My very loved boat is ruined... is this fixable?

[Invader675]

Hello, first post here I hope this is the right place to post this.


I have a lovely Zodiac which is a lot of fun to zip up and down the local rivers and beaches in, unfortuantely due to the virus this was left in a garage at my dads for two years... and a mouse has decided to make it's home inside the boat.



Is this repairable or is the boat dead?



https://postimg.cc/Z9RC5RzL
https://postimg.cc/zbHvTcBb




The larger hole I think could be patched but the one on the seam is probably impossible to repair?

How safe would any repair even be?

[Steve509926]

Is the 2nd hole part of the rubbing strake? Has the seam been comprimsed?
Although I've never done a repair like that I think it's got to be worth a try.
You will probably have to peel back the rubbing strake to expose enough "good" tube to adhere a patch too.
I would think that an internal patch as well as an external patch will be required for both holes.
There are lots of videos on YouTube showing internal/external tube repairs.
Good luck and post the results.

[Keith 1]

I feel really sorry for you.
It's made me buy some electronic mice traps for my shed and I also put the boat up on top of a cabinet.
I know they can climb so I'm going to make an aluminium box to keep it in .
Hope you can patch it up

[Bigmuz7]

This is a subject close to my heart as I leave my RIB in a shed for 11 months of the year ... but its on a trailer .. I know we have mice , but the boat is clear of the ground and walls and so far so good .. where did you have yours sitting Invader 675 ? I mean was it on the ground for example ?

[Invader675]

Thank you for the replies all - I had my boat inside a fairly untidy garage but it was about 4 or 5 feet off the ground ontop of several large wooden boxes.

If you can afford a metal container which can be made air-tight (or mouse-tight at least) then take it from me it is very much worth the rather expensive investment. Mouse traps, poison etc... were not enough.



I have spoken to several boat yards and because my boat is PVC (I thought it was hypalon) and because of the location of one of the holes it is beyond safe repair, I would not want to be out on the water and the patch to pop open so with safety in mind it is sadly the end of my boating, at least for now.

[Fenlander]

I agree sadly. Be it experienced DIY or a pro job that repair couldn't be expected to have any particular guaranteed life and the hole that could open up at sea is a fair bit too large to risk.

[treerat]

Personally I think both are repairable.

Having seen one of my old boats repaired it would mean;
making an incision further along the tube,
adding a patch on the inside,
sandwiching this with a patch on the outside
then a simple repair to the slit made to get the tube sealed.

It's unlikely to pop off or open up due to the sandwich design.

[spartacus]

Everything is repairable, but in this case no. Even with inner and outer patches, the integrity of the repair would always be a question mark in my mind.

You can pick up older Zodiacs for a few hundred pounds that are still serviceable, so your days on the water don't need to be over until you get the funds to replace it.

[babbot1]

Sorry about the issue. Those mice are very annoying and distructive.
It's too late for this boat but for the next one I recommend throwing in dryer sheets during storage. Around here Downy dryer sheets are the most popular.
I stuff them in the middle and on top. Smells good too unlike moth balls. I use them on lawn equipment too where they have been very districtive for me eating wires in the shed.

[Ribtecer]

For what it would cost to fix by someone that knows what they're doing, you could buy another good used boat, check ebay in the depths of winter. A month before Christmas is a good time when folk are after £££