New fangled v floor - what's that all about

[dunkelly]

Looking to buy a new tender - the old Seago exploded on the pontoon in Dartmouth last summer in 40 Deg . So I'm now looking for a v bottom and some of the ones I'm looking at have an almost proud side/edge to the deck (3d and boatworld ) . Does anyone have any experience of them and can anyone explain the advantages over a normal inflatable v hull .

 

[dankilb]

The inflatable v-floor is a drop-stich material, typically either 100mm or 150mm deep. That depth has to be accommodated somewhere and designs typically have the 'edge' sticking out the bottom of the hull, below where it joins the tubes. Perhaps this adds a bit of extra chine?!

The difference with an old-style v-floor is that no 'sausage' is required to achieve the v-shape. The drop-stich is rigid enough (almost completely rigid to stand on when at correct psi) to form a v-shape with no other parts involved.

The advantages include fewer parts (no slats, no sausage, no separate inflatable floor) and arguably a more rigid v-shape. Disadvantage is that the drop-stich can be damaged and would required patching (aluminium floors you can chuck tools and sharp things on with more confidence).

 

[dunkelly]

The inflatable v-floor is a drop-stich material, typically either 100mm or 150mm deep. That depth has to be accommodated somewhere and designs typically have the 'edge' sticking out the bottom of the hull, below where it joins the tubes. Perhaps this adds a bit of extra chine?!

The difference with an old-style v-floor is that no 'sausage' is required to achieve the v-shape. The drop-stich is rigid enough (almost completely rigid to stand on when at correct psi) to form a v-shape with no other parts involved.

The advantages include fewer parts (no slats, no sausage, no separate inflatable floor) and arguably a more rigid v-shape. Disadvantage is that the drop-stich can be damaged and would required patching (aluminium floors you can chuck tools and sharp things on with more confidence).

Thanks , not sure I understand all the technical details of drop stitching but most of that made some sense . I was a bit confused as I'm sure that in some advertising literature they still appeared to have an inflation point for what I assumed was a sausage . Probably mistaken . Anyone got one and had previous sausage floor experience to compare with ?

 

[[2574]]

I’ve had an Avon Rover with an inflatable floor and sausage. Excellent when new. But the floor eventually gets a leak and it is just about impossible to repair. They are monstrously expensive to replace. I’ve binned the floor and cut a slab of closed cell foam to fit which works well. I’d have an aluminium floor but big disadvantage being it can’t be rolled up and put in the shed for winter.

 

[Minerva]

I had a sausage floor Seago which dies recently which was pretty good, but heavy. We replaced it with an Avon Rover tender; I think we would often be drier swimming - the Avon's tubes are low/small diameter in comparison that any wind blown chop or wavelets simply flow over the tops of the tubes with 2 aboard.

Do the new V Floors offer a drier dinghy ride? The Seago was much better than the Avon in that regard and I imagine the rigid V floors must be an even further improvement.

 

[dankilb]

I was a bit confused as I'm sure that in some advertising literature they still appeared to have an inflation point for what I assumed was a sausage .

The dropstich floor is actually in two parts/units (port and stbd!) that are bonded together, with the bonding engineered to create the v-shape when infalted. There are therefore two inflation valves, for each half of the floor. They inflate to much higher PSI (typically 8-12) and form a 'slab' or board-type structure. Impressive stuff!

I've used/owned both. The v-inflatable (which we currently use) is lighter and easier to setup. It planes very easily (1 up with 4hp). But at the end of the day, the floor you actually stand on/load on is a highly-pressurised inflatable PVC unit. The smallest puncture will require a repair - otherwise you're in floppy-floor 20th century tender territory!

The aluminium floor arguably makes for a better tender for heavy use. I'd feel more comfortable throwing tools, full 20L jerrycans, shoes/boots that might have sharp things in the sole, etc. - into an alu floor.

But if you're marina-based (rather than mid-stream swinging mooring far from the dinghy park) the v-floors are a great design IMHO.

 

[dankilb]

I was a bit confused as I'm sure that in some advertising literature they still appeared to have an inflation point for what I assumed was a sausage

The other thing to note is you can still have an inflatable (dropstich) floor that isn't engineered as a bonded V-shape. I think this is what @Robih is describing: You have a separate inflatable floor unit (like a aluminium or wood floor - just an inflatable slab) and still a sausage underneath. The inflatable floor has a hole to inflate the sausage. These arguably offer the worse of both worlds - the floor can be punctured and you're still dealing with a (non-V) separate floor under which you need a sausage. They are often the cheapest V-options available and tellingly the major branded manufacturers don't seem to bother with them anymore (either alu V with sausage or fully-inflatable V without).

 

[KompetentKrew]

Love my Honwave T27-IE - I think it has this kind of V-floor. It has an almost flat "sole" on the inside and a V on the outside in the water. It planes and rows well.

I'm sure you can get very similar inflatables from other manufacturers for less money though.

 

[dunkelly]

Thanks all . Think I'm about ready . My spreadsheet included Seago ,3d ,boatworld , waveline , talamax aqualine , talamax comfortlin , and excel . All between 240- 260. . I think considering all factors I'm leaning towards the talamax comfortline . On the more expensive end but after the blow up this year like the inclusion of an over pressure valve and that may just tip the balance . Unless anyone has any talamax horror stories that is . I will repost in the summer with an imho update . Nigel

 

[arcot]

I’ve had an Avon Rover with an inflatable floor and sausage. Excellent when new. But the floor eventually gets a leak and it is just about impossible to repair. They are monstrously expensive to replace. I’ve binned the floor and cut a slab of closed cell foam to fit which works well. I’d have an aluminium floor but big disadvantage being it can’t be rolled up and put in the shed for winter.

Cheaper on Alibaba and eBay