gobigkahuna
Seaman
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2008
- Messages
- 54
I'm looking at getting a used boat and I'm located on the coast of North Carolina. My plan was originally to buy a new inflatable and outboard, but tax season dashed any hopes for that this year... 
so I'm considering this boat. I looked at a used Avon 10 foot rigid hulled inflatable (fiberglass hull) today that I'm guessing to be a 1990-ish vintage. The hull overall looks good, all the seams look solid and hold air well. The fiberglass hull looks good, just a bit dirty, stained and some surface scuffs. The fabric is faded (hypalon, not vinyl) and has one small patch near the bow that hold air but I think should be replaced (about 1" x 3" in size). It comes with a 2 stroke Nissan 8 hp pull start outboard that looks to be a similar vintage and except for some scratches and dirt, looks fairly well maintained. It doesn't come with a trailer (it was kept as a dinghy on the deck of a big sport fisher) so I'll need to factor that into the price. The guy is asking $1100 but I think I can probably get it for a couple bills less than that. I've got a couple questions:
1. This boat is by all accounts about 20 years old. My understanding is that Hypalon lasts a pretty long while, but how many years more can I expect to get out of it?
2. I remember seeing some sort of chemical to "rejuvenate" hypalon fabric, anyone know what I'm talking about? Does this stuff really work?
3. I'm thinking about getting a cheap trailer from Harbor Freight (like this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90153 or this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5002 ). Any advice on using this with a 10' RHIB? I wouldn't let the trailer go in the water, I'd just use it to transport the boat to the ramp and then hand carry it into the water (it's all salt water here).
Used outboards in the 8-9 hp range are going for $700+ in this area, so I figure if I get a couple years out of the boat I got my money's worth.
so I'm considering this boat. I looked at a used Avon 10 foot rigid hulled inflatable (fiberglass hull) today that I'm guessing to be a 1990-ish vintage. The hull overall looks good, all the seams look solid and hold air well. The fiberglass hull looks good, just a bit dirty, stained and some surface scuffs. The fabric is faded (hypalon, not vinyl) and has one small patch near the bow that hold air but I think should be replaced (about 1" x 3" in size). It comes with a 2 stroke Nissan 8 hp pull start outboard that looks to be a similar vintage and except for some scratches and dirt, looks fairly well maintained. It doesn't come with a trailer (it was kept as a dinghy on the deck of a big sport fisher) so I'll need to factor that into the price. The guy is asking $1100 but I think I can probably get it for a couple bills less than that. I've got a couple questions:1. This boat is by all accounts about 20 years old. My understanding is that Hypalon lasts a pretty long while, but how many years more can I expect to get out of it?
2. I remember seeing some sort of chemical to "rejuvenate" hypalon fabric, anyone know what I'm talking about? Does this stuff really work?
3. I'm thinking about getting a cheap trailer from Harbor Freight (like this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90153 or this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5002 ). Any advice on using this with a 10' RHIB? I wouldn't let the trailer go in the water, I'd just use it to transport the boat to the ramp and then hand carry it into the water (it's all salt water here).
Used outboards in the 8-9 hp range are going for $700+ in this area, so I figure if I get a couple years out of the boat I got my money's worth.