hi first post a4 valves

[willowkevin]

hello, my first post , i bought an old avon s300 over winter, ive run fiberglass boats previously but i fancy the inflatable for just picking a waterway and exploring ....
my dinghy has 4 valves, but needs to have the plugs in two of the chambers to stay up! ive done some reading and see that the plug is described as the "secondary" seal? i dont fancy trying to replace these valves much so wondered what if any tricks folk have for restoring them ? i did use the dinghy back in december on my local river and had no problems so aren't too worryed but .....
oh and as a ps ! on my test run i borrowed a 5hp longshaft 4 stroke but have bought and old 7.5 hp s/s honda to use on her, what sort of speeds will i get with this? i ask this as with using the longshaft the boat didnt really like i !
cheers in advance kev

[jyasaki]

A buddy's Zodiac has the same problem. Not sure if there's a cure (short of rebuilding or replacing the valves.)

Perhaps a shot of spray silicone into the works while holding the valve open?

Dunno.


jky

[Ribshop]

Really the only long term solution would be to replace the valves. It is not as bad as it sounds and there are instructions on our web site.

http://www.rib-shop.com/prodtype.asp...ageHistory=cat

You can also purchase all the parts you need to do the job online.

If you have any questions just give us a bell.

[willowkevin]

thanks for the replies! i'll try the silicon idea first as if i have to change the valves i'd prefer to do this at the end of the season(gives me time to replace the dinghy if i mess up!) ive spent the last 2 summers rebuilding an old mercruiser and stern drive which i blew up on the second trip out so want some boating fun this year !! im only planning on using the sib on uk inland waterways and the boats stayed inflated in the font garden for he last two days ... it'll be ok unless someone knocks the valve !
another question - going thru locks ? do folk lock thru or carry their boats round ? i ask as ive only loops on the rear quarters to fasten a line to ! and am wondering how much controll ill have of the sib in a lock chamber when coming up ?
cheers once again kev

[ahebron]

Hello Kevin.
I too have an old Avon S300 with A4 volcano valves. If I don't fit the bungs in then it will go flat in a couple of hours. If I fit the bungs then it stays firm for at least a week (got bored waiting after that). I just us a bit of of spittle to ease the bung in when fitting.
I really cannot see the need to cut open the tubes and fit new valve bodies. The bungs are dirt cheap.

Adrian

PS be careful that you do not get silicon on the tubes. It is not good for them.

[willowkevin]

thanks for that adrian ! that was the answer i was hoping for !! i did take the dinghy out on the river ouse last week and had no trouble apart from a couple of pints of water coming onboard , thats curable though , i'm going to hav some fun on her , it only took me 30 mins to launch from a free slipway and i hardly used any petrol ! theres something to be said for these kind of boats !!

[m chappelow]

in most cases there is nothing wrong its just a bit of t.l.c or cleaning the rubber seats, though a squirt of silicone spray or wipe with silicone grease usually does the trick for a few years ,also if left deflatedfor a long time i usually leave the valves open to take the weight off the seals ,regards mart

[ahebron]

Kevin we had ours out on the harbour last night and had a great time. Watching the bow fold back to 90 degrees was interesting. This happened while surfing the waves and falling off the front of the wave. Popped back down and all was fine. Big grins all round.

Adrian