I need an inflatable boat, do I go for an el cheapo beach dingy of do I go for something a little bit more expensive.

Has anyone any ideas about preventing inflatable boats from ripping underground?

We were exploring the bottom of a copper mine in the Gwennap area and needed a boat to do it.
The rock down there was pretty rough and sharp and a holiday special dinghy just wouldn't have been up to it,
The problem was solved quite efficiently by using a tractor inner tube inflated, and then, with some difficulty and some colourful language bound in the middle with rope. This had the effect of the whole thing curling up at each end. We lowered it down and then abbed down after it to straddle it and work our way along the stope one at a time. It worked a treat and was pretty rugged, even if it was a bit cumbersome in a narrow stope.
Water depth was a hundred or so fathoms.

🔗Personal-Album-342-Image-93667[linkphoto]Personal-Album-342-Image-93667[/linkphoto][/link]

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Cheapo beach boat and a few cans of expanding foam??

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Prayer works well to prevent them from bursting :lol:

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Cheapo beach boat and a few cans of expanding foam??

I actually quite like this idea.... That could do pretty well the only issue is would foam cure in a horrible damp wet mine? due to the crawls the boat has to be inflated at the site.

The inner tube idea is also a good one, although I think the amount of kit needed could be the main factor that would make them not so effective

Is it not possible to swim instead? Wetsuits & some sort of buoyancy device if necessary seem like much less hassle than dragging a boat through a mine.

Is it not possible to swim instead? Wetsuits & some sort of buoyancy device if necessary seem like much less hassle than dragging a boat through a mine.

Definitely not, although Tamarmole would love to get his dayglo life jacket out again I'm sure!

Can you expand upon that perhaps? Inflatables are a faff on for all sorts of reasons, just getting wet seems infinitely preferable unless there's a good reason not to.

Can you expand upon that perhaps? Inflatables are a faff on for all sorts of reasons, just getting wet seems infinitely preferable unless there's a good reason not to.

The problem is two fold,

1) delicate/electronic kit that cant get wet and the sheer amount of kit we anticipate to need, it is a long distance and going back for more kit isnt an option.

2) The distance we would need to swim and swimming while rigging and freezing to death could lead to mistakes.

Foam surfboards and a wetsuit are the way to go.

As well as Daren Drums.

My mind is boggling about what he's found to explore.

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Foam surfboards and a wetsuit are the way to go.

🔗Croesor-to-Rhosydd-Novelty-Inflatable-Trip-Image-85286[linkphoto]Croesor-to-Rhosydd-Novelty-Inflatable-Trip-Image-85286[/linkphoto][/link]

Sinker and SimonRL showing that spaceships are the only way to go!

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Or crocodiles....

🔗Croesor-to-Rhosydd-Novelty-Inflatable-Trip-Image-85285[linkphoto]Croesor-to-Rhosydd-Novelty-Inflatable-Trip-Image-85285[/linkphoto][/link]

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Any gentlemen (even Welsh ones) may wish to follow the modern habit of wearing oversuits over wetsuits, especially if wearing SRT kit. :thumbdown:

The ladies may carry on as they are... :thumbup:

Foam surfboards and a wetsuit are the way to go.

🔗Croesor-to-Rhosydd-Novelty-Inflatable-Trip-Image-85286[linkphoto]Croesor-to-Rhosydd-Novelty-Inflatable-Trip-Image-85286[/linkphoto][/link]

Sinker and SimonRL showing that spaceships are the only way to go!

Sinker on an inflatable? Is that not rather tempting fate!?

Sinker on an inflatable? Is that not rather tempting fate!?

Hmmm I know...the irony wasn't lost on me either! However, it was a hugely enjoyable trip and we only sank a little bit :thumbup:

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We used a tractor inner tube and tarpaulin many moons ago, the idea now seems to have been refined a little.

http://www.tubeproinc.com/m/content/article.php?content_id=19 

Removed, double post!

Croesor to Rhosydd in 1996. One inner tube each, picked up from a local garage.



Chris.

The best weapon I have used underground was a 15ft canadian canoe with a 4hp outboard on it. We went into a not-very-well-known canal tunnel "somewhere in England" (and people got very upset when I put a pic up). It was awesome and there were workings off the tunnel.

I don't think water and mine exploring are good chums. I remember a time I decided to investigate Wheal Prudence near cligga. I was going to do it properly and take my time and took my stand up surfboard as a precaution against the tide. I used to be quite a hard-core surfer...anyway, I had my short legs-long-arms wetsuit under my boilersuit, rope pack on my back with rope, geological pick and a camera in a daren drum.....oh, and wellies. The surf was about belly button high and about chest high on the sets. It wasn't anything to get excited about. I came out of one of the adits having been quite some time to be greeted with the tide having come in a fair bit.. The bay is like a big cresent and I had the choice of boulder hopping and then a bit of a paddle, or just sodding it and setting off across the bay on my board.

I noticed some people on the cliff pointing as I was quite clearly wearing a head torch/helmet and camo overalls, anyway, I chuckled to myself and carried on paddling. I got about halfway across the bay, looked out to sea and the horizon looked a bit further up than it was, I was quite familiar with this and thought "Set???" Sure enough, the horizon started jacking up and I thought "SH!T!!!" There was a bloody great big wave coming through and concern turned to alarm, I started digging in and paddling for the horizon....I was in no place to get a wave in, or catch a wave, I had to be outside it. I'm not joking when I say that I stroked over the top of a smoking wave whcih was well overhead and the one behind started to break, I did a duck dive (which was quite an odd whack in a helmet) and realised that I was quite badly in the poo. My overalls were soaked, my wellies were full and it was pretty hard going. I sat out the back for a while and another set came though. A new swell had hit.....It was also tubing onto the rocks (breaking extremely hard)

Would I take my chances and try and paddle in to the rocky beach at Cligga in a lull....or try and paddle to St Agnes or Perranporth?

It was bloody hard going and somehow I managed to climb up a rocky point just as a huge wave exploded on the rocks behind me.

Needless to say, I learned some important lessons that day.