# Mint 12' Avon Scout?



## mtnkasper (Apr 28, 2010)

Hi friends,
I just scored quite the rarity. It's a 12' Avon self bailer in beautiful condition. I've always known them to be the old school hypalon boat after which all other modern rafts have been measured. Anybody out there an Avon aficionado that would care to give me some advice and thoughts on what I have and how to maintain it? Is it hypalon with urethane chafers? How old is it? The boat appears to be the small river dream; big bow and stern rocker, burly construction (like beefier than an nrs e-series), modern valves and thwarts, that sexy grey Avon color....

Thanks for any help!


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

From the serial # it's a 2001, super good condition, not sure about all the chairs, especially the one on the cooler that sits way up there, sorta like an ejector seat LOL.. 303 before putting away for the winter, and before hitting the water in the spring and all should be good. Nice find..


----------



## mtnkasper (Apr 28, 2010)

MNichols said:


> From the serial # it's a 2001, super good condition, not sure about all the chairs, especially the one on the cooler that sits way up there, sorta like an ejector seat LOL.. 303 before putting away for the winter, and before hitting the water in the spring and all should be good. Nice find..


Yeah the ejector seat looks like a wild ride! Thanks for the advice. Do you know the history of Avons? Were the early 2000's models still the bee's knees? It sure seems like a well put together boat, but I'm weary of investing in dialing something that may be at the end of its fabric or glue life.


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

mtnkasper said:


> Yeah the ejector seat looks like a wild ride! Thanks for the advice. Do you know the history of Avons? Were the early 2000's models still the bee's knees? It sure seems like a well put together boat, but I'm weary of investing in dialing something that may be at the end of its fabric or glue life.


Well, I row an Avon PRO that was made in 1983, still a rock solid boat to this day. Also own an Adventurer from the early 90's, and it's going strong. Neither has had anything other than normal maintenance, I did have the D rings on the pro replaced, and the old valves replaced with C-7's, Inflatable Technologies in Denver replaced the rub strake about 4 years ago as it was seriously cracked, but past that. Nothing rows like an Avon, it's the Cadillac of boats. That boat will likely last you your lifetime and still be going strong.


----------



## caverdan (Aug 27, 2004)

I'd say you scored the bee's knee's for sure. Congrats........2001 IS a good year. 😎


----------



## mkashzg (Aug 9, 2006)

Nice boat! It is a 2001 made in December 2000. Enjoy!


----------



## yardsells (Jul 14, 2014)

Sweet tube assembly! She'll last forever if you take care of it.
thats still a good vintage. the SE editions with the urethane floors are less desirable but yours looks like a good hypalon floor.
just be gentle with the floor. ie 1.75 PRV. Over inflation will kill that floor. dont run it hard.


----------



## mtnkasper (Apr 28, 2010)

yardsells said:


> Sweet tube assembly! She'll last forever if you take care of it.
> thats still a good vintage. the SE editions with the urethane floors are less desirable but yours looks like a good hypalon floor.
> just be gentle with the floor. ie 1.75 PRV. Over inflation will kill that floor. dont run it hard.


Thanks for the advice! This boat is replacing a Hyside mini-max with a 2.0 pressure release valve. That Hyside floor I became really familiar with and it tended to be a bit on the soft side. I was thinking of aiming for that same 2 psi. You’re suggesting I aim even more conservative due to age and construction though? I’m all ears and really don’t want to screw up this “legacy boat”!


----------



## Domar Dave (Feb 4, 2011)

I bought a 1996 Avon Scout a few weeks ago. Mine needs a little more work than yours. I will be replacing the handles and d-rings and re-gluing the rub strake. But the Avon fabric is still nearly perfect and holds air like a champ. The Avon company was purchased by Zodiac in the 90s, but they didn't make any changes right away. By 2010 they started putting on the polyurethane floors. Yours is still original Avon hypalon. I also have a Mini Max but plan to keep it because I love to row it solo or with one passenger. But for more stability and a little more room, I love the Scout. Will probably even do some multi-days in it. Now that Avons are no longer in production, they are highly coveted by the older boater crowd who remember the Avon glory days. During the heyday, Avon was the highest standard to which other rafts were compared. Most of us couldn't afford one. You did really well scoring that boat.


----------



## yardsells (Jul 14, 2014)

mtnkasper said:


> You’re suggesting I aim even more conservative due to age and construction though?


Yes. Hyside I-beams are sewn together, Avon i-beams are glued together. Years of moisture in the floor takes its toll on glued I beams. Yours was probably taken care of and never had water in the floor but better safe than sorry.


----------



## bgarnick (Nov 16, 2006)

I have a 2001 Avon 15' Expedition and a 2001 Avon 14' Ranger and they are both great boats. Your Scout looks like a nice score! I replaced the Avon plastic carry handles on the bow and stern with a Petzel triangular screw link from REI since two of the handles had cracked. 

Here is a picture of a 1989 Avon Pro that I just found that is in mint condition. 










It has an old school pressure valve of some kind that I will probably want to replace. Does anyone know about or have knowledge of this type of pressure release valve?


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Lord that's some beautiful rubber.. lucky dude you are. Take it to inflatable technologies in Denver, the floor is one place in particular you don't want to mess around with. They are tops in their field and worth every penny.. do it right the first time and you won't regret it


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Hell, just noticed it even has the motor Becketts! You almost never see that these days, for some unknown reason people remove them ?!?!?


----------



## bgarnick (Nov 16, 2006)

This particular Avon Pro measures 7' wide rather than the 7'6" seen on most specs. The tubes are 21" and it is exactly 16' long. Avon must have changed the design at some point. From my research, it sounds like Avon started putting in self-bailing floors in1986 and this is a 1989 model.


----------



## donutboy (Sep 13, 2015)

bgarnick said:


> This particular Avon Pro measures 7' wide rather than the 7'6" seen on most specs. The tubes are 21" and it is exactly 16' long. Avon must have changed the design at some point. From my research, it sounds like Avon started putting in self-bailing floors in1986 and this is a 1989 model.



I have the same year boat. Mine is 7' too. Bought it from a shop letting it go for $400. It came in for a repair several years ago and they let it go for what they had into it, replacing a PRV and a small patch from a drybox rub. Thing looks spot on like yours.


----------



## mtnkasper (Apr 28, 2010)

Hi all, I haven’t gotten my new Avon out yet, but was wondering how you all feel about their bailing speed? I’ve noticed fewer and smaller holes, as well as the floor baffles being wider and creating more contact with perimeter tubes. Looks to me like it will bail slow. Just curious if anybody has any real world experience to share?


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

mtnkasper said:


> Hi all, I haven’t gotten my new Avon out yet, but was wondering how you all feel about their bailing speed? I’ve noticed fewer and smaller holes, as well as the floor baffles being wider and creating more contact with perimeter tubes. Looks to me like it will bail slow. Just curious if anybody has any real world experience to share?


Avon's bail just fine... Never had an issue with any of mine. Would rather have a boat bail a little slower than a little faster under the theory that you can't flip a swamped boat LOL


----------



## cupido76 (May 22, 2009)

bgarnick said:


> I have a 2001 Avon 15' Expedition and a 2001 Avon 14' Ranger and they are both great boats. Your Scout looks like a nice score! I replaced the Avon plastic carry handles on the bow and stern with a Petzel triangular screw link from REI since two of the handles had cracked.
> 
> Here is a picture of a 1989 Avon Pro that I just found that is in mint condition.
> View attachment 66714
> ...


That's a Halkey-Roberts PRV. When I was looking into it I found them for sale at NRS...









Halkey-Robert Pressure Relief Valve | NRS


These Halkey-Roberts Pressure Relief Valve for self-bailing raft floors release air at 2.5 psi and are a must-have for repairs and in your repair kit.



www.nrs.com





... and at Hyside...









Halkey-Roberts-Pressure Relief Valve - Hyside


Weight: 0.50 lbs




hyside.com





My understanding (but I haven't confirmed this for myslef), is that these two valves look identical but have a different thread pattern so make sure the one you get matches before you cross-thread it.

And get the tool or you'll mangle the valve when you are putting it in.


----------

