Old Zodiac - Page 2

m chappelow · 05 October 2009, 21:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Adam,

Even has that weird (to me) triangle of hypalon that comes forward from the nearside top of the transom.

David

you dont seem to sea the[ splash quarters or triangles nowadays]as some used to call them they were supposed to cut down spray or getting a following wave into the boat .quite a few makes of boats had them at one time.,,they were ok until the brass press /stud corroded and then they came loose.,,mart

theboysmiffy · 06 October 2009, 16:42

I saw that Zodiac on ebay, it started at £500 including outboard. I think it is identical to ours. The spray gaurds appear to be moveable, as they are shown pointing to both bow and stern. That boat is 14ft long and rated for 55hp. David, are the stringers you were talking about made from softwood? Do they have a profile? Prairie Tuber there is some poor quality but toppa footage on youtube of the Grand Raid Zodiacs.

Adam

Fenlander · 06 October 2009, 17:05

Adam,

The stringers are made of a light coloured hard(ish)wood... perhaps not as hard as the dark woods like mahogany but far far harder than the sort of planed timber found in B & Q! Actually similar wood to oars I guess.

Yes they have a very precise cross section so they can be "rolled" into position and then hold the boards locked together.

They are in a seperate bag to the main inflatable one so it will be no trouble to get them out and photograph tomorrow in the daylight.

David

prairie tuber · 07 October 2009, 03:38

There is a good chance the stringers are made of mahogany or purpleheart.

theboysmiffy · 07 October 2009, 08:53

David, I will find out if the stringers are there at the weekend, if not that would be much appreciated.

prairie tuber · 07 October 2009, 13:07

I should clarify that Fernlander's stringers are probably made of mahogany or purpleheart (or possibly oak).

Adam, the stringers for your ebay boat are most likely aluminum. If they are not included with your boat, your local zodiac dealer should be able to order a pair if he knows the model & year. A pair would probably cost somewhere around 50 - 70 British Pounds (sorry my keyboard does not have that cool swooshy 'L' symbol).

theboysmiffy · 07 October 2009, 13:54

Cheers Prairie Tuber. The first thing I'll do when I get the boat is check out the transom plate and post the details up on here. I'm amazed that zodiac still stock parts for a boat that could be 30 years old!

prairie tuber · 07 October 2009, 16:01

More than likely, the local dealer will not have them in stock, but he should be able to get them from the headquarters in France.

Fenlander · 08 October 2009, 09:14

OK Adam I had a few minutes yesterday so here are the floor images. No worries if you find you have the stringers because it might help someone else searching in the future. You'll soon know if yours should have been wood because , as you can see in my images, there are lengths of the same section glued to the end boards.

Here is an overall view of all the floor sections with one stringer on and one off.

A close up with the stringer fitted.

Similar with stringer off.

And a close up of the stringer section.

With respect to Prairie Tuber I'd say mine are not the woods he mentioned as there is no redness to them. I'd go for birch, white, oak, ash, maple or similar.

If you did need them be very interesting to hear if Zodiac can still supply and how much. If I needed some I'd go to my local woodwork workshop where they have router machines that can make any shape. From work the guy has done for me on other projects I'd expect to pay about £40 for a pair including him supplying a suitable wood. Taking in one of the existing boards with the glued on section would give hime something to copy.

By the way some folks say these stringers are hard to fit... but it's just doing it the right way that's needed. The boat needs to have air in it enough to about 50%-90% fill the tubes but with no pressure. Then importantly you need to put the oars or something similar under the boat lengthways about 6" in from where the edge of the floorboards are so they are supported as you fit the stringers. Do this and the stringers will just push and roll into position 10secs a side.

David

theboysmiffy · 19 October 2009, 07:45

Hi all. I collected the Zodiac on Sunday finally! It looks to be in very good condition and the stringers are present (Aluminium). The worst part of the boat is probably the floor boards which aren't terrible but may be in need of replacement in the future. David is that the correct configuration for the boards as shown in your photo and do the boards lie across the bow board? I have taken the details from the transom plate and the model No is 2259. The number underneath reads XDC37174 M78D. Does anyone know from this what year and therefore material the boat is? Thanks in advance for all the help, pics to follow soon!

Adam

Fenlander · 19 October 2009, 11:20

Sorry... for neatness in the image I'd put them all together but when fitted to the boat the fixed slat goes in between the 1st and 2nd boards.

David

prairie tuber · 19 October 2009, 14:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by theboysmiffy

The number underneath reads XDC37174 M78D. Does anyone know from this what year and therefore material the boat is? Thanks in advance for all the help, pics to follow soon!

Adam

the M78 means that is was made in 1978. The fabric is hypalon.

theboysmiffy · 19 October 2009, 16:36

Can anyone reccomend the correct pressure to inflate to for this particular dinghy? David I think it's the mkII that you mentioned in this thread earlier, the one with the 55hp rating. Would it at all be possible to get a copy of your instruction manual for this boat? Obviously I would be more than happy to cover any costs. Thanks prairie tuber I was worried it was going to be pvc it feels quite a bit lighter than our old ex MOD boat, though that has been painted, has oversize tubes, tons of patches and I'm guessing is a thicker material.

Fenlander · 19 October 2009, 17:10

Adam,

I can scan/copy my book OK. No need for payment. PM me an address and I'll do it over the next few days. It's about 40 pages close to A5 size.

David

theboysmiffy · 19 October 2009, 17:45

David i have pm'd you my address.
Adam

Fenlander · 19 October 2009, 18:03

Pm received Adam. Give me a couple of days... blooming post strike end of the week though so it may take a couple of extra days to arrive.

David

theboysmiffy · 19 October 2009, 19:39

Thats much appreciated David. As ever this former delivers!!

prairie tuber · 19 October 2009, 23:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by theboysmiffy

Can anyone reccomend the correct pressure to inflate to for this particular dinghy?

3.4 psi

theboysmiffy · 23 October 2009, 09:26

Thanks David. Received the instruction book, most useful, especially the bit about fitting of the floor. Heading out for maiden voyage this afternoon with tuned outboard. Hopefully we will have a trouble free trip! Pix to follow over the weekend. Cheers

Adam

theboysmiffy · 26 October 2009, 19:44

Still havent managed the maiden voyage yet due to funding issues! definately heading out this Friday though. David, I was looking at our floor boards and hoped you may be able to answer a question for me. On the bow board and the first board (the boards either side of the fixed board) how many retaining tongues does each board have and which side are they located on? I think our 1st board may be missing a couple and i wanted to sort it out whilst dry and warm in the house because its probably an easy fix. Many thanks

Adam