F-Ribs And Sibs - Inflatable Boat Community

Hi Everyone. Lots of great info here. Hope you are all enjoying the water instead of quarantining at home!!

I bought a zodiac mark 2 heritage classic. I wanted something safe for family but small enough I wouldn't have to trailer. Now with 25hp remote setup it is looking likely I will just leave setup though. Can boat be stored with transom and bow wheels instead of trailer? Does floor have to be broken down and sand washed out regularly?

My first sib and have a few other questions as well...

For a boat with removable floor ive been told that having some water under floor is normal. Any ideas for getting it out? Seems like it can't be good for the wood in between aluminum and synthetic teak. The manual pump I found seems too big to fit in corner of floor board. I have hoped to leave on clothesline mooring I have setup in the marsh in back of my house but not sure about rain water getting in or out and how often inflation is needed. Also the self bailing covers should always be on or off when at mooring or underway?

Along those lines lines I'm a bit confused by the portable air pumps as well. Do those only hook to car battery? Can they be hooked to solar panel or any kind of cordless battery options available?

Thanks for info!



Rob

Hi Rob!

I’m not sure about leaving the boat on it’s transom wheels for any length of time. I can’t put my finger on why, it’s just a gut feeling.

A small amount of water is normal and if your boat is stored with the main tubes parallel to the ground then the water would pool away from the boards anyway. Personally I only ever remove the self bailing bung when there is a lot of water in the boat as they can leak (or mine have at any rate).

I would take the board out and clean under them regularly but not necessarily frequently. Unless you are regularly bringing large amounts of sand and mud into the boat on your shoes and clothes then every month or so should be fine.

With regard to electric pumps, they are generally designed to be connected to a car battery but any 12v power source with sufficient capacity and power delivery capability will do. Many people use a 7ah lead battery (common in household alarms and UPS systems). I use LiPo batteries designed for RC planes and cars as I have quite a few of them.

Thanks for the info mate. Haven't been on in a bit. Finally got out for the first couple times and working out the kinks. It flies along on plane so a lot of fun so far. Just working out trim a bit and trying to keep it clean. I live on the marsh so mud seems to be inevitable!