Help with an old 1987 Zodiac RIB

[seanavent]

Originally Posted by cgoing

The foam tape helps to seal the tube to hull to prevent water from coming in. The newer boats are desgined a little different and no longer use the foam tape. Zodiac does not stock that "seal kit" anymore for the older boats. I went to Home Depot or Lowe's and got a sticky backed foam tape that is about 3/8" thick and stuck it to the hull. It does the trick just fine and cost me under $20.00.
Selaing that area with 4200 or caulk of any sorts will jsut make a huge mess of your new tubes. Good luck with the boat !

-Chris

Hey Cgoing -

Do you have a picture of how you installed that 3/8 inch rubber weatherstipping? I've had the boat out a few times and I'm still getting water into the back of the boat between the tubes and the hull on my Zodiac 420 Pro. Did you install below the tube bolt rope or above?

Thanks,

SA

[cgoing]

I do not have a picture right now. Tubes are coming off this week and I can take photos then. The foam tape is above the bolt rope track.

-C

[seanavent]

Great - thanks! I just tried a 3/8 inch thick by window seal rubber:

M-D Building Products 6635 Sponge Rubber Tape, 3/8-Inch-by-3/4-Inch-by-10 Feet, Closed Cell, Black - Amazon.com

It definitely helped to the point where I only had to pump the boat out a couple times over 3 hours, but it still leaks a bit more than I'd like. But at least I feel comfortable taking her out now.

Again - thanks!