Leak in Zodiak

[ddenver]

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

 

[Rick from Maine]

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

 

[Anonymous]

Sometimes the inflation valves have issues, depending on type, most are adjustable, cleanable etc.
Mike

 

[hardee]

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