Cold Temperature Storage of Inflatable Dinghys

colbysmith

colbysmith

Active member
Getting ready to head down south, and will be taking our inflatable kayaks with us. One a Hobie, the other a Sea Eagle. I store them inside all winter, (and then summer too when not in use.) They are stored rolled up, rather tightly. Looks like I will have two days travel with temps below freezing, close to 0 at night, and not above freezing during the day. I plan to haul the rolled up Kayaks in the back of my truck beneath it's tonneau cover, so while they will be out of the weather, they will still be in sub freezing temperatures for a couple of days. Is this a bad thing? Ie, harmful to the kayak material? I will not be moving them, or unrolling them until we are in Florida, and above freezing. The other option is to keep them in the boat, with the Webasto running. (Really hoping we can keep the cabin in the 50's even with outside single digit temps, as we'll be "boaterhoming" on the way down.)
 
Colby, I have been boating here in Alaska for 20 years now, I always kept my dinghy in an unheated shed for the winter mounts, with temperatures reaching 40 below at times. I never touch it or move it around during below freezing temperatures. I haven’t seen any issues with doing it this way. Different material and glue might react differently but I had several different one and none had issues. hope this help
 
C-Wolfe":1uy8hd1x said:
Colby, I have been boating here in Alaska for 20 years now, I always kept my dinghy in an unheated shed for the winter mounts, with temperatures reaching 40 below at times. I never touch it or move it around during below freezing temperatures. I haven’t seen any issues with doing it this way. Different material and glue might react differently but I had several different one and none had issues. hope this help
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Thanks, makes me feel better. I've traveled with them before below freezing, but only by a couple of degrees colder. Heading south earlier this year, and we're in the middle of another cold snap... Colby
 
Donald, if you are buying a new dingy then the foot pump is made for the dingy and should be quite adequate. If you have some sort of physical limitations then maybe the electric pump may help. I have a 9' boat that i pump with the foot pump. It takes a few minutes to do but I've usually go plenty of time for that.
 
Donald Tyson":4ribvwo6 said:
I’m buying an inflatable dinghy today. Is the foot pump sufficient or should I buy and inflator?
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The foot pump will work, but depending on the size of the dinghy will take some work.

If you buy an electric inflator, be sure to buy one that has a high pressure mode (meant for drop stitch things). A regular inflator (say for an air bed) will usually not be able to put out sufficient air to pump up a dinghy to the required pressure. It will help by doing a good part of the work, but you'll have to top it off manually to get the boat tubes to the correct pressure.

You can get a suitable inflator from Amazon for US$50-70. This type of inflator allows you to set the appropriate pressure and they will automatically stop when that pressure is sensed.
 
Agree with Ssobol. I have owned inflatable dinghies since 1964 (over there 60 years). When I was young, we had only foot pumps. We used to have a race at Two Harbors Catalina. The boat started in the bag, only one manual pump, but oral was also OK. Launch the dinghy with any number of people you want. Paddle about 100 yards, return to shore, roll up and store the boat in the original bag. Our team came in second place the first two years, and 3rd place the 3rd year. The shore boat and harbor patrol always seemed to beat us. Our team worked out and practiced for many weeks before the race. The initial prizes were a new inflatable, or Sea Gull Outboard motor, next year the prize was a set of sleeping bags. Then down to tee shirts and some bangles....

As we age, the foot pump can be an issue. We used a "Jump pack" (12V). clipped to the pump which solved the power source issue. We could inflate on the cabin top, foredeck and the cockpit if necessary.
 
I was looking at a Ryobi inflator. I have a lot of Ryobi tools and am fond of them and their affordability. But I'm hoping to use the foot pump at first. I have the time and inclination so I may find that to be fine for a while.


A few years ago I found a used old Seagull Motor. I thought about collecting them as a hobby sort of thing. Tell me about them. Were they reliable?
 
Robi inflator. Not sure which one you are considering. The centrifugal with conical nozzle may or may not fit the valve on the inflatable. Having a hose with the proper fitting Halkey Roberts is the valve which most inflatable boats have. In my spares kit, I kept at least one valve, several adaptors, glue and fabric for the boat I had at the time. If you need the high pressure for an air floor, these centrifugal vane inflators will not supply enough pressure.

Get an inflator which you can set the pressure or that has a pressure gauge. The electric are so handy, I would not consider a foot or hand pump, except for a back up.
 
thataway":22u9pefw said:
...
Get an inflator which you can set the pressure or that has a pressure gauge. The electric are so handy, I would not consider a foot or hand pump, except for a back up.
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Foot pump or hand pump is good to take with you in the dinghy when you are away from electricity and the boat needs a top up (leak or temperature change).
 
ssobol":5nq1i48t said:
Foot pump or hand pump is good to take with you in the dinghy when you are away from electricity and the boat needs a top up (leak or temperature change).
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Do you mean in the C Dory or the inflatable? I have traveled as much as 30 or so miles from the "mother ship" and not carried an inflatable pump in the dinghy. On the other hand, I do often carry a foot pump on the "mother ship" as a back up for the electric pump.. However on long trips I carry some "Kicker"--and these trips were in RIB or large inflatables which could go on a plane in the 20 mph speed, with plenty of fuel. For example on our 12 1/2' RIB I would carry a 4 hp outboard to supplement the 25 hp which was the main engine. Occasionally on longer trips, I would take a 9.9 hp motor. We also had not only our ditch bag, but water and food, as well as more warm clothes and a poncho or similar for each person aboard.
 
thataway":37ag4kwf said:
ssobol":37ag4kwf said:
Foot pump or hand pump is good to take with you in the dinghy when you are away from electricity and the boat needs a top up (leak or temperature change).
Click to expand...

Do you mean in the C Dory or the inflatable? I have traveled as much as 30 or so miles from the "mother ship" and not carried an inflatable pump in the dinghy. On the other hand, I do often carry a foot pump on the "mother ship" as a back up for the electric pump.. However on long trips I carry some "Kicker"--and these trips were in RIB or large inflatables which could go on a plane in the 20 mph speed, with plenty of fuel. For example on our 12 1/2' RIB I would carry a 4 hp outboard to supplement the 25 hp which was the main engine. Occasionally on longer trips, I would take a 9.9 hp motor. We also had not only our ditch bag, but water and food, as well as more warm clothes and a poncho or similar for each person aboard.
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I mean on the inflatable. I use the electric pump on the mothership (12vdc). IME, if you go on long excursions with the dinghy you might get a leak, which even if you patch it on the spot will require adding air to a tube.
The other case is temperature swings. You might find that your inflatable, which was pumped up firm in mid afternoon on a sunny day, gets a bit flabby once the sun goes down and needs a top up.

I had a decent sized RIB awhile ago. One day, when we set out it was pumped up properly. Later in the day a thunderstorm and a cold from went through. This dropped the ambient temp by about 20 deg F. Between the cooling effect of the rain and the temp change, the tubes on the RIB got pretty soft and needed to have air added. Difficult to do without having a pump at hand.

If the inflatable has decent surface contact with the water, the temp changes (and associated pressure change) can be moderated by the relatively constant temperature of the water. However, if your inflatable is tossed on the top of the cabin roof this stabilizing effect is missing.
 
I have experienced several times those temperature change affecting the air pressure on the dinghy. Happens mostly in the morning when at the "mother ship” but also a few times where I go to shore in the afternoon for a nice long walk, come back early evening just before sun set to find quite soft tube on the raft. I modified a small bike pump, the portable kind that you will take with you on a bike ride. it’s quite slow but it works, and it doesn’t take any room. It's a lot more convenient and much less likely to be left behind than a cumbersome big foot pump .
 
Is altitude an issue for these boats. Does the pressure change enough btwn Donner Pass and Sacramento warrant deflating them before descending. Somewhere in the middle here my the suction cups of my EZPass often let go. And tires change pressure. Doe this threaten an inflatable.
 
Donald Tyson":1vqrygtz said:
https://www.nrs.com/learn/inflatable-boat-use-care-instructions?srsltid=AfmBOoqRtOcP-AVN-XnBOBJftLS8PTVb52IMiu2UkRqXeLqBCE-bbUTv
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Why would you carry an inflated dinghy on the roof of C Dory while it is being towed?

Of course the altitude has a major effect on pressure in a "capsule". One of my friends carried his inflatable on the cabin top inflated on his almost 400 mile trip back to Pensacola. He was surprised to see that the bottom had been entirely blown out of the inflatable. This was a high quality inflatable which was almost new!

Interesting that some folks have found a problem when traveling in a day trip on the water. Air will expand 1/480 part per 1 * F temp rise.
 
Donald Tyson":wfiefty2 said:
Is altitude an issue for these boats. Does the pressure change enough btwn Donner Pass and Sacramento warrant deflating them before descending. Somewhere in the middle here my the suction cups of my EZPass often let go. And tires change pressure. Doe this threaten an inflatable.
Click to expand...

More important to let out a little air before ascending. Going down isn't a problem.
 
thataway":3ieoxmky said:
...
Interesting that some folks have found a problem when traveling in a day trip on the water. Air will expand 1/480 part per 1 * F temp rise.
Click to expand...

Particularly in RIBs, the air pressure in the tubes is relatively low, ~1.5 psi, and the normal pressure range is about .5 psi. The tubes are also high volume which means a little change in temp has a bigger effect. Add in darker tubes (orange, gray, or black) and that more of the tube is not in contact with the water, and you can have noticable changes in tube temp during a day. Larger, fancier RIBs have automatic pressure systems that vent or inflate the tubes automatically to keep the pressure in the proper range.

A SIB that is kept in the water will have less temp and pressure swings than one that is not. In Colby's example, rowing ashore, pulling the SIB out, and letting it sit for awhile will result in more pressure change than if it had stayed in the water.

When I used to have a larger RIB that I towed around, I had to keep an eye on it to manage the pressure. Sometimes I had to stop on the side of the road to let pressure out or to pump it up (floppy tubes when trailering can result in damage unless they are tied up). I got pretty good a judging the tube pressure via looking in the rearview mirror. The pressure was more stable once it was in the water.
 
Remember, I'm the new Guy. I just learned why not to leave it up on top. Not that that was my goal but now I know for sure. NRS supposedly makes a gauge but I've not found it.


thataway":yhnpb0uv said:
Donald Tyson":yhnpb0uv said:
https://www.nrs.com/learn/inflatable-boat-use-care-instructions?srsltid=AfmBOoqRtOcP-AVN-XnBOBJftLS8PTVb52IMiu2UkRqXeLqBCE-bbUTv
Click to expand...

Why would you carry an inflated dinghy on the roof of C Dory while it is being towed?

Of course the altitude has a major effect on pressure in a "capsule". One of my friends carried his inflatable on the cabin top inflated on his almost 400 mile trip back to Pensacola. He was surprised to see that the bottom had been entirely blown out of the inflatable. This was a high quality inflatable which was almost new!

Interesting that some folks have found a problem when traveling in a day trip on the water. Air will expand 1/480 part per 1 * F temp rise.
Click to expand...
 
Pretty sure you meant the other way around. Thoughts?

ssobol":1iajdnln said:
Donald Tyson":1iajdnln said:
Is altitude an issue for these boats. Does the pressure change enough btwn Donner Pass and Sacramento warrant deflating them before descending. Somewhere in the middle here my the suction cups of my EZPass often let go. And tires change pressure. Doe this threaten an inflatable.
Click to expand...

More important to let out a little air before ascending. Going down isn't a problem.
Click to expand...
 
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