Fitting inner tubes to our rib

[Spencer2903]

Hi
Firstly thank you to all of you who welcomed me to this forum last week.

Now we have taken delivery of our rib it seems like it is an old Tornado Arrow rib....overall it is in brilliant condition but does need some tlc.

The hull is perfect.., and it sits on a 5 year old trailer which has had a new axle, new tyres and bearings and is set up well for the rib. The outboard which is in near mint condition is a 70hp Evinrude and I think from the serial number the year is 1994..it starts perfectly and tell tale is very strong and when I took the hood off the engine seems hardly used and near mint condition.

Onboard the rib the remotes, control box, steering and console are in great condition and it has a 25ltr tank...

However, the tubes only seem to hold air for a day at most...and it seems that the rib has had inner tubes fitted...

I hope this isn’t a silly question, but I want to fit some new inner tubes...how do you get the old ones out....?

Do I make a small incision in the original exterior tubing and slide the old ones out and put the new ones in or, do is unglue the are where the original tubes meet the hull, then take out the inner tubes this way and then fit the new tubes and reglue to the hull.

I would appreciate your advice on this and finally, I think I and my son will struggle lifting the outboard out of the water so I want to retro fit power trim and tilt...is this a viable option as I have seen some kits on eBay to do this...

Thank you all again.
Regards
Spencer

[beamishken]

Personally I'd save my money towards a complete new set of tubes, someone already fitted repair bladders that have failed which isnt a good sign. I think repair bladders are roughly half the cost of tubes but a retube is a far better option & will make the boat more saleable in the future.
Contact Dave Cowal of north west ribs here on the forum for a competitive quote.

[Spencer2903]

Thank you beamishken......I will contact him tomorrow ....and what are your thoughts re power trim and tilt retro fitting....it is a massive heavy engine.

[Ribtecer]

This thread is useless without pics!!!

[Spencer2903]

Sorry to have troubled you ribtecer!!!!!!!

[Ribtecer]

Originally Posted by Spencer2903

Sorry to have troubled you ribtecer!!!!!!!

Not at all, just interested to see your rig.

[Spencer2903]

I have attached a pic....

[jeffstevens763@g]

i know its stupid but have you gone over with dilute detergent to find out if there's leaks i recently bought a new boat the keel kept going down it turned out to be a loose valve, valve spanner sorted it

[beamishken]

The 70 was available with ptt so you may find buying a burst engine with good ptt unit the most cost effective method of converting your engine. That said its not a particularly easy job on some engines depending on whether you need to change the saddle.
Its sometimes easier to sell and buy with ptt fitted
Maybe check the assist ram is charged and not lost its assistance and give it a go with what you have

[Spencer2903]

Hi Jeff
The rib has 4 valves and so I thought I would buy 4 new ones from eBay first to see if that does the job...and of course a spanner too.
Silly question but looking on rib shop how do I know the type of valve to buy ...are they all a standard size etc?

[Spencer2903]

Beamishken

Thank you...on the assist ram..ie the main ram rod how do I tell if that has lost its assistance..ie what should it be doing if working correctly?

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Spencer2903

Hi Jeff
The rib has 4 valves and so I thought I would buy 4 new ones from eBay first to see if that does the job...and of course a spanner too.
Silly question but looking on rib shop how do I know the type of valve to buy ...are they all a standard size etc?

Spencer have a look on polymarine I think they have more of a choice failing that send them a picture of your valves certainly worth looking at those before talking new tubes