Leaky Zodiac tube !

Scotty · 10 July 2003, 22:09

I have a Zodiac pro open 550 which was new in 6/4/01. Sold by TL Harvey new to its previous owner it's a super rib. Tonight i took it off the marina to clean the hull and found that a large leak has appeared at the seam in the rear where the cones start. Can any of you techies confirm how long the warranty on the tubes is..... I think its 3 or 4 years. I need to know before I approach the Irish agent for warranty work. Also is this common on ribs ?
All comments are welcome.

zod550 · 11 July 2003, 02:12

Good luck!! I have the same boat a few years older however i had the problems a few years ago. my tubes went"sticky". I bought the boat from a deal through a dealer but the boat did have a previous owner. maybe you will have more luck then me across the water as i am on the west coast of canada.i had other problems with the hull but i will not get into them here. I just put a 24" extension (built out of alum and bolted to tramsom) and the boat rides way better. The warranty for the tubes are 5 years but it is prorated and not transferable. Good luck Chris

Jklingel · 11 July 2003, 02:20

Zod550: Care to explain the 24" extension? I am curious. Thanks. john

zod550 · 11 July 2003, 03:14

some people call it a pod, it is a sort of a box that follows the hull so from underneath the boat or looking from the stern it looks like a continuation of the hull. it is 3/16 alum with 1/4 on the bottom. It gives the boat the riding characteristics of a 2 ft longer boat. It might not work on all boats but on my zodiac i have a 4 stroke which is quite heavy and it sat stern heavy before. the pod gave me approx 350lbs positive bouyancy so with the pod the boats stern now sits nice and high. funny i put a posting about this months ago but no one seems to have done this on this site. chris

Jklingel · 11 July 2003, 04:29

Chris: Thanks for the info on the pod. Sounds like a very interesting idea. Who makes these? Contact info for them? john

kram · 11 July 2003, 07:13

Scotty,

My last RIB, was a Zodiac 550. Had the same problem with the tube seams close to the cone at the rear. This is a known problem, and was corrected under warranty by the local agent here in Cork. Agent carried a spare set of tubes, which he put on my boat while mine were sent away for repair, lost no time on the water

Warranty on Zodiac tubes is 5 years.

gaelforce · 11 July 2003, 14:04

I had a leak problem where the cone section meets the central section of the tube. on the underside - about 3 to 4 inches had half come away at the overlap. I scraped away the bit of dried glue and re-did with superglue and no problems since.

whitingiom · 11 July 2003, 16:49

My Yachtline had the same problem.

It cost me £60 to put right professionally.

I am now considering the same on the cone of my Osprey, as some of the glue seems to be peeling away there too

gavin · 12 July 2003, 11:10

Luke Western Marine sell a two pack bostik and hardner, speciffically for Zodiacs, clean the area thouroughly, apply the glue let it go tacky and you can reglue the lifted seam , its easy to do once the area is dry and clean, we have reglued patches straking and seams in an old Zodiac with no probs, you could do a repair like this in a day, if you go the warranty route you might lose time on the water.

Jari Hjerppe · 12 July 2003, 18:01

As said the warranty is 5 years.

If the tube is removable, I'd contact Zodiac for the new warranty tube.

Jari

MeMe · 18 July 2003, 10:02

You will have no doubt already contacted your agent however, this is a common problem / not fault on most Zodiacs. The Medline 1 also suffers from this. Zodiac are aware and should repair this by adding a patch. If the leak is only on one side make sure you request a patch on the oposite side to balance the look.

Scotty · 19 July 2003, 15:29

Well the story so far is that my tubes are gone to the Zodiac repair man in Sligo. Both he and Hogan in Western Marine (the main agent in Ireland) are being very helpful and we are now waiting for Zodiacs response. The problem is not as we all thought at the seam but the material is cracking and needs repairs to the inside of the tubes and the outside. This is a job that needs to be done by an expert. The Zodiac guy has been to Zodiac college. Stay tuned for the next installment.

gavin · 19 July 2003, 17:48

You may remember posting a reply to a guy who was selling a Zodiac 6.5 in Dun Laoghaire, you were saying you would be interested in swopping your boat for his 6.5, he is a friend of mine and he had as far as I know to have his tubes replaced under warranty as the tubes were perishing the boat was about 3 yrs old it is back in Dun Laoghaire now with a brand new set of tubes, it is the same colour as your one, I wonder is it UV damage. or is it something else, cheers

Scotty · 19 July 2003, 20:59

Gavin,
They say as all the damage is below the waterline that it's not uv related. Hogan is wondering if it could be something in the water at some stage. I would be curious to speak to your mate, if you are talking to him pass on my mobile 086 2552012.
Regards,

Luke.

gavin · 21 July 2003, 18:53

Luke I will see him tue 29 re lifeboat meeting I will pass on the number then cheers or u can email him at mailto:david@oceansport.ie

Scotty · 21 August 2003, 16:35

Hogan Magee from Western Marine has confirmed that Zodiac will cover the repairs under warranty. This is good news for me and Hogan deserves thanks for all the effort he put into the claim.