Honwave Inflatable Disintegrates - Shame on you HONDA!

[photon]

I bought a Honda Honwave T30 New. Fours years later it started to come apart. First of all the Patches, loudly branding it " HONWAVE", started to become sticky and mark the hull of our sailboat with red from the branding. I noticed that these patches were also starting to peel and proved remarkable easy to peel away without any real resistance.

I though we had solved a minor problem, but that was not to be the case. Two seasons later the starboard float parted at the top seam during inflation ( and No It was nowhere near over- inflated). Examination of the seam showed that the panels could be easily parted without any real force, just like the "HONWAVE patches earlier. We immediately realised that his HONWAVE could not be trusted with our lives and bought a replacement inflatable vowing to return the now defunct HONWAVE to the UK from Greece where she had been used for about 14 weeks over five seasons, always fresh-water cleaned, deflated and stored in it's bag in dry conditions at the end of each trip.

Now I have it back in the UK and can report as follows. ALL the seams and ALL taping can be peeled apart by simple pulling with finger and thumb. Honda are disinterested and mostly never replied even at the outset when their brand "logo" showed signs of rotting.

I am thinking of making a YouTube video of de-constructing this disintegrating and dangerous piece of cr**p using only the grip of my arthritic hands. Clearly the wrong adhesive was used by the Chinese manufacturer " SUN SELECTIONS"

Anyone else had the same issue? Anyone want a dinghy kit, bring your own adhesive?

 

[Clancy Moped]

I don't think you're on your own, When we were in Nidri a few people were complaining of what you describe.

 

[chris-s]

We bought a 'used' honwave earlier this season as a stop-gap, previous owner admitted that the floor wouldn't stay inflated, shouldn't be too hard to find and patch the hole. I gave up patching at around 80 tiny leaks which you really couldn't see without soap/bubbles. I reckon it must have been stored upside-down in the sun and that had wreaked havoc with it. The tubes were fine. Cut it up into strips for patch material which I gave out to people and removed the useful hardware items then the rest into the skip.

 

[Fimacca]

PVC is not a great material for dinghys left in the sun. I know my old avon (20 years old) will easily outlast my 2 yr old honwave easily ! Hypalon is great - but expensive.
My last pvc lasted about 5 years without degrading.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

What has Honda said?

 

[vyv_cox]

PVC is not a great material for dinghys left in the sun. I know my old avon (20 years old) will easily outlast my 2 yr old honwave easily ! Hypalon is great - but expensive.
My last pvc lasted about 5 years without degrading.

Some PVCs are better than others. My Quicksilver 280 was always towed behind the boat, from France to Greece except on big crossings. I owned it for 12 years, sold it in good condition cheaply and it lasted a further three years before falling apart.

 

[photon]

What has Honda said?

That it was outside of the Warranty when they eventually replied that is. The PVC has not really degraded but the glue line has just allowed it to part. I dread to think what might happen on a dark and windy night to a foursome rowing back to their boat?

 

[photon]

I am encouraged by the number of views of this post. Honda are you reading this? Hundreds are!

 

[Sticky Fingers]

That it was outside of the Warranty when they eventually replied that is. The PVC has not really degraded but the glue line has just allowed it to part. I dread to think what might happen on a dark and windy night to a foursome rowing back to their boat?

I am encouraged by the number of views of this post. Honda are you reading this? Hundreds are!

I'm doubtful they will. But if you wanted to get more Honda exposure then reposting your issues on Honda's twitter / X feed may be more effective.

It's an odd one, I've not owned a Honwave so no personal experience, but they're often chosen for charter / flotilla fleets. Seems unlikely that that would happen if they had a reputation for disintegration!

 

[JFowler]

We’ve had a PVC Zodiac airdeck since 2012, sailing 5 months/ year in Greece. It’s still in decent condition, no stickiness or peeling seams.

 

[westernman]

I have a cheap airdeck own brand from Acastillage diffusion bought in 2009.
It has been great.

 

[catlotion]

The dealer you purchased it from might have an interest in getting a response from Honwave too?

I'm following with interest too as I have a 3 year old T30...

 

[greeny]

Doubt youll get any sympathy from Honda. My last Honda wave fittings were sticky and marking the boat topsides after 2 years and the dinghy itself needed regular seam repair after 4 years. That was back in early 2000s. They werent interested then and it would seem nothing has changed. Pity they have not responded to the issues because otherwise it was a really nice dinghy. Stable and big diameter tubes to keep you dry.

 

[photon]

I'm doubtful they will. But if you wanted to get more Honda exposure then reposting your issues on Honda's twitter / X feed may be more effective.

It's an odd one, I've not owned a Honwave so no personal experience, but they're often chosen for charter / flotilla fleets. Seems unlikely that that would happen if they had a reputation for disintegration!

Thanks for the suggestion Sticky Fingers, Sadly I am too old for all this X nonsense. But if this post saves one casualty resulting from this defective Honda Product then it will have been worthwhile. A cruising friend who recognised my post called me to suggest that I publish a photograph of the CE mark so here it is in case you have a dinghy of similar provenance.

P.S. The aluminium floor, seat, seat bag are is still in good condition if anyone wants ? PM me

 

[Praxinoscope]

Just shows how tough, rugged and long lived Llanelli made Avons are.
I bet there are still plenty of 30year + Avons still in regular use.

 

[Laysula]

I had a Honda outboard. Most of the screws rusted as did the throttle cable fittings, common fault apparently. Honda wern't interested. I gave it away. Never bought anything from Honda since.

 

[vyv_cox]

Thanks for the suggestion Sticky Fingers, Sadly I am too old for all this X nonsense. But if this post saves one casualty resulting from this defective Honda Product then it will have been worthwhile. A cruising friend who recognised my post called me to suggest that I publish a photograph of the CE mark so here it is in case you have a dinghy of similar provenance.

P.S. The aluminium floor, seat, seat bag are is still in good condition if anyone wants ? PM me View attachment 163579

Interesting that they are made by Sun Selections. I had a SunSport dinghy, made by the same company? It was disastrous, always leaked, rowlocks had not been fitted properly and did not work, deflated every 24 hours. I complained to the importers EP Barris, who were helpful as usual. They gave me a useful discount on a replacement, another Quicksilver.

 

[Helidan]

Alongside servicing liferafts I also repair inflatables. The truth is they are just not made anything like the older ones. PVC construction has a lot to do with it. It isn't just Honwave I see premature failures on, they all seem susceptible to it. You would be surprised just what some people are prepared to pay to keep an old Avon Redstart or Redcrest in service - they might not be much to look at but they are built like brick sh*******s!!