Kevlar retrofit to our Pischel Rigid Inflatable

Pischel is a company that pioneered RIBs long before the large manufacturers even thought of them. The company is located just south of Cologne in Germany and they make the best RIBs I have ever seen on the market (and I have no affiliation other than being a happy owner). Here are some features:

• All inflatable surfaces are made of Hypalon, the best inflatable fabric
• The rigid bottom is a double hull and comes standard with a locker up front. This locker can contain a gas tank.
• Paddles are high quality glass fiber reinforced plastic
• The hull shape is great for planing at high speed, yet also retains a lot of stability at low speeds
• High quality built-in anchor points for water skiing
• Incredible load capacity
• Built-in provisions for diving ladder
• Built-in fuel tank
• High quality sacrificial wear surfaces
• Excellent pump and patch kit

After 7 years of heavy use and constant exposure to the summer sun, the Bolero is still working great. The only problem we have had with it are some minute air leaks from time to time. We also experienced a lot of bottom fouling over the summer and discovered some bad wear marks in the winter of 1999-2000. Here is the story of how we strengthened the underside of the Pischel, applied some new OEM Hypalon, and anti-fouling paint.

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Wear and Tear

Repair

Finished Product