Sib - Age of pvc. Life span

[rossymtb]

Hi I have owned numerous Sibs... And just coming back to one now after a time with a speed boat horrible fibreglass things ;-)

Anyway I have come across a old stock of 3.3m Sibs with ply floors. A few of them infact. At half the price of a waveline. Category c boats full EU plated to 15hp. And just over 580kg

My only concern they are brand new in boxes. But could be upto 8ish years old.

What do you think the PVC will be like at this age? Un-used kept in dry garage

[jeffstevens763@g]

I would say as good as new being still in the box it's UV that damages them

[rossymtb]

Well that's what I was thinking. But just thought I would ask incase it's not a good idea.

I'm going to buy one tonight. So will post up what it looks like, may even buy two if they are good.

[Phil M]

My PVC tubes are at lease 15 years old and look great, having been kept indoors or covered. Some of the glued edges are pealing a little, but strangely only on the grab handle reinforcement and not on any of the air holding seams.

Still boxed tubes should be fine I'd have thought.

Phil M

[jonp]

Over here in intense sun and heat I use the uv blocking sprays which seem to keep it looking good. 303 marine aerospace protectant.

[beamishken]

Isn't it usualy the transoms that give out on older SIBs? I thought the general opinion was that 10 years old and the transom is in danger of coming unstuck ?
I've no experience except from reading bombard etc repair threads on here.
If it is the case then being unused or not won't make a difference as it's the life of the glue that's the problem
At the transom it's unlikely to be uv damage as they usually have thick fillets which stop the uv getting to the glue
I'd do a but more homework & maybe speak to a couple of sib repairers and get their opinion

[Roflhat]

My old thundercat is 12 years old and the rubber is still in decent condition. As said above the main thing that damages them is the sun, the same boat in Aus or SA would only last 3-4 years

[office888]

Unless vacuum packed, oxygen and ozone will still cause problems with the material and the glue.

As plastomers age, the oils that make them flexible rise to the surface. Those plasticizing oils destroy any glued surfaces.

Depending on the quality of material and quality of glue, this translates to a 5 to 12 year lifespan for glued surfaces on PVC/PU products.

Welded seams are not susceptible to this aging phenomenon... although if you don't stay caught up on the cleaning, the surface will eventually become sticky and nasty.

[rossymtb]

Bought it... Although I'm not sure if I wanted one this big again seems big.

So far I've had a
2.3
2.7
3.8

And now this 3.3 umm.

[jonp]

Originally Posted by Roflhat

My old thundercat is 12 years old and the rubber is still in decent dcondition. As said above the main thing that damages them is the sun, the same boat in Aus or SA would only last 3-4 years

There are still plenty of ribs kicking around from the Sydney 2000 Olympics, most have been repowered but the tubes seem to still be going strong. I have a mater that keeps his outside and just washes it with the uv protectant.

When I was in the market buying a boat I viewed plenty of older boats that were in quite remarkable condition considering our enviromeant.

Jon

[rossymtb]

Details on boat.

Has a few more of these left. And a couple of 2.7m ones

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by jonp

There are still plenty of ribs kicking around from the Sydney 2000 Olympics, most have been repowered but the tubes seem to still be going strong. I have a mater that keeps his outside and just washes it with the uv protectant.

When I was in the market buying a boat I viewed plenty of older boats that were in quite remarkable condition considering our enviromeant.

Jon

I'm assuming the boats your talking about are hypalon (protectors?) Which is a whole different ball game to a pvc sib many 40yo hypalon boats still going strong I doubt there won't be many pvc SIBs see that age without major rework

[Mextli]

I own an italian SIB called Eurovinil E2, its 37 years old as of now, still going strong with no visible detoration on the PVC.

Its got all seams welded though, and they have a very good reputation in Italy.

Chinese Boats fall apart at the seams quite early.

[jeffstevens763@g]

You've got a deal on a boat 8 years old go and enjoy it forget about what might fall apart just keep an eye on it invest in some tear aid for temp repairs and some 303 protecterant

[VanillaIceCream]

My 1998 white PVC Zodiac tubes are fine. Somewhat dirtier than new but look fine.

[rossymtb]

Second night I come home from work to try and inflate it all properly and it just goes dark to quickly.

I do have a issue though.... Seems it isn't fitted with oar locks. Which I will have to buy and fit myself. And no seat. Still cheap at the moment.