Fixing the inflatable Saturn Dinghy
31 March 2014
• Bubby and Zayde's backyard
by Overcast
During my last sailing trip, the Saturn Inflatable dinghy let-in water. I'm pretty sure it was coming from the drain at the stern. It was a slow leak, but insidious. When I awoke in the mornings, the dinghy had a bunch of water inside, mostly below the level of the hard inflatable floor - even with the plug in all night. I had to pump it regularly or the water would pool at the stern and make it difficult to get up on a plane, even with the powerful 6hp outboard. Since this is a relatively new inflatable dinghy, I was not impressed. Granted, I towed the Saturn across the Sea of Cortez, down into Conception Bay and back, then I towed it across Lake Powell to Rainbow Bridge and back, then I towed it on another trip from San Carlos to Bahai San Pedro and back. During these trips, it was used repeatedly as a tender to and from the dinghy dock or to the shore or just to explore. At certain points, I was too tired and physically unable to get the outboard in and out of the dinghy by myself, so I left it on the floor of the dinghy on a towel during certain periods, including the return crossing of the Baja. That probably isn't recommended. Still, with relatively little use, the Saturn should not be leaking from the drain. So as part of the 2014 Spring refit, I put the dinghy in the back of our family car, drove it to my in-laws, who have a pool, and set it up in their backyard to try and fix the problem. When I removed the drain using the four screws, it appeared that very little sealant had been used in its construction and not much of that was left. Ironically, this was probably one of the only non-automated parts of the assembly. I had an unopened tube of marine 4200 on the boat and used it liberally to reseal the drain. Waited 24 hours to let it cure and came back out this morning. When I put the dinghy into the water without the plug in, water started coming in through the "one-way" drain valve. I pulled the dinghy out of the pool, drained it, put the plug in, and put it back in the pool. No leaks. I got in the dinghy and sat in the stern, thinking if it was leaking water from anywhere, it would drain to the low point in the stern near the drain - but no water. Problem apparently solved. As much as I want to "dis" the Saturn dinghy because its not a big name highly respected piece of cruising kit, it is clear when you get your hands on one that the people who design and build Saturn inflatables went through a lot of trouble to produce a quality, beefy, inflatable. This is no pool raft - it is a legitimate dinghy. That's why I bought it in the first place, as a compromise between cost and reputation. We should be able to use this dinghy for many more years. It is big enough to hold our entire family, but not too big. I have to admit I've had three dinghys (the Zodiac Zoom, the Walker Bay, and the Saturn) and all of them have given me problems of one kind or another, so its not as simple as just buying the most expensive one or the most well-known name. Regardless, our little girl was a big help, as you can see from the photo.
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