On my previous boat I had an old Avon that was originally purchased with the boat in 1977. 15 years later (when I purchased the boat) I opened the valise to check it and the raft was shot. It was as if it was lying in the sun for years and the rubber was wasted so,,,,, I set up a date and invited friends over to mess with it at the slip. we threw it in the water and pulled the cord. It inflated and then ripped apart.

We had about 10 minutes of fun before we had to evacuate the raft.

What I couldn't understand was whey the raft was in such sad shape after only 15 years in Southern California in a fiberglass case. The rubber was just falling apart.