When i put the Zodiac in the water after ice out this year the retaining nut on one of the inflation valves somehow worked it self loose. The nut is inside the tube and secures the threaded valve spindle against a flange which is part of the valve body and a gasket to seal the hole. The boat has 6 chambers - 5 in the u-shaped tube and one in the floor. The valve issue only affected one chamber but awful hard to get on plane with a deflated chamber.

So today i went at the repair and after scratching my head for a bit and throwing back a few a beers came up with a strategy to find the nut inside the tube. I ended up strategically hoisting the tube so that the valve hole was at the lowest point in the chamber and hoped the nut would naturally end up at or close to that location. Had to use my homemade cantilever lift that i normally use to lift the dock into/out of position. Worked like a charm:

The open hole sans valve and nut:



The strategic hoist:



The nut visible inside the hole after lifting and falling into place:



Repair done and seaworthy once again: