Is it okay to store an inflated hypalon dinghy on its long side?

[DaveInRI]

I have a new Achilles 290 LSI, 9.5' air floor hypalon dinghy. I'd like to use it sometimes on the C-Dory and sometimes by itself on the river we live on. I have a 4' wide dock and am building a cart, modeled after a drywall panel cart, to transport it from our garage, across the street, and down the dock. The boat is 77lbs, the dock is 120' feet long (shallow river), and my back has 3 discs out and degenerative nonsense following a rear-ending car accident many years ago. Moosing it down isn't an option for me. I'd use straps to lower it down like a drawbridge rather than tilting the cart as in the second example below. I'd also make sure the high sides would be tall enough to catch the upper tubes. It's over 5' wide.






My question is whether or not I can leave the dinghy on its side, inflated, in this position inside my un-insulated garage. I know these boats are tough, but I don't know enough to answer that question. Will it hurt the boat? I'd say the most it would be on its side would be a week. The garage ceiling is already occupied with a hardtop hoist for my Jeep, so the cart would be ideal as I could put it along the back wall and still be able to park. The alternative is to lay it flat with a UV cover over it outside.





Someone made one out of Maker Pipe connections, which is another variant:






Thank you.

 

[DaveInRI]

I spoke with a representative from Achilles who said it would be fine to leave the boat on its side. (I’d still appreciate some anecdotal counterpoints just in case)

I also asked about a spreader bar / lifting points and he said to only use the interior bow ring plus the two holes in upper corners of the transom (add eye bolts etc). He cautioned against the front exterior bow handle as being made of cast metal and more apt to break. The instructions also said not to use that for lifting. Thought I’d share that here.

 

[ssobol]

I would consider that temperature changes could cause the dinghy to sag and either cause stress points from external or internal objects as it drooped over the cart and/or could drag on the ground. Might be better to store it standing on end (like they do in the local dinghy showroom).