Search

Repainting the Dinghy

sailawayblog
Feb 2, 2016
3 min read

Our dinghy is one of our favorite things about cruising.

Via dinghy, we’ve gone to some of the coolest beaches, the best lobster spots, and the greatest fishing holes. Our pup, Ruca, goes nuts when it’s time to go on dinghy ride, because she knows something super fun is about to happen! And we agree, dinghy rides are super fun, but it’s not her only purpose. She’s also a necessity when it comes to surviving on a sailboat. After we anchor the sailboat out in deep water, we use the dinghy to go to shore for supplies, to go into port for customs and to do other important errands. Basically, she’s our only method of getting onto land. A sailor without a dinghy is a stranded one!

When we got S/V Wanderlust we were delighted to get our little dinghy along with the deal. The dinghy is a hard bottom inflatable, with a good outboard motor on the rear. She was in good shape, but could use a little attention and sprucing up. So we set off on the task to show her a little love in return for all the enjoyment she’s provided.

Here’s how we went about a good cleaning and a new paint job for the dinghy.

First, we removed everything.

We honestly didn’t even know what was in there, or what shape it was in, so this was a good step to take some inventory. We found some fun hidden gems, like 2 pairs of water shoes the previous owners had left (finders keepers). We also found that our air horn had rusted and was no longer operable, and needed to be replaced. We removed some useless lines and zip ties.

After a quick inventory, we cleaned all the items and set them aside. We cleaned the cooler itself with dish soap, and a little bleach to kill any mold or mildew, and left everything to air dry in the sun.

Finally, we removed the outboard and mounted it onto the sailboat.

Second, we washed the inflatable and the hard bottom.

I scrubbed the inflatables and the hard bottom with dish soap, fresh water, and a hard bristled brush to remove any dirt, grime, algae or barnacles. We used a rust removal jelly on the screws or any other metal surface. We checked for holes in the hard bottom.

Third, the inflatable was prepped for paint.

We wanted to paint our dinghy for a couple reasons. One, it had already been painted sometime in the past, and whoever did it must have had their eyes closed. Second, the old owners’ registration numbers, and nickname for the dinghy, “Hootie”, were written in permanent marker on the side of the boat. Those had to go.

To prepare for paint, we let the dinghy dry completely from the fresh water wash. Then, we used 120 grit sandpaper (because it is what we had on board) to sand all the areas of the boat which would receive paint. Following the sanding, we wiped the area with acetone to remove any dust or dirt traces, and to disturb the existing paint surface. We were careful not to use too much acetone, as it can eat through an inflatable. We used just enough so that the finish on the existing paint job became dull and smeared. We sanded and applied acetone twice, just to be sure we had removed enough of the old paint.

Last, we ensured each inflatable section was full of air, and looked for leaks which needed patching.

Fourth, paint!

We purchased a can of inflatable paint from West Marine, and man, this stuff isn’t cheap! $60 got us a quart size can, but the good news is that this was enough for two coats on the dinghy. This paint isn’t meant for the hard bottom, only for the inflatable portions of the boat.

I used a regular soft bristle paintbrush to cover the old name and the registration numbers three times, and put a nice, smooth coat on the rest of the inflatable. The paint covered all the permanent marker, and left a matte finish.

Fifth, we repacked the dinghy, and stood in awe at how pretty she was.

After our paint dried (in about 12 hours time) we repacked the dinghy storage and retied any lines which were necessary.

In the dinghy cooler, we replaced the air horn, added a small first aid kit inside a Ziploc bag, two life jackets, a manual air pump, and a patch kit. We installed the two paddles back into their fittings.

Then, we stood back and appreciated our hard work.