Musty smelling Dinghy

[ontherocks83]

My new to me boat, came with a 1977 Avon inflatable dinghy. It is in remarkably good shape and amazingly hasn't lost an ounce of air since I inflated it a week ago. My only problem with it, is that it is pretty musty smelling from sitting in the unused mother ship for a few years. I would like to try to deodorize it but am afraid that if I spray febreeze or PureAyre on it, it might damage the tubes.

Does anyone know either if I can use something like PureAyre on it or another way to make it smell better?

As a secondary less important question, does anyone know what material the dinghy might be made of and if any current manufacturers are still making this type of quality that can last 42 years and still be in good shape?

[JPA Cate]

Hi, ontherocks,

It will be hypalon. Wash it. Just the soap you use to wash dishes, and water. Let it air dry. It will be good as gold. That was when the Du Pont hypalon was still available, it is thick and good.

Now, the mother boat, may need some attention, as well. But that's another thread.

Ann

[a64pilot]

I’d say a little pine sol will do wonders for the smell, pine sol smell means clean to me, it’s a physiological thing I’m sure.
As far as new ones lasting that long, I don’t think so, and my thinking has to do with the glue, I guess maybe concerns of VOC’s or something has the adhesives not be as good anymore. My Zodiac fell apart at about three years, fabric was in excellent shape, but the glue holding it all together was failing, and all the external rubber bits were turning to goo.
Old Zodiacs were I believe among the finest inflatables ever made, but I guess those were French manufactured and well the new ones unfortunately aren’t the same.

[David M]

Water with some very diluted out bleach.

[ontherocks83]

It's unfortunate but also unsurprising that quality "isn't what it used to be". The Avon that came with the boat is great and I can't in good conscience replace it "just because", however I would like to replace it with something more modern with a hard floor and rigid transom. I just want to see how close I can come to that type of quality as possible. However I feel like my current dinghy will outlast any new production one that I can buy.

[JPA Cate]

ontherocks:

You want a good quality modern dinghy. Somebody's going to get a wonderful, easy dinghy when you sell that Avon. We have friends who used one of those, soft floor and soft transom. Cruised for years with it. Nobody wants to steal them, it's more fun to zip around with an outboard, although there were frames for the transom that would take a small Sea Gull motor.

If you're going to choose a new hypalon dinghy, the Swifts, made in Australia are good RIBs. If choosing between two brands, if both are hypalon, aluminum RIBs of the same size, any difference in weight will be from using lighter weight hypalon for the tubes. We got fooled with that, and were unhappy because the thinner hypalon wears out from sun exposure.

In fact, so unhappy were with the difficulty and priciness of good quality hypalon, that we actually retubed with the dread PVC tubes from China, made from German PVC. It is in its 4th year, now, and has had a cover on it, and the pvc is still good. But we expect 10 yrs. from a good hypalon dinghy, we'll see what the future holds with this one. The tubes are on a Swift hull, which is what Gemini (who supplied the tubes from South African hypalon) used for their dinghies, and undersold Swifts.

You really need a consultant, because the devil is in the details. You'll want to select the best quality hypalon/hull package you can find. The Highfield (Chinese) dinghies have a following here, but are not yet old enough to know whether they hold up to Swift, Caribe, or AB standards. You want the best, you want at least 18" tubes (keeps you dryer); and you want the 10 yr. guarantee. The black Bombards built by the French look pretty interesting. They are very heavy duty (their Navy use them); they are large and weigh a lot. Only know one couple with one, they've had it for years and years, now, and were quite satisfied with it, for their usage.

Good luck with it. Given your boat size, I think a smaller dinghy would suit better, but without knowing how many people and or pets you have to get to and from shore.....well, it's hard to make a recommendation. If the dinghy has to fit within your foretriangle to go places, that will limit it's size.

Air floors are vulnerable to fuel spills.

Dinghies, like big boats, wind up being compromises. Value per $, fits where you want to store it, does what you need or want. Good luck with it. It's more complicated than one might think at first go.

Ann

[ontherocks83]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

ontherocks:

You want a good quality modern dinghy. Somebody's going to get a wonderful, easy dinghy when you sell that Avon. We have friends who used one of those, soft floor and soft transom. Cruised for years with it. Nobody wants to steal them, it's more fun to zip around with an outboard, although there were frames for the transom that would take a small Sea Gull motor.

Since I know the original owners, I would feel so bad about selling it, I would have to hold on to it to give it the best life I could, it is very useful and would be a great back up / spare dinghy. It does have an outboard mount (see attached picture) but it is not "meant" for high hp, high speed exploring. I don't want to get rid of it by any means, but I do want to eventually get something that is a bit more modern. 1st world problems I know.

Anyways back to the original question. What is the safest way to De-Smell the avon for this coming season?

[ontherocks83]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Wash it. Just the soap you use to wash dishes, and water. Let it air dry. It will be good as gold. Ann

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I’d say a little pine sol will do wonders for the smell, pine sol smell means clean to me,

Originally Posted by David M

Water with some very diluted out bleach.

Originally Posted by ontherocks83

Anyways back to the original question. What is the safest way to De-Smell the avon for this coming season?

Sorry not sure why I wrote that at the end as there were already several responses. Must've been a bit tired last night when I responded.

Thanks all for the input