Leak in Zodiak

D

ddenver

New member
We obviously have a small leak in one of the tubes in our Zodiak.

To try to find the leak, I tried spraying it w/ water hoping to see some bubbles. No luck.

I then tried a bit of water w/ some dish detergent in it to try to amplify the bubbles.... still no luck.

I brought it down to the beach and stuck it in the water... still no luck.

Without a doubt there is a leak. Cannot patch it until I find the source of the leak.

Has anybody found a surefire or simpler manner to spot a leak in an inflatable raft?

Tanks for your tips.

Regards,
Dan Denver
 
Hi Dan,

I did all the things that you did and couldn't find a leak in my inflatable. Only 2 things worked for me.

1. I filled the inflatable with water until it overflowed. I did this twice, once with the bow low and once with the stern low. I found a small stream of tiny bubbles this way, and marked the location. Then when I drained the dinghy, I could see a tiny abraded area that the leak was coming from. I patched this leak. But, found I still had a leak when it was inflated.

2. No previous method using water or soap solution found another leak. So, I then did a careful visual inspection of every surface of the inflatable, and marked any area that had a visual difference from the adjacent area. You might consider using a large low power magnifying glass to do this. I found about 8 "suspect" areas, i.e. tiny spots that were visually different, e.g. a tiny dark spot on a light colored tube. I put a soapy solution on each of the areas, but didn't see any bubbles forming. So, I put a patch on each of the 8 areas. Voila! It worked. My inflatable no longer leaks.

Good Luck.

Rick from Maine
 
Sometimes the inflation valves have issues, depending on type, most are adjustable, cleanable etc.
Mike
 
Hi Dan,

On my new Alaska Series, I found it would not hold air. I soapsprayed the valves and found they were the source of the leak. That was the easy part. Now I am dealing with the dealer (Inflatable BoatWorks of Ballard) I sent the boat back for repair, It took them over a month to get it back to me, it came back with the wrong High Pressure floor) and now I have the second wrong floor -- they do not fit, first too large, second too small. I think you are doing it right, trying to fix it yourself.

Good luck,

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
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