Total failure retubing the Liveboat "Seeker"

[HOGE]

At the beginning of this year our Dutch Lifeboat "seeker" has had a complete revision. The polyester has been fully restaurated and new state of the art equipment has been mounted on the Seeker.

We had also gotten new tubes with an ingenius system of Inner and Outer Tubes from the companie geminiindustries.co.uk, we all had high expectations from it.
The Inner Tubes could easily be repaired or replaced.

The PVC material would be much stronger than the original Hypalon.



The PVC Tubes looks astonishing at the beginning, only thing you should not be doing is sailing with it, then it goes wrong. Clearly you can see the flaps, the only glued part which holds the tubes in place on the hull. The weak lifethreatening construction by Gemini Marine Industries Ltd.

Costs of these tubes, including fitting: 2800 Pounds.


But in contridiction of our high expectations the whole system appeared to be worthless. The boat was not air and water tight and time after time the inner tubes damaged and became leak, the size of the inner tubes was to big, so it got damaged on the fauldings. The glue did not last very long either, after a while it losened everywhere. We tried to fix it on directions of Gemini Marine Industries Ltd. but the leaks popped up quicker than we could repair them so that in times of alarm we have to pump the water out of the boat and the air into the tubes which could cost lifes, because of the time needed.


Repairing the inner tubes was not easy, and a six hour job!

We regret the day we decided to buy these kind of tubes. And after a few months we reversed that by replacing the tubes with normal Hypalon kind.

We were forced to pay antoher 3000 pounds to replace the tubes properly by a company in Holland:




kind of a sad view





We could dissemble the tubes within two minutes, kind of lifethreadening...


Look at the photo galery at:

klikkerdeklik

Henk

[Nos4r2]

Christ.

Are Gemini Industries really saying that PVC is better than Hypalon?!

[HOGE]

Yes, they told us that it has f.e. less wearing out comparing to hypalon, but we experiance that it cracks apart sooner, it's deforming as well. And the gluing is difficult.

On the picture you see his sun living in Belgium who's gluing the tubes to the hull. He just fasten the flaps, not the tubes. It took him only a few houres. The man in Amsterdam, Andrew Hobson of HIBS from Amsterdam is gluing for day's now, that can make a diffrend too...

Henk Wijga

Rescue Organisation Gooi- en Eeemmeer

[Downhilldai]

I'm yet to hear anything good about Gemini Industries toobs.

[ian parkes]

I guess Gemini indutries are different to to the Gemini boats that no longer seem to have a UK dealer .

[Nos4r2]

To clarify-Gemini Marine Industries are NOT the same company as Gemini Inflatables


This isn't the 1st time I've heard something shockingly bad about Gemini Industries either.

[HOGE]

we are talking about gemini MARINE industries ltd, the owner is Jack Bowran.

His sun living in Belgium did the gluing: Rick Bowran.

At thursday the tubes were glued and we waited till saterdayevening to sail. Sunday the first tube got leak out of nowere. There arrives the liveboat: field with water and withe empty tubes: were gonna save you! Yeah, wright!

We have to do it all by ourselfs, they won't come for repears. Rick is a truckdriver, to buisy, no time.
An understatemend: it was not a succes.

Henk

[Nos4r2]

Off topic a bit Hoge but how does that break back trailer under the lifeboat work with twin axles?

[HOGE]

It is very stable, but in the turn you have to be ware of make a wide one: the wheels are to far at the back of the trailer. We must adjust them more to the front, easy to do, they are adjusable.
You can loungh the boat by flipping the rear part of the trailer from f.e. a dyke. Only the behind wheel stays on the ground, the rest goes up, under the weight of the boat, no pr.






Henk

[wavelength]

Not a KNRM boat then. Where does this boat operate? Is it a Reddings brigade boat or another organisation. I spend a lot of time in Holland (and also at sea off Holland) as my daughter is the captain of a windfarm boat out of IJmuiden.