AB Inflatables ABJET - Inspections; General Boat Maintenance; Repair of the Hull; Repair of the Tube

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WARNING
Do not cover the boat with a canvas until completely dry, as this could
damage the tissue of the tubes due to mildew and water stains.
Upholstery
Wash the upholstery regularly with soft detergent and warm
water in a 1:1 proportion; you can use also automotive vinyl
cleaners to keep the cushions, canopy top and vinyl
coverings in good conditions. Keep the cushions from
becoming soaked, and dry them o thoroughly after
washing to prevent mildew accumulation when the boat is
covered. Prop the cushions up in the boat when covered to
allow air circulation, and spray with mildew repellent.
Fiberglass Hull Repair
Periodically you must inspect every square centimeter (inch)
of the rigid hull of your inatable. The best way to do it is by
rubbing you hand over the surface. Generally, you will feel
the scratches and chips before seeing them, more so when
they do not extend right through the gel coat to the laminate
underneath. Mark these areas with a waterproof felt pen for
further inspection. When you see the same color right
through the scratch or chip, the gel coat has been damaged.
In this case, simply lightly grind out the cavity with an emery
disc in an electric drill or with emery paper used by hand, and
ll up the hole with gel coat. To complete the job, you then
grind the gel coat lling ush with the surrounding surfaces
using a very ne emery disc and polish the whole area with
an abrasive cleaner so that it blends in. Small chips and
scratches of this type can be left in most cases without fear of
worsening because the gel coat still provides a seal against
water entering the laminate. The touching up treatment
suggested is only necessary if you greatly concerned about
the cosmetic appearance of your boat.
More serious are chips and scratches which extend into the
laminate. These can usually be identied as a white surface
under the gel coat with a brous texture. If the damage is
minor with only the gel coat having been removed, then
follow the same procedure as described above, but make
sure that you grind back the gel coat to a point where there is
positive adhesion between the gel coat and the laminate
underneath.
For major berglass damages, please take your inatable to
an authorized service center.
Repair of the tube
Your AB boat is supplied with a maintenance kit for patching
minor punctures. This kit consists of several patches of (CSM)
Coated Fabric Material, sanding paper, glue and catalyst,
which are exactly the same as those used for the manufactu-
re of the boats.
If your boat has suered a major accident, the repair should
be completed by an authorized service center in your area.
Contact your closest AB dealer for assistance in nding this
information. If your boat is leaking, a test of ve hours
duration is sucient to have a good estimate, but one should
stabilize the pressure at 0.2 bar (3 psi) during the rst half
MAINTENANCE & INSPECTIONS
GENERAL BOAT MAINTENANCE