!

I've seen lot's of trailers on the side of the road over the years. Buffed my trailer out with new ss u-bolts and replaced the springs before I hit Mex. Any doubt in your rig, you better be proactive. I've never had a flat, yet. But I travel with two spares. One complete spare is absolutely the minimum. Don't rely on some aerosol can of flat fix. If you hit something serious you may find the tire unfillable.

I really had to watch my tube pressure on my roadtrips south. In the evening, running along the coast, my boat would cool off and lose rigidity. It needed to be pumped up to ride well. The next morning in the desert as the sun rose I was bleeding pressure. I didn't keep the boat fully inflated, but the boat sits better on the trailer if it isn't underfilled. Easy to forget after a long day.

Tubing sure looks like fun and I'm jealous of your relatively new big tube boat. Hmm, twelve miles doesn't seem like a big deal... unless the weather turns nasty. I've got the waterproof gps and radio, but that sort of run makes me a little nervous. I have trekked pretty far on desolate coastline, but I like to at least think I'm at a self rescue distance. If all else fails I've got 200' of anchor line and chain so I won't end up adrift offshore. Running in deep water offshore always gets my attention. Thanks for the inspiration to stretch a bit.

 

[davelovejoy]

Re: Zodiac - detached pontoons from transom

I have a Mark 3 and I put two 12 gallon tanks on my bow. The front is definitely the most uncomfortable so I was trying to find a way to save space for the passengers in the back and make a more comfortable ride for the passengers. I have gone to Santa Rosa 3 times and made a trip over 150 miles without getting gas. I went to Santa Rosa from SB harbor (35 miles) camped and surfed for 2 days, drove around the island (50 miles), and went back (35). I have also been to Santa Cruz on 3 separate missions. Some say I was crazy, but the stability of my Mark 3 makes me feel more comfortable than many boats I've been in in the ocean. When it gets too rough, I slow down and don't steer horizontal to the swell. For seating in the back, I put the floatation cushions on the floor and upright, against my plastic storage container which lies against the transom. The cushions all meet the 4 person requirement for flotation devices for boats my size. The back of the boat is also the most comfortable and the back two passengers can optionally sit with there backs on the pontoon and their feat lengthwise across the boat. After 6 years of crazy ideas, some of my best, were the cheap simple ones.