@$#&! Mice!

[Carl Thunberg]

Does anyone know of a reputable business that repairs holes in inflatable dinghies within a reasonable driving distance of Portsmouth, New Hampshire? Our very expensive 11-foot RIB is riddled with mouse holes! With so many holes, I think I should have this done professionally.

By the way, our previous RIB met a similar fate. I wish we had the space to leave it inflated throughout the winter, but we just don't. We've tried moth balls, and those sonic devices that are supposed to keep mice away. Nothing has worked to keep the mice at bay.

[Steve Laume]

Bummer, Carl. I can't help with the cure but may have some suggestions on prevention.

I lost the engine on a John Deere lawn tractor due to overheating caused by mouse nests one time. I always worry about sails.

I have the top of a barn that stays pretty well mouse free where I keep my sails. Last year I notice some evidence of mice in a pile of cedar strips I had also stored there.

Cakes of mouse bait were placed at opposite ends of the building away from the things I wanted to protect. They ate it right away and that ended the problem. I have replace it with new poison cakes so I can monitor any recent activity by seeing if it has been eaten.

I hate to kill the cute little rodents. At the house we live trap and release. When it comes to my hardwood lumber supply and sails no quarters are given.

I have always considered building a mouse proof stowage locker. This could be a simple light wooden frame with a sheet metal bottom and top with hardware cloth sides for ventilation. The door would need to fit pretty tightly. If it had shelves Like a big closet you could slide your dink in the bottom and store sails up above.

Sorry about the dinghy, I would be incredibly pissed, Steve.

[mahalocd36]

This might be a little far, but we had a repair done when we kept our boat in Buzzards Bay at East Coast Inflatables in New Bedord, MA. Some people warned us about patches never working, but these guys did it Right - dried it out, patched from inside and out, and we haven't had any issues. There was about a 6-8 inch slice taken out of our brand new dinghy when the launch driver swung the launch towing it too close to a mooring that had barnacles that ripped it.

They also repaired it very quickly - this was right before we were supposed to leave on vacation and they accomodated us.
That was 4 years ago and it's been fine, it's probably the strongest part of the boat.

http://www.eastcoastinflatables.net/home.nxg

[Oswego John]

We find that the best mouse proofing has been a barn cat or two. They protect against other types of critters, also.

O J

[Neil Gordon]

You might call Brown's Yacht Yard in Gloucester. They do lots of sales/service on inflatables and at the least they'll answer some questions.

By the way, I had several holes/cracks in my now 11 year old inflatable, where I created folds when rolling it up. The simple rubber patches I put on with the repair kit are years old and doing fine.

Separately though, I have a slow leak(s) that I can't find with soapy water, soapy water + saran wrap or otherwise. It may be that the fabric is just beginning to breathe too much as it wears. Any ideas for finding the source or restoration in general would be appreciated. The leak is slow enough so that the dinghy is still functional but I'm getting tired of reinflating.

[barfwinkle]

That's the answer!

Sorry to hear the news Carl.

Good Luck and Fair winds

[Watermark II]

Carl,
We got our inflatable at a great price because the PO could not keep it inflated and sending it to the dealer for repairs didnt help... when we got it I cleaned the inflation valves and it has held air for almost 4 years now... we store it in the barn inflated and use "bounce " sheets to keep the pests away! Has worked so far!

Andy
Watermark II
CD30K #2

[Tom Javor]

<a href="http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt58 ... months.jpg" target="_blank"><img width="600" src="http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt58 ... s.jpg"></a>

Image size restricted by webmaster. Click on the image to see an enlargement. - Cathy

eight months in this picture that was taken in February.......

[Oswego John]

Tom,

What a beauty. Such coloring.

....and they're so proud when they drop the trophy carcass on the front porch for one and all to see what a good mouser they are.

Ughh,
O J

[BillyO]

My barn cat is so polite that he lops the heads of the mice off to not offend our sensitivities.
Now, if he could just do the same to the bears out back.

[BillNH]

Carl,
I'm pretty sure there's a place in Portland - try giving Portland Yacht Services a call. If it's not them they could tell you who it is. There's also a liferaft servicing shop on the waterfront there that could probably do the job for you.

[Carl Thunberg]

Thanks, Everyone!

I followed Bill's suggestion and called Portland Yacht Services. They referred me to Robbie Marine in South Portland. Here's a link to their web-site. http://www.robbiemarine.com/ . This is not an endorsement (yet). I'm dropping the dinghy off tomorrow.

For what it's worth, his suggestion for preventing mice damage is to suspend the stored dinghy in the air from the floor joists in the ceiling above. It's not a guarantee, but it's a whole lot better than storing it in a bag on the floor or on a shelf.

[nprice]

Carl,
We also use Bounce in sail bags suspended from a beam. So far so good.

[John Danicic]

Bounce or any of the fragrant fabric softener sheet products are great for keeping critters at bay.

I have taken to placing them everywhere about the boat for winter storage. Any crack, air inlet, closet, locker hatch bilge or exhaust port. On the deck and around the cradle. I left them hanging in the anchor locker near where the chain enters in around the windlass. So far very good results. Zero mice.

I put away a car for the winter and did the same. A box goes a long way and really they are the most cost effective method to fight the dreaded mice. I am even thinking of using them to wrap my bean plants to keep rabbits away. I am not sure that they would repell bears.

Sail on

John Danicic
CD36 - Mariah - #124
Lake Superior - The Apostle Islands
CDSOA # 655

[Kquist]

We have a garage which can hold a dinghy or kayak suspended from the ceiling. We also have a problem with mice coming into the house, garage, basement, and barn this year. We bought those mouse traps that look like big plastic paper clips. They work great and you don't have to touch the mouse to release it or reset the trap. I felt like I was running a trap line for a week or so. I caught 12 mice in 6 days. You could also put them inside the dinghy in case they are able to tight rope walk across your ropes. You can rig it so you can lower the boat periodically to check your traps.