Zodiac Futura 4.2 mtr Boat & Trailer Refurbished, with a few personal mods

[shaun2020]

So I battled on thinking about the Ass hole who ripped me off originally with those hidden repairs etc, and dug deep in my pocket & refurbed the boat and trailer for peace of mind as the closer I looked the more I found

I had quite a bit of gluing and other bits to do, I have spent appox 50-60 hours labour time on my boat in total and I eventually managed to take it out for the second time since I purchased it in Aug 2013,

I must admit I could not of been any happier with my boat on Saturday, I still have a few things to add like fish finder etc, but thought I would share as I enjoy looking at other peoples boats for ideas

The top half of the box is for packeds lunch, Beers etc or could be used for Fishing Tackle,

New Trailer Hubs & Suspension
New wheel Bearings
Trailer painted
Jockey Wheel stripped & greased up
New Floor boards made up for the front of the boat
New Tube Valves all round (Makes a big difference)
Numerous parts of the flooring, glued / patched / re-inforced, £200 in materials
Waterproof Storage, Easily removable Tool Trolley I used to use for Fishing from the shore,
Seats stripped and painted,
Fishing Rod holders added
Wooden stand for the petrol tank to keep the fuel tank out of any water in the boat,
Fish finder & compass to be added to the boat and a home made spray deck to be designed & constructed for the front of the boat,

(Not sure why some of the photos have uploaded on an angle as they are not like that on my pc)

[shaun2020]

More Photos

[shaun2020]

More photos

[shaun2020]

more photos

[shaun2020]

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[beerbelly]

looking good

[shaun2020]

Thanks :-)

[SpearRib]

What hidden patches repairs did you find? Im looking at a 13.5ft at the mo, so would be interested if there are some hidden areas I should check.

[shaun2020]

Originally Posted by SpearRib

What hidden patches repairs did you find? Im looking at a 13.5ft at the mo, so would be interested if there are some hidden areas I should check.

Hi SpearRib,

The boat was basically inflated up when I purchased it on the trailer, and I had to replace the wooden floor boards at the front which I didnt think much of at the time, so I removed the boards as they were rotten, then I found a few places of the flooring where it glues to the tubes that were hidden by the boards which I was unable to see originally, then I found the flooring was starting to come away from the front of the boat in places and as I removed the ali flooring there was just more evidence of repairs which needed doing which I was unable to see when I purchased the boat with the flooring being installed and when I was looking from under the trailer with the flooring out I could see speckles of daylight through the flooring which lead on to closer inspection, so I then had more repairs of the flooring as I could see everything more easily where it was wearing away, it was mainly down the centre of the flooring on each side where the rubber strips goes all the way down the centre of the boat underneath, I think it is where the boat had maybe been beached several times etc from the previous owner, so I basically went around the flooring inch by inch and patched / repaired / reglued and reinforced the flooring, I also found the tubes did not hold the air as good as I expected, so i recently replaced the air tube valves and it has made a huge difference in the tubes holding their air longer, That is basically the blunt of the story but it was quite depressing after spending £1100 on purchasing the boat, other than that I had my boat out for the second time last Saturday and it performed quite well, the only other issue I have is one of the speed tubes do not hold air long but i can not find any leaks etc so I am going to try and replace the valve, the speed tube I would say did not lack performance really, it just was not as sharp at turning left as it is was If I turned to the right, other than that I am quite happy with the boat now, I have a 20Hp 4 stroke on it and I had two extra people on board the other day and one mate is a very large person, it did not knock the performance of the boat, if anything the weight kept the bow down and I was out approx 5 miles in no time, I did not know at the time but Zodiacs are a good boat but are prone to the glue failing on them, Hope this helps, and good luck with the boat purchase

[SpearRib]

oh man, all i can say is karma brother. i couldnt live with myself selling something without giving the honest truth of the product. i know others in this world will say buyer be ware, but thats just a cop out from taking a positive ethical approach to life. i hope it lasts you many more years to come, peace.

[shaun2020]

Thanks, hopefully I will have many happy trips out now, as they say you learn by your own mistakes,