| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| PJ |
Posted - Apr 28 2012 : 15:57:24
My West Marine rigid dingy when mounted to the swim platform sags very bad. I just mounted it last week end and it has distorted by a bunch. What can I do to reinforce the side to prevent this. here are some pictures
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| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| PJ |
Posted - May 09 2012 : 05:44:11
Has been mounted since Sunday and no sag. I think that has done it, I will give some more time to make sure |
| 370 Motoryacht |
Posted - May 08 2012 : 21:06:10
Looks like it works perfect and doesn't detract from the looks of the boat at all! |
| PJ |
Posted - May 08 2012 : 08:38:09
Well I was able to get started on reinforcing the side this weekend. I used aluminum square 1 inch tube. I used aluminum because I could form it to the contour of the dingy easier. I will probably add some wood (Gary not morning) for added support as Pascal and others have suggested. I have caps for the end and will paint the tube when I feel that it is providing good support and no other modifications are required.
Thanks all for the help
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| The Other Gary |
Posted - Apr 30 2012 : 12:45:36
Wow, when I saw the thread title I thought it was about something else.
Grin
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| bushwood |
Posted - Apr 30 2012 : 10:18:31
This is not an uncommon problem with rigid dinks. Here in the PNW, many Livingstons/Sorensons have been re-enforced on the side wall (where davits are attached). One older method was to fiberglass a piece of wood to the interior side wall, and then attach the davit to the re-enforced wall. If you go to Livingston's web site, they actually have models with re-enforced sides for this application. I realize you have a different brand, but same concept. |
| PJ |
Posted - Apr 30 2012 : 09:37:53
Thank all for the good advice, no I will not return it. Wife loves it and we have had it for over a year. I just decided to mount it on the swim platform. B4 we had just left it on the dock and only used it when we were at home port. 370 motoryacht has the answer, I never thought of that. I found some 1 in round tubing, think it is stainless and will use a conduit bender to match the curve of the dingy. Will try and get that done next weekend and will post completed pictures. Thanks again |
| Laissez-Faire |
Posted - Apr 29 2012 : 19:36:25
think its bad now, wait until you have a few days of 90+ sun...WM will take it back, but for the price
you paid for it, don't expect to find another dingy that will do any better, like the previous guy said,
if you decide to keep it, use hard wood to beef it up. |
| alexander38 |
Posted - Apr 29 2012 : 16:58:32
quote:
Originally posted by 370 Motoryacht
I wonder if a piece of stainless steel tubing (like a bimini top support) mounted on the under side of the rub rail say 2 feet long or so would do the trick.
I think that would stop the bending, but wouldn't spread the load out. and the plastic/pvc dink would bend and break later on with age from the lack of support. |
| rawidman |
Posted - Apr 29 2012 : 11:38:23
quote:
Originally posted by saltysam
Why not return it to vendor and demand your money ?
I don't think it's the fault of the dinghy, I think the problem is the way it is stored on the boat.
It wouldn't really be fair to purchase a product, damage it by incorrect use, and then expect a refund.
I would look into a way of better supporting the dinghy. |
| 370 Motoryacht |
Posted - Apr 29 2012 : 07:19:23
I wonder if a piece of stainless steel tubing (like a bimini top support) mounted on the under side of the rub rail say 2 feet long or so would do the trick. |
| alexander38 |
Posted - Apr 29 2012 : 07:10:09
quote:
Originally posted by PascalG
Buy a properly built dinghy! :) seriously the best way to fix this is to reinforce the sides near the top. A piece of varnished wood, 1" thick, 4 to 6" wide, would do the trick... What you want to do is spread the loads
and then add supports from port to stbd to spread the load, you could make them out of 7/8" S/S tube and some Bimini top parts with removable pins ... |
| Sandy |
Posted - Apr 28 2012 : 20:52:03
I'm not surprised the side of the thin-wall molded plastic dink has deformed with that security pin forcing it up so far & the weight of the dink and wave action underway (w/ sun heat) bearing down on the rest of the side. Can you move the dink one way or the other to swing that pin at an angle to let the gunwale rest on the swim platform? Or heat and reform the pin for shorter height to same effect? IMO, best would be to have a customized support between the whole dink side and platform that properly supports the curve and maintains shape. If that deformity doesn't pop back when the dink is in the water or flat, you may have to set up a jig inside the dink to gradually encourage return to original shape. |
| boatbum |
Posted - Apr 28 2012 : 20:31:00
Wow a full inch? I am thinking it needs 1/2 the full length of the side. In any event, if the vendor told you this would work ok, I'd get my money back.
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| saltysam |
Posted - Apr 28 2012 : 18:49:59
Why not return it to vendor and demand your money ? |
| PascalG |
Posted - Apr 28 2012 : 16:18:27
Buy a properly built dinghy! :) seriously the best way to fix this is to reinforce the sides near the top. A piece of varnished wood, 1" thick, 4 to 6" wide, would do the trick... What you want to do is spread the loads |
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