New member/boater/rib'er - Need help with 1994 Zodiac 420

[Halobender]

Hello everyone. New member, new to ribs, and new to boating. I'm a mess. lol

Picked up a 1994 Zodiac YL 420 RS and I'm trying to get some information. There's really nothing online about this particular year and model. French tags serial ending in 94. Model # 2113.




I know what YL stands for but what does RS stand for?

She's barebones. Just the hull and tubes. Anywhere I can find parts and accessories for this year and model?

I searched all the inflatable boat retailer sites but nothing that confirms what parts would work for this year and model.

Any information appreciated.

Cheers

- HB

[Bigplumbs]

What parts do you need as many rib items are common to all sorts of boats

[office888]

Wow, old RIB.

I'm a Zodiac geek, and I don't even remember what the RS stands for...probably "RIB System" or something goofy.

I scanned the original brochure from my archives. I hope it helps.

SKM_C36817071409140 by anirich888, on Flickr

Looks like you can still buy a new tube for that boat too. z1933 - TUBE YL 420 RS PVC WHITE , retails for about $2600 USD.

[spartacus]

First thing to do is get the deck holes filled with sikaflex. The hull space may have water in it so check the drain screw on the transom.

I wouldn't be too concerned about returning this 420YL back to its original style. You'll find Pro series accessories for 420 will fit including console and bench seat. Details here: https://www.zodiac-nautic.com/en-us/...ssories-en-us/

I'd also remove the tubes to completely clean hull and tubes. Should be bow strap and transom straps. Tubes slide off back towards transom. Use washing up liquid to lubricate hull rail and get a friend to help you haul them back on.

[spartacus]

First thing to do is get the deck holes filled with sikaflex. The hull space may have water in it so check the drain screw on the transom.

I wouldn't be too concerned about returning this 420YL back to its original style. You'll find Pro series accessories for 420 will fit including console and bench seat. Details here: https://www.zodiac-nautic.com/en-us/...ssories-en-us/

I'd also remove the tubes to completely clean hull and tubes. Should be bow strap and transom straps. Tubes slide off back towards transom. Use washing up liquid to lubricate hull rail and get a friend to help you haul them back on.

[Halobender]

Thanks for the help guys.


@bigplumbs - Not looking for anything particular but figure I'll be needing some maintenance parts and such down the line.

@office888 - The brochure helped a lot actually. Thanks.

@spartacus - That's exactly the info I was looking for. I'll look into the the Pro series for accessories.

I bought the boat for $50 off craigslist so not looking to spend $2600 on retubing. I do need to refurb the tubes however. Was looking at the restoration kits from inflatableboatpaint.com. Anyone have experience with these restoration kits?

[spartacus]

Depends what you mean by refurb? If that means deep clean then you can degrease tubes and use magic eraser pad and Fairy Power Spray. TFR (traffic film remover) is pretty good, but wear gloves and work mehodically. If there's any areas to be reglued then Polymarine kits are excellent. Pretty sure this will be PVC but they do hypalon repair packs too.

[Halobender]

There's a leak somewhere in the bow compartment that I can't find. There is a 2 foot section that is pretty rough with about a dozen holes and a few 3" to 6" diameter areas of rough and worn fabric that seeps out air. I patched them all but still leaking from somewhere.

Figured I'd have to seal from the inside and out. Considering the MAJOR RESTORATION from inflatableboatpaint.com. Any thoughts?