ADVISOR

CONTENT:

• Boat Selection

• Boating advice

• Maintenance & care

• When you purchase

• Safety on board

• Repair advice

• Your engine

• Transport & storage

TRANSPORT & STORAGE:

The preferred way to transport RIBs or even foldables is using a trailer. With the right trailer, working on, or with the boat becomes very safe and easy.

How to choose the right trailer:
•  The trailer size and carrying capacity should correspond to your boat size and weight. Check the manual of your boat for exact parameters.
•  Choose a trailer with large bunks instead of rollers. A roller trailer can damage your boat as the contact areas of the roller with the boat are very small. Rollers are acceptable only along the keel line of the boat.
•  Adjust the rollers or bunks to fit the shape of the boat. Keel line is the best area for contact as normally it is the strongest part of the hull.
•  Aluminum or galvanized trailers are best for marine use.

After you get the right trailer, here is some advice for use:

  • THE BOAT MUST BE PROPERLY INFLATED.
  • Haul the boat onto the trailer using the bow eye on RIBs, or lateral towing eyes on foldables.
  • Drop the engine shaft down and fix it to the support provided on the trailer.
  • Leave the self-bailer open.
  • Tie down the boat with straps securely and tightly, using bow, lateral and rear eyes.
  • If the boat is being towed long distance, close the boat with the overall cover in order to avoid the abrasion or damage of the tube and the hull from dust and stones.

For proper boat storage:
•  deflate the boat and remove everything what can be removed: floorboards, seats, oars etc.
•  clean and dry your boat
•  close the oarlocks pins with caps to avoid damaging the tubes
•  open all inflation valves and let the air to go out as much as possible
•  fold transom towards bow and collapse tubes onto transom
•  fold the tubes inside the boat
•  fold the boat body from bow to the transom (there can be some folds)
•  fold transom onto bow folds
•  press the folded boat by yourself or leave it for 5-10 min with something heavy on it to remove the rest of air out of the boat
•  tie the folded boat with a rope or strap.
For RIBs the recommendations are similar: fold the tube onto the hull and make sure you protect the perimeter of the boat against the tube damage.
Do not forget to leave all the inflation valves open, when you pack the boat.

In-water storage of a boat during the season is common. For proper in-water storage follow some simple rules:
•  securely fix your boat to your dock – Learn some marine knots to fix the boat properly
•  always leave the self-bailer open
•  lift and tighten the engine
•  remove the fuel tank and oars from the boat and store them separately
•  do not forget to cover your boat with an overall cover – it is best to use an original overall cover
•  if you expect the boat to stay in water for a long time – decrease a little the pressure in the tube and other inflated parts: it will minimize the risk of boat damage as the result of a thermal pressure increase.