Bombard Explorer 420

[roody262]

I've got an older Bombard rib, not sure of age exactly, it has removable tubes and looks very similar in design to the Zodiac Pro.

How easy is it to remove the tubes? Is it as simple as sliding them off and back on or is it less straightforward than this?

The boat is launched from a beach over the summer so I feel it would benefit from a thorough clean out of sand etc that would be causing excess wear.

[office888]

Originally Posted by roody262

I've got an older Bombard rib, not sure of age exactly, it has removable tubes and looks very similar in design to the Zodiac Pro.

How easy is it to remove the tubes? Is it as simple as sliding them off and back on or is it less straightforward than this?

The boat is launched from a beach over the summer so I feel it would benefit from a thorough clean out of sand etc that would be causing excess wear.

Super easy.

Watch this video:
https://youtu.be/wuzhyyT0XUI

[Bodie450]

Hi there.. I've a 17yr old (the hull I'd plate which is on rear of transom, last two digits give year of manufacture) Bombard explorer 385 tucked away..

Deflate sponsons until you can get at the very point of the rigid hull on its top side and remove the clamp and Allen head bolts, remove the nylon webbing strap holding the sponsons on at the underside of the bow, just above the winch/recovery/towing D-ring. Remove the nylon straps at the transom and then quite literally smother the beading which attaches the sponsons to the hull, with fairy liquud and.water from above and below. I used an airline to blow out debries and force the soapy liquid right inside the cutout.
Luckily for me there's a steel post set in the concrete of my garage floor (used 2 secure my bikes) I used a ratchet strap to secure the rest of the trailer to the post and another from the lashing down/towing D-rings on the transom of the RIB. I then threaded a 4" wide nylon ratchet strap around the front of the sponsons between them and the bow of the boat and connected to the towbar of my van and got the wife 2 gently take up the strain..
a few seconds of nothing and then they glided off the hull... phew..!!

Once all cleaning etc done I used a trick I learnt from putting the awning up on my caravan, I sprayed the mounting channel of the hull with a silicone based zip lubricant in an aerosol can (about £4 from any caravan shop or off amazon) and with help of the trusty wife and my lad's we coaxed the sponsons back onto the hull.
Each time a bit of resistance was felt we pulled them back an inch or so and re sprayed. Took about 15mins with four of us using this technique.

However I think I was lucky as I've seen various YouTube horrors of people trying to remove sponsons in this way (a guy in Denmark with a red zodiac literally had his RIB hanging off the crane jib of a recovery lorry by its bow like a fish on a hook & they still wouldn't come off)!!?

Good luck.. hope it's a straight forward process for you.?

[office888]

Originally Posted by Bodie450

I sprayed the mounting channel of the hull with a silicone based zip lubricant in an aerosol can (about £4 from any caravan shop or off amazon)

Silicone oil should never be used on or near a tubeset.

It causes polymerization of the adhesive (reliquifies it, losing strength), and will permanently contaminate the material to prevent future re-gluing.

[roody262]

Sounds like it could go either way then... Perhaps I'll just leave them and enjoy using it instead, may not be worth worrying about.