Sunset Inflatable Boats and Marine: Latest News

Dinghy storage or non use

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 21:16:41 +0000

As we enter winter the dinghy make not get as much use as it did this summer. What tends to happen is the last time it was used we think we will be back to use it again but weeks then months go by and we didn't properly store the dinghy. What happens next is dead battery, fuel contamination in the fuel tank and in the motor, tubes have lost air and the battery switch was never turned off. So to help avoid this from happening I suggest you put on your calendar the last day that you will be using your tender this could be after Christmas holiday etc. Plan to wash the boat, put battery on trickle charger or remove battery from boat, turn off battery switch, if you have a carburated motor run it out of fuel by removing the fuel supply. Make sure the drain plug is removed to allow for drainage if you are storing out of the water.Add some fuel additive to the tank, just a little...fill tubes with air, put on the boat cover and secure so it will not blow off when you are not around. This will help to guarantee that the dinghy is ready when you want to use it in the Spring!

Portable Electric outboards

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 01:26:00 +0000

The last couple of years we have been selling the E Propulsion electric outboard. In my opinion this motor changes everything for small outboards in the under 6 hp range. It offers so many benefits over a gas outboard. Let me highlight them. Most of the disadvantages also apply to propane motors...I want to mention that recently in 2021 we have signed up to sell Elco electric outboards as well and hope to offer some console dinghy's with electric outboard packages in 2022!

The Benefits are many...

No gas to handle or purchase

No service of the motor that's no oil changes, no impellers, no gear oil, no spark plugs, no fuel filters etc

No flushing of the motor

No hard starting or warm up of the motor

No problem with other family members trying to start the motor

No issue with storing the motor on it's side

No gas smell

No carb to clean or repair

Light weight

So with these advantages for the electric outboard what would be the advantage of owing a gas or possibly a propane motor..

The biggest advantage is the access to fuel with no need to charge a battery so basically an easy on-going fuel supply.

That is pretty much the only advantage offered by the gas motor..

To address this you need to do a little more planning when using an electric outboard. It is possible to by a second battery section so you can have one charging while you are using one of the batteries, the other is using a fast charger so you can charge a battery in 2-3 hours rather than 5 hours..

Whatever you decide the electric outboard offers a fantastic option for a small outboard motor

California boaters card

Thu, 15 Feb 2018 21:48:08 +0000

Beginning January 1st 2018 California will be begin the process of issuing boaters cards to those persons that complete the boating safety course required by the state of California. Beginning now the card is required for all persons driving a boat between the age of 15 years old and 20 years old. Starting next year and going through 2025 the age required to have the boaters card will increase until the year 2024 when everyone 60 years old and younger will be required to have the California boaters card. In 2025 all boaters will be required to have the card. You can visit the website californiaboatercard.com for more information and details on where to take the test to get your card. Their will be fines for not having a card. The fines will start at $100 and will go up for a second and third offense and the court will require you to take the course and get your card.

So best to take care of this now especially if you are under the age of 20.

Yours in boating

Mitch Bernardo

Hypalon and PVC..what are the differences?

Fri, 28 Aug 2015 00:32:02 +0000

We have this discussion often with customers about why to choose hypalon or PVC fabric for an inflatable boat. Some will tell you that hypalon is the better material and should be the only material you select for your inflatable boat. The fact is PVC fabric may be fine for your needs. PVC boats can run as little as 25% of the costs compared with an equal hypalon boat. So when should you select PVC and when should you select hypalon? Where you live could be a factor in this choice. In the Northwest, in Canada and other places North, PVC fabric is more popular. In the west coast, or Florida or more southern locations hypalon is the better choice. The reason is PVC although resistant to UV from the sun it is not in the same league as hypalon materail when exposed to UV. There are some PVC fabrics that are more resistant to sun than others and this is usually reflected in the price of the boat. I know that some of the PVC coming out of Germany is a better UV material but it tends to run twice the costs of other PVC fabrics. Hypalon too has different quality materials and you will see some of the manufacturers offering 10 year warranties on the hypalon fabric and others offering 5 year warranties. I am not going to go into the differences in the hypalon materials but you should know that they exist. So back to our question. If you plan to use your boat in a warmer, western or southern state and you plan to leave the boat outside either on a davit, or on the deck of your boat then hypalon is recommend. If you plan to use your boat on occassion and the boat will be rolled up and stored when not in use then PVC might be an good option. Definately I would recommend PVC material only for roll up boats and not for RIBS unless you live in one of those Northern areas mentioned earlier. The roll up PVC boats are an excellent option for customers with an RV vehicle, or with small boats that need a small tender. Sail boats who may store the inflatable below deck could use a PVC boat.

Both fabrics are great choices provided some thought is given to how the boat is used and stored.

Bottom Paint for your RIB

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 01:29:41 +0000

To bottom paint or not to bottom paint that is the question. If you plan to leave your RIB inflatable boat in the water for more than about 4 days at a time then I would recommend bottom painting. Painting the bottom of an inflatable RIB is not the same as painting the bottom of your sail or power boat. The paint must adhere to both the fiberglass and the PVC or Hypalon fabric. A specific type of bottom paint is selected for use on both the fiberglass and the tubes. You might think having your dinghy painted at the boat yard along with your yacht is a good idea but I recommend against it. The paint they will use will not work well on your RIB. It will crack off the tubes and not look good. So picking the correct paint is important. Next is preparing the bottom of the dinghy for painting. We believe that sanding the fiberglass hull before applying the bottom paint is the best way to prepare the surface. We like this method over using a primer. Once sanded and cleaned with acetone the bottom is ready to be taped and painted. Two coats is needed. The paint should last a good two years provided your bottom cleaner is not to hard on the bottom of your RIB. We recommend having the diver use only a T-shirt for cleaning the bottom of the dinghy for as long as possible. Don't clean the bottom at all for the first couple of months. We offer bottom painting services at our shop. Please ask us about the service on your next visit.

I would like to add that boats with previous bottom paint may have various results when being repainted especially if the boat is over due for new bottom paint. The reason is the tube and the hull can get impregnated with sea creatures that can be very hard to remove or paint over even with sanding. In some cases it can be difficult to get bottom paint to stick in these situations.

Flushing and Fuel

Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The small outboards that run on gas still need some routine maintenance to keep them ready for the next time you want to use them. These smaller gas outboards have smaller carbs and small jets for idle speeds. They can easily be blocked by the evaporation of the fuel in the carb when fuel is left sitting. The fuel leaves behind deposits that block these jets and cause the motor to not idle and run poorly. This means a trip to your dealer (me) for us to dissassemble the carb, clean, reassemble and test. An unwanted expense for you. So what can you do? First you can run the carb out of fuel when finishing up using the outboard. Just shut off the fuel supply and let it run until it quits. If you want to do an even better job you can access the drain on the carb bowl and drain it as well. Running the fuel out makes a big difference just by itself. This applies to larger outboards as well. The second item is flushing the salt water from your outboard. The passages around the engine block that cool the motor can be blocked by salt that gets left behind when the motor is stored. Over time the salt blocks the passages and the motor starts to overheat. Back to your dealer for a some times expensive dissassembly of the motor to clean out these passages. To avoid this problem you need to flush the motor with fresh water. You can do this with small motors by flushing in a bucket of fresh water. You can also purchase a flushing "bag" that works like a bucket. The slightly larger motors can accept a flushing tool called a " muff" that allows you to attach a hose directly to the water intake at the bottom of the gear case below the prop. You only need to flush for a few minutes..just enough to replace the salt water with fresh water. Be careful to pay attention if the hose should come loose and the motor does not get any water you can easily burn up your impellor and then back to see us you will go... These two maintenance items with keep your motor running better and longer. Be sure to visit us yearly for regular maintenance and the motor will last a long time.

Towing your larger dinghy

Sat, 12 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The larger center console dinghys are in big demand. They are comfortable, they offer lots of freedom on the water. In Catalina and around the harbor you can cruise in comfort. The challenge is how do you bring the center console dinghy with you to Catalina if you don't have a davit? The answer for many is to tow the dinghy behind the big boat. I have personally been towing my 13' center console dinghy for about 7 years behind a couple of different larger powerboats. I have towed it in a variety of conditions on the ocean. Towing is a safe way to bring your dinghy to Catalina provided you have the proper equipment. We will go over some techniques and equipment options for towing a larger dinghy at planning speeds. The first item is a tow line. It should be a floating line so as to reduce problems with the line getting caught up in your big boats propellers. It should be about 60 to 70 feet long to place your towed dinghy back far enough to be behind the second wave being generated by your big boat moving through the water. A bridle is my first choice for both the dinghy and the big boat. This allows you to hook up two lines your dinghy and two lines to the boat. A single line will work as well. When towing at faster speeds it's good to tow with the motor in the down position, with the motor in neutral and the steering wheel tied so it's can turn. This helps the dinghy to move through the water in a straight line. Once you are going about 16 mph you will be on plane and so will your dinghy. Once on plane you can bring your boat up to a max of 20 knots for cruising to Catalina. Around the harbor have the dinghy tied up close behind your big boat..say about 15' back, let out the line all the way just before you leave the harbor entrance. The same thing when picking up the mooring or returning to your slip keep the dinghy a little way's behind your big boat. That's it..have some one keep an eye on the dinghy when cruising to Catalina and enjoy.

Making a repair to a puncture on your inflatable boat.

Tue, 18 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Now that you have marked all the spots where you found leaks by using soapy water on your tubes I will tell you how to patch the boat. We recommend that you bring the boat to us for repair if possible but if not you can do it yourself. The first thing to do is to select a patch of the correct size for the puncture. It should be a good size larger than the hole. Lay the patch on top of the hole and trace around it with a pencil. Remove the patch and apply "blue" masking tape, found at Home Depot, around the pencil circle leaving the center uncovered. Once this is done you can prep the patch and the surface of the boat. If your boat is hypalon you will want to sand the area inside the tape. Rough it up good and clean the area with acetone or alcohol. Do the same with the patch. Use the correct type of two part hypalon glue. Do not use single part glue. Single part glue is for emergency patching. Mix some glue in a paper cup with some hardner that comes with the glue. We sell the glue at our shop. Use an inexpensive brush, cut off the end of the brush to leave a very short stubb of brush. Apply some glue to the patch and to the boat. Let the glue dry. Then apply a second coat of glue on the boat and the patch. Wait only a couple of minutes and you are now ready to stick the patch to the boat. Apply the patch and use a credit card to smooth it out. The tube should be inflated, if possible when applying the patch. After awhile you can remove the blue tape. The patch will take several days to dry completely. Keep the boat from the water for atleast a couple of days. Never glue near the ocean or when it's raining. If it's humid the glue won't dry. If your boat is a PVC boat then the process is a little different. No sanding of the tube is necessary or the patch. Follow the same process otherwise. Use the PVC two-part glue in this case. We have experienced repair personnel who can do a variety of repairs including, patching holes, repair seams, sealing water leaks, install new tubes etc. Bring your boat by the store for en evaluation.

Getting your inflatable boat and outboard ready for summer

Mon, 10 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The time has come to begin getting ready for summer boating. Your inflatable boat has not had any love in awhile so what can be done to prepare for the summer. First thing is to check your boat for water and air leaks. This can be easily done with some soapy water in a spray bottle. Spray the boat valves and tubes with soapy water and watch for signs of bubbles to spot any potential air leaks. Circle them with a marker for patching. The next item is to check for water leaks. With the inflatable boat tubes full of air put some water inside the boat and watch for water exiting the boat. This will show you the water leaks that when your boat is in the water will allow water to enter your boat. Mark these for patching as well.

Lets talk briefly about the outboard motor for your dinghy. It needs some attention now as well. We hope that you remembered to run the motor out of fuel before putting it away last season. If not you will need to have the carb cleaned by a mechanic, our shop can do that work for you if you are local in Southern California,the purpose is to remove any old fuel or blockage in the carb jets. If you did drain your carb then good for you. An oil change would still be in order and if it's been more than 2 years since the last impellor changed, then it would be a good idea to change it as well. The gear oil too. Check your prop for any damage and replace if it has too many chips or bends.These items can be done by our shop during a regular service. Once these items are done you are ready to use your dinghy and motor. I will cover in my next blog how to make the repairs to the boat yourself or how you can have those repairs done at our shop.