We can’t easily get to our boat right now so we are prepping a few things at home. One of the tasks is to pull out and clean up our Zodiac.
It’s a Zodiac Cadet Fastroller 285. I had access to a larger hard bottom Zodiac as a kid and loved it. This definitely isn’t as fast or durable but makes it up in portability. It compresses down into a bag the size of a suitcase.
It wasn’t as dirty as I remembered when we packed it up last season. Just a bit of dried crud under the floorboard and one good scuff mark on the starboard bow from the time I clipped the navigation buoy near Presquile.
I used a scrub brush, sponge and toothbrush with a nice warm bucket of water and mixed in a mild detergent. Once I figured out how to slide these two connectors of the floorboard out (by pushing rear of the floor at the transom to the right) it was much easier to clean under the floorboard.
The floorboard is also held in place with these plastic toggles. I originally thought of completely removing the floor but they are difficult to remove and attach so I just popped two of them off near the front to gain better access to clean.
It took just over an hour on a beautiful day and I’m happy with the final result. Propped it up and let it completely dry out before packing it back up.
I cleaned up the transom drain plug and then started questioning how to properly put the rubber seal back in.
See Zodiac Cadet Fastroller 285 for more information on this boat.
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