1985 zodiac mk3 grand raider

[tottenham]

Hi all. New to the forum. Ive recently bought one of these and need to know whether there short or long leg motors.
I know the newer ones are long.
Also what's the best thing to use to bring hypalon back to life?"its faded a bit".
How do these fair in short, choppy up to a meter seas?
TIA

[S4Simon]

The best product available in Australia is: 303 Aerospace Protectant. It's a UV Protectant that does not contain silicone (most important). We use to use it on all boats whether PVC or Hypalon.

Here's a link and guide price.

303 AEROSPACE PROTECTOR - Fitch the Rubberman

[spartacus]

Welcome to the forum tottenham.

Pretty sure its a short shaft 15". See link to earlier discussion: http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/zodiac-...ons-32776.html

New GRs now come with long shaft 20".
Multipurpose Grand Raid

Regards cleaning and protecting the hypalon tubes:
Rib Revive - Rib & inflatable boat tube cleaner

[Nos4r2]

Are you sure the boat is Hypalon?

[spartacus]

Easy test is to open one of the Zodiac intercommunicating valves. If the boat material is grey inside and out it's more than likely hypalon. Futuras and Grand Tourism boats from the same era were PVC (Strongan Dutotex). The seams on early boats ran under the lace cuff, and was subsequently moved to under the waterline.

[Locozodiac]

Surely a Hypalon sib. Sorry to spoil the party, buy you just bought a 28 year oldie that won't stand much longer before developing fabric issues, external parts becoming unglued, seams, baffles issues, you name it. 30 years is the top for them, then surely Waterloo Time.

Best water ride will depend entirely on how well you have all tubes evenly and max inflated to.

Happy Boating

[office888]

Measure from the motor plate to the bottom of the transom, or to the speed tubes if your model is equipped. About 15" = short shaft, about 20" = long shaft.

Are you sure the boat is Hypalon? I don't deal with the milpro lineup at all, but it was my understanding that the GR was PVC and the Futura Commando was hypalon? I've been wrong before though!

[tottenham]

Yeah done some research and im pritty sure its hypalon, I dont think PVC would last 28 years.
The boat for its age is in good condition, no patches or deep scratches and the seams look ok.
I only paid 800$ for the boat and trailer, the trailers worth 600$ alone. Thats bloody cheap being in Australia.
I only plan on using this for a couple of years as Ive never been in an Inflatable. This is like a tester I suppose. Better to spend 800$ on an oldy than 11500$ on a newy and not like it.
Thanks for your responses.

[tottenham]

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTM1WDgwMA==/z/hYQAAOxyiRlSbYGu/$T2eC16h,!yQFIjD(JYmKBSbYGsufvQ~~48_20.JPG

This is my SIB.

[office888]

Originally Posted by tottenham

Yeah done some research and im pritty sure its hypalon, I dont think PVC would last 28 years.
The boat for its age is in good condition, no patches or deep scratches and the seams look ok.
I only paid 800$ for the boat and trailer, the trailers worth 600$ alone. Thats bloody cheap being in Australia.
I only plan on using this for a couple of years as Ive never been in an Inflatable. This is like a tester I suppose. Better to spend 800$ on an oldy than 11500$ on a newy and not like it.
Thanks for your responses.

Someone traded in a near mint condition 1990 Zodiac Futura MK IIC two months ago with us... There's an early 80s Metzler Maya sitting in the "junk boat" pile that l it has is an air leak.

PVC can last, it just usually doesn't, or it's pretty well spent if it is that old.

Nonetheless, it is pretty easy to tell by feel if the boat is rubber or plastic. Hypalon turns to dust when you sand it, PVC just gouges (or melts if you use a dremel!).

[Boatnomad]

Originally Posted by tottenham

Yeah done some research and im pritty sure its hypalon, I dont think PVC would last 28 years.
The boat for its age is in good condition, no patches or deep scratches and the seams look ok.
I only paid 800$ for the boat and trailer, the trailers worth 600$ alone. Thats bloody cheap being in Australia.
I only plan on using this for a couple of years as Ive never been in an Inflatable. This is like a tester I suppose. Better to spend 800$ on an oldy than 11500$ on a newy and not like it.
Thanks for your responses.

You got a bargain with the Trailer included!
They tryed out Strongan-PVC for a year or two back in the early 1990's but all GR's before and since are Hypalon.

[office888]

Originally Posted by Boatnomad

You got a bargain with the Trailer included!
They tryed out Strongan-PVC for a year or two back in the early 1990's but all GR's before and since are Hypalon.

Hmm. Fancy that!

I don't deal much with Milpro boats. You don't see them too much around here. I would estimate that greater than 90% of boats on the Great Lakes are PVC.

We go through 6 x 800cc PVC cans per 1 x 800cc Hyp/Neo can. lol.

Good looking older boat though!

[tottenham]

We go through 6 x 800cc PVC cans per 1 x 800cc Hyp/Neo can. lol.

What does this mean? Sorry, bit of a greenhorn.

Also gonna throw a 30hp outboard on it. That should be whippy enough eh?

[office888]

Originally Posted by tottenham

We go through 6 x 800cc PVC cans per 1 x 800cc Hyp/Neo can. lol.

What does this mean? Sorry, bit of a greenhorn.

Also gonna throw a 30hp outboard on it. That should be whippy enough eh?

We go through 4.8 liters of PVC adhesive per 0.8 liters of hypalon/neoprene adhesive. Just to give you an idea of how rare hypalon boats are in my area!

30 hp should be good.

[tottenham]

I have quite a big airleak in the keel. I havn't taken the floor out yet to check if its repairable but if it isn't I've heard that pool noodles suffice. True or false?
I would consider getting a new one but I cant find any.
Also theres a few pin holes in the hull. Whats a good way to repair? The previous owner used Selleys all fix which obviously isnt the right product.
The tubes are fine they hold air for a couple of weeks.
TIA

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by tottenham

I have quite a big airleak in the keel. I havn't taken the floor out yet to check if its repairable but if it isn't I've heard that pool noodles suffice. True or false?
I would consider getting a new one but I cant find any.
Also theres a few pin holes in the hull. Whats a good way to repair? The previous owner used Selleys all fix which obviously isnt the right product.
The tubes are fine they hold air for a couple of weeks.
TIA

Had to Google 'pool noodles' as I didn't have a clue what you were on about!

No, these won't work. Remove the floor of the Zodiac. The inflatable keel normally fails at the fold section near the transom. It's quite difficult to patch on the fold, but take a look. The inflatable keel pressure is 220 millibar and that's what gives the boat rigidity once the floor section is in place, side stringers locked in, etc.

In addition check the valve. It could be losing air here too. The cap rubber insert and rubber diaphragm are replaceable. You can lube with a little Duckhams yellow grease so they don't dry out. The GR has inter-communicating valves, but the keel is more likely a standard alloy Derlin valve. So something like this.