Our dinghy has been a bit of a PITA lately (pain in the, buttocks). There was a leak that allowed water between the hulls, which turned our RIB into a PIG. Regular drainings were necessary. We also had a very annoying leak that allowed water into the main part of the dinghy; you know, where groceries and we sit? Knocking on wood, she has been keeping air in the tubes quite well as of late.

One of the “on the dock” jobs has been to tackle the dinghy. Cleaning the bottom was easy, as a boat boy up in St. Lucia got us onto using toilet cleaner. It has the same acids as the expensive marine stuff, with the bonus of being thicker, so it clings better to the surface being cleaned. The marine stuff is like water, so it just runs off the surface to be cleaned. I had to make sure the bottom was well cleaned, so I could look for potential leaks.

The first job was discovering the source of the leaks. The hull leak discovered by putting the air pump on the drainage hole for the hulls and increasing the pressure, then just look for the collection of water, or bubbles, or sounds of air escaping. The top of the transom was a known trouble area, from the outboard occasionally whacking against it as we removed or installed it in different anchorages. After plugging those holes, the pressure technique then showed that the other hull drain was the culprit (the drain that empties the seating/cargo area). The decision was made just to remove the plug entirely and epoxy the sucker closed. Done deal. We use a manual bilge pump to empty the dinghy, anyway.

The cargo area leak was investigated by putting water into the dinghy, with some food colouring, and watching where it came out. It ends up that the leak was in a confluence of seams at the aft end, where the tubes and the transom meet. I ended up pulling apart some of the seams, using vinegar to clean the mildew, and gluing each layer back together, one at a time, and finishing with a big patch on top.

Most sailors know that as soon as you put the word “marine” on the packaging, or if it is sold from a specialty store, the price goes up exponentially. Well, when Ken and I went into a local hardware store the other day, I took a good look at their selection of adhesives and epoxies. Wouldn’t you know, they had “marine” epoxy for a good price (and it can cure underwater). They also have the epoxy putty sticks, too, that you can mix and mold by hand, like plasticine (modelling clay to the Americans). I also took a hard look at the “Shoe Goo”. Really, what takes more abuse than a shoe? My father used the stuff for his bathed out tennis shoes, and it certainly did the trick. It’s waterproof, tough as all get out, and made to take abrasion. Sure, I’ll get a tube of that, too.

So, for the replacement of the plug, I used the epoxy putty. It was da bomb. Beautiful! A joy to work with, especially since we had a dump of rain that would have drowned most other products. The other marine epoxy helped to do a little edging, and I used it on the top of the transom.

For the leak in the seams, I used “Flexset”, a flexible marine epoxy that I have used before. For the final patch, though, I used the “Shoe Goo” and also sealed the seams in the area with it. Any abraded areas on the tubes, and around patches, and areas of potential “she’s gonna go” were also treated with some of the Goo. So far I am happy with the results. As an aside, my Hash shoes got a dose, too.

Many people swear by “5200” for these kinds of jobs, but I am not one of the converted. It is not designed for rubber, and I am just a tad skeptical (somebody has to be the flat earther in the cruising community). Besides, it ain’t that cheap down here, if they aren’t sold out of it. If someone doesn’t try something different, how will we ever know if something else will work better?

So, as of this point, the dinghy is ready to go. I’ll get back to you as to the success or failure of the experiment.