The ‘service life’ of the adhesive used to attach floors and transoms to the tube collars of most small inflatable yacht tenders is generally agreed in the industry to be 10-15 years, but this is an issue that can usually be fixed.
Firstly, let’s consider how our typical single layer, flexible floored dinghy was constructed. The inflatable part (or collar as it is known on larger RIBs) on the majority of boats will have been PVC heat welded together in an industrial manufacturing process. This means that the airtight joints will be as strong or stronger than the areas of fabric between them. So the collar itself is only scrap if sun damage is causing it to leak in pinholes all over or if required repairs are multiple slashes or large areas of abrasion that are not patchable. It’s therefore usual for the tubes to significantly outlive the rest of the boat.
So, if we only have an adhesive attachment problem, our boat might not be destined for landfill for a few years yet. The usual areas of trouble are as follows:
The single layer floor is typically made from the same PVC as the collar, but is most often glued on,
