Air Leaks Zodiac ProJet 350

[WaWaZat]

I’ve got a 2001 Zodiac ProJet 350. One of the tubes is leaking from the area in the back where it’s reinforced. Seems there’s already a patch there that’s falling off. Is this a difficult repair?

Does anyone know of a tube repair shop in NW Indiana, Chicago area or SW Michigan?

Also, a the valves had a slow leak, so I replaced them all. Now it’s even worse. They leak pretty good with the caps off. The old valves leaked very slowly with the caps off. Is there a source for a top quality valve out there?

[fastasfox]

I think everyone will offer you the same advice...you will be chasing your tail by repairing it, as once the glue starts to go in one area then the rest of the seems will soon follow. This sounds negative but it's the brutal truth.
You can buy the glue and acetone to give the repair a go yourself ( plenty of advice on youtube) but most professional boat yards won't touch the repair.
Good luck.

[WaWaZat]

Originally Posted by fastasfox

I think everyone will offer you the same advice...you will be chasing your tail by repairing it, as once the glue starts to go in one area then the rest of the seems will soon follow. This sounds negative but it's the brutal truth.
You can buy the glue and acetone to give the repair a go yourself ( plenty of advice on youtube) but most professional boat yards won't touch the repair.
Good luck.

If that’s truly the case, then I suppose the solutions are;
a) buying a new tube
b) buying a new boat

It seems Zodiac may still offer new tubes. How difficult or easy is this to do for someone somewhat mechanically inclined, but without direct experience?

Buying new… at least for under $20k, may be difficult. For what we use it for, the replacement would have to be small, inflatable and inboard. I don’t see anything that fits this criteria out there. Does anyone know of anything?

[blufin]

There’s a member on here, DefenderInd I think he’s called, based in CT who sells genuine Zodiac tubesets, gave me a good price on a new set for a 350 Projet last year that I had with very similar issues to yours. Mine had had some poor repairs done and were just too far gone. Cost of shipping to Ireland and customs duties etc. ultimately put me off. I ended up having a set made in Hypalon closer to home using the originals as a template. The tubes themselves are very easy to fit, they attach to the hull on a D/rope rail so they just slide on and off, remove a small plate under the bow and a couple of attachments on the stern and then just slide them off.
DefenderInd seemed like a very helpful guy, might be worth a PM

Hope that helps

Gerry

[fastasfox]

Originally Posted by WaWaZat

If that’s truly the case, then I suppose the solutions are;
a) buying a new tube
b) buying a new boat

It seems Zodiac may still offer new tubes. How difficult or easy is this to do for someone somewhat mechanically inclined, but without direct experience?

Buying new… at least for under $20k, may be difficult. For what we use it for, the replacement would have to be small, inflatable and inboard. I don’t see anything that fits this criteria out there. Does anyone know of anything?

That about sums it up pal.
The good news is that the tubes for your Zodiac are readily available and super easy to fit....especially if you have a hand (one feeding one pulling.)
You could buy a brand new boat but I imagine they are expensive in America too. If you buy second hand then you run the risk of having the same problems down the line as you don't know how well they have been looked after.
At least if you re-tube it you know what you have got and you can be assured of it's safety.

Went on a big Rib cruise last month (80 ribs) and one of the RIB's on the cruise blew it's end Cones off so the only section left inflatedwas the bow...again glue failure was to blame...he managed to limp it to Jura to be recovered by ferry.

Food for thought ?

[WaWaZat]

Originally Posted by blufin

There’s a member on here, DefenderInd I think he’s called, based in CT who sells genuine Zodiac tubesets, gave me a good price on a new set for a 350 Projet last year that I had with very similar issues to yours. Mine had had some poor repairs done and were just too far gone. Cost of shipping to Ireland and customs duties etc. ultimately put me off. I ended up having a set made in Hypalon closer to home using the originals as a template. The tubes themselves are very easy to fit, they attach to the hull on a D/rope rail so they just slide on and off, remove a small plate under the bow and a couple of attachments on the stern and then just slide them off.
DefenderInd seemed like a very helpful guy, might be worth a PM

Hope that helps

Gerry

Thanx! I've sent him a PM. He hasn't answered yet... hopefully he's still on here. He hasn't posted in a while.

[Peter_C]

For the cost of some glue I would surely give it a shot on trying to repair it. The main parts of the tubes should be thermo-welded and they don't tend to fail. Everything glued...well that part might need to be re-glued.

[spartacus]

Yep, I’d give it a repair too. Preparation is everything, right ambient temperature plus check there’s not too much humidity. Back in Blighty, we’re struggling to get a week of dry weather!