The inflatable boat starts operating long before it's launched, and the most important step is to build it properly. Many owners make the mistake of ignoring the sequence of actions, which leads to rapid wear and tear. PVC material A well-assembled hull ensures excellent performance, wave stability and crew safety, turning a set of cylinders and plywood into a complete vessel.
Unlike inflatable-bottomed boats, hard-floorboard models require a more careful attitude to geometry and tension. stringerIn this article, we will discuss all the nuances so that your launch begins without problems and unnecessary stress.
Preparation of the seat and check of the completeness
Before you start pumping cylinders, you need to prepare a suitable site, the ideal option is a flat surface, cleared of sharp objects, branches, stones or construction debris. The optimal temperature for assembly is above +10 ° C, since in the cold the material becomes rigid and susceptible to crumples. If you are assembling a boat in a garage or on concrete, make sure the floor is clean so as not to damage the bottom fabric.
Unpack the case and spread out all the elements in the available space. You'll need the transmesse-stick cylinders themselves, a set of paioles (floor plates), aluminum stringers (ribs) and fun plugs. Check for the remix and pump. The absence of even one small bolt or plug can stop the whole process, so it's best to detect it right away.
Visually inspect the cylinders for obvious damage or factory defects. Pay special attention to the places where the sutures are glued and the transom is glued. If you notice detachments or bubbles, assembly cannot continue - repairs are required. Also make sure that the air pump valves are open, which will allow the cylinders to spread naturally before the main pumping.
Primary pumping of cylinders and geometry formation
You should always start with cylinders, but you don't have to pump them to the working pressure, so your job is to give them a primary shape so that they don't become flat pancakes. Use a hand or foot pump to supply air until the cylinders become elastic, but still easily run through with your finger, and the pressure at this point should not exceed 0.1-0.15 atmosphere.
After the initial pumping, leave the boat to lie down for 10-15 minutes. PVC It stretched out and took on its natural shape, and if you skip this step and start laying the floor right away, the balloons can deform the floorboards or shift, disrupting the geometry of the bottom, and in cold weather, you'd better increase the exposure time to 20 minutes.
It's important to keep track of the symmetry. The cylinders should be parallel to each other, forming a smooth corridor for laying the floor. If you see one side swelling harder than the other, blow a little air and level the pressure. Equal distribution of volume is the guarantee that the stringers will fall into place without skewing.
⚠️ Warning: Never leave a fully pumped boat in direct sunlight unattended. The air pressure inside the cylinders rises with the temperature, which can cause the seams or valves to rupture.
Installation of stringers and laying of floorboard
This is the most time-consuming step, and it requires care, and you start by installing side stringers, long aluminum profiles, that are inserted into special pockets or slots along the sides, which serve as guides and as the main element of rigidity, and then you start laying the floor plates (floorboard), starting from the transom (feed) and moving to the nose.
The plates can be flat or have a book profile. If you have flat paioles, they fit together to form a single plane, and the profile plates connect through special locks or overlaid, creating keeliness. Kieliness It's important for better wave germination and stability, so make sure the plates are flat, without gaps or steps.
When you lay the floor, you have to constantly adjust the position of the cylinders, pulling them to the center or straightening the sides. The piolas must lie loose, not resting on the cylinders with force, but not hanging around, and this stage ends with the installation of a nose stove, which often has a complex shape and fixes the entire structure in the front.
The secret to fast flooring
To make the floorboards easier to stand up, especially in cool weather, you can bend your knees slightly and press your body weight on the center of the stoves already laid, lifting the sides of the boat, which will create additional space for laying the next sections, and also helps lubricating the ends of the floorboard with silicone grease if they rub against each other.
Installation of the central stringer and final tension
When all the plates are laid, it's the turn of the central stringer. It's the longest and most powerful element that runs through the center of the bottom, connecting the bow and stern. It takes a lot of effort to install, because it has to dissect the structure by selecting all possible backlashes. In some boat models, the central stringer consists of two parts that are connected in a cross-haired way.
Insert one end of the stringer into your nose pocket or under your nose stove, then bending it with an arc, wind the second end into the aft groove. Act carefully not to scratch aluminum against stones or tear PVC fabric with sharp edges of the plates. A properly installed stringer must press the floorboards tightly against the cylinders, making the bottom monolithic.
Once all the stiffness elements are installed, you can start the final pumping of the cylinders to the working pressure (usually 0.2-0.25 atm, see product passport). Bring the pressure gradually, moving from cylinder to cylinder, so that the tension is distributed evenly. Make sure that the valves are tightly closed.
☑️ Checking the boat's readiness
Features of the assembly of boats of different designs
Not all boats with hard bottoms are built the same way, and the design of different models can change the algorithm of actions, and understanding the type of boat you have can help you avoid mistakes and save time.
Below is a comparative table of the main types of bottom designs:
| Type of design | Difficulty of assembly | Weight gathered | Driving performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat paiola | Low. | Medium. | Good stability, average speed |
| Paiola with keel (profile) | Medium | Highly | Excellent germination on the wave, high speed |
| Folding floor (book) | High. | Low. | Good, but inferior to the whole sex |
| Aluminum floor | Very high. | Very tall. | Maximum rigidity and durability |
Boats from aluminum-floor They're the longest-sized models, because they require multiple profiles to connect, but they're almost indestructible. Book-type plywood floorboard models are more compact in transportation, but require careful locking so that the floor doesn't fold up while you're driving, and it depends on which is more important to you, which is the maximum speed or the ease of transportation.
⚠️ Warning: When installing an aluminum floor, be sure to use protective linings or make sure there is no sand between the metal and PVC. Metal shavings or stones can wipe the balloon under load.
Installation of attachments and inspection
When the body is assembled, we move to the rig, and you can set the seats (banks) in the regular seats, fix them with locks or strap them through the rings, fix the switches for oars. If the boat is equipped. slab-slab Or keels, check their attachment, and at that point, you'll also have a sonar, if you have one, and you'll have an anchor mount.
Be sure to check the work of the grass knife (if it is installed on the redan) and the condition of the anchor rift. Make sure that the rescue line (rope around the perimeter of the balloon) is stretched and does not hang, you can grab it in an emergency. All metal elements must be reliably fixed so that the vibration of the motor does not unwind the connections.
The final visual inspection will help you identify forgotten tools or loose elements. Walk your hand through the seams and joints of the floorboard — there should be no sharp ledges anywhere. The boat is ready to be launched, where under the load of the crew and engine, the structure will finally "sit" and take on a working form.
Lubricate the threaded connections of the keys and mounts of the cans with graphite lubricant or silicone, this will prevent the metal from creaking and creaking during rowing or engine operation.
Typical Assembly Errors and Their Consequences
One of the most common mistakes is to try to assemble the boat "at speed" without leveling the cylinders, resulting in paioles standing hump or house, when pumped to working pressure, this design creates excessive stress at the joints of the plates, which can lead to plywood failure or deformation of aluminum profiles.
The second common mistake is not pumping the cylinders before installing the stringers. The beginners are afraid to pump the boat and leave the cylinders soft. As a result, the central stringer cannot open the sides, the bottom remains sluggish, and the boat loses running performance. On the water, such a boat will prowl and worse get on plane mode.
The third mistake is ignoring temperature expansion, so if you put a boat in a warm room and pull it out into the winter cold, you get hanging cylinders, and vice versa, if you build it in the cold and then go out in the sun, you're going to break, always adjust for operating conditions and pump the boat just before you go down.
Proper assembly sequence and pressure control is not just a formality, but a guarantee that the boat will last the declared 10-15 years without repairing the bottom.
⚠️ Warning: Never use high-powered compressors without a pressure pressure pressure gauge and valve to pump a boat, and the risk of blowing up cylinders in a couple of seconds is very high.
Post-operational care of the boat
Proper assembly is only half the battle, and in order to last, the boat needs to be properly disassembled and canned, and once you're out, be sure to rinse the hull with fresh water, especially if you've been swimming in salt water or standing, overgrown mud, and salt and organics destroy PVC and glue.
Drying is a critical step. You can't fold a wet boat, otherwise you'll get mold that will break the fabric from the inside. If you can't dry it at home, at least decompose the boat in the garage with the valves open until the next check-out. Keep the boat in a case at room temperature, away from the heaters.
Check the valves and seams regularly, and if you make a small repair on time, you can save yourself from a lot of water problems, and keep the bags clean, as they protect the boat from dust and mechanical damage during transportation.
How to keep a boat in winter?
The ideal option is to be inflated in a warm room, if there is no space, fold it freely without dragging your belts, and periodically (once a season) spread it out and inflate again to spread the folds.
Do I need to lubricate the joints of the paiole before assembly?
Lubricating joints is not necessary, but it's useful. Special silicone lubrication makes it easier for plates to slide relative to each other when assembled and disassembled, especially in the cold season, which reduces the effort required to install stringers and reduces wear on the edges of the floorboard.
What if the central stringer does not stand in place?
Don't use excessive force. You're probably over-pumped or under-pumped. Try putting air out of the cylinders a little bit, stacking the stringer, then pumping the cylinders back to normal. Also check if the floorboards are flat, because the skewed floor is interfering with the central element.
Can I build a PVC boat in the cold?
Technically possible, but not recommended at temperatures below -5°C...-10°C. The material becomes brittle, the risk of cracking a fold or hall increases many times. If assembly in the cold is inevitable, act very slowly, smoothly bending the elements, and do not try to reach full working pressure at once.
How do you know if the pressure in the cylinders is sufficient?
The best way to do this is to use a pressure gauge on a pump, and to the touch, a properly pumped balloon should be hard, but if you press your thumb hard, you should be able to slash it 1-2 cm. The sound when tapped should be ringing, not deaf. The pumped balloon becomes like a rock and can burst from the slightest external influence.