FAQ Friday #18 – Should moulded handles be installed with boat tubes inflated or deflated?

No matter what the material of your handles (ie moulded from EPDM, Fast Rubber or PVC), they should be installed with the tubes inflated.

But here’s the catch…you also need to be able to press the handle down onto the tube. Handles are most often fitted across the tops of the tubes, so getting them to make full contact across the whole surface of the handle isn’t usually too much of a problem. If you are fitting a handle at an angle you may find this more difficult and our tip would be to have the tube slightly softer than working pressure. We still wouldn’t recommend fully deflating it though.

Some materials are harder than others, but we do recommend using the correct material for the tube type you have. For example, an EPDM handle is best suited to a Hypalon tube and a PVC handle is best suited to a PVC tube.

Hope the tips help and if you’re looking to replace the handles on your RIB, we have quite a selection: https://www.ribstore.co.uk/search?type=article%2Cpage%2Cproduct&q=handle*