Worth many inflatable tender

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pfrank

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My two years old inflatable dinghy just burst on the seams, it was exposed on heavy Greek sun for only 5 months and almost from beginning top sides started to be real sticky and fitting started to pull apart. The make is SP 2.4 m. length bought from Greek dealer in Corfu old harbour and advertised as local product but I believe was manufactured in China.
I know now that it is made with PVC less expensive then hypalon and more prone to UV damage but it cost me 600 Euros and last only for short period of light use (such a waste )
I will appreciate if someone will tell me witch make of small slatted floor inflatable is available in England made of hypalon , or maybe someone has positive experience with other makers of inflatable tenders
Paul
 
Oh I was just wondering if someone know if Zodiak Bombard or other good company making any hypalon tenders or if someone have good experience and can recommend one made actually from pvc
 
pfrank said:
My two years old inflatable dinghy just burst on the seams, it was exposed on heavy Greek sun for only 5 months and almost from beginning top sides started to be real sticky and fitting started to pull apart. The make is SP 2.4 m. length bought from Greek dealer in Corfu old harbour and advertised as local product but I believe was manufactured in China.
I know now that it is made with PVC less expensive then hypalon and more prone to UV damage but it cost me 600 Euros and last only for short period of light use (such a waste )
I will appreciate if someone will tell me witch make of small slatted floor inflatable is available in England made of hypalon , or maybe someone has positive experience with other makers of inflatable tenders
Paul
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As far as I know the only Hypalon ones are Avon but I stand to be corrected. They do last for ever but have a price tag accordingly.
 
The vast majority we see around the Algarve are PVC, those which last longest have tube covers. Our last PVC Waveline lasted 5 years without covers, was still serviceable but looked horrible with the top of tubes having turned brown. I've bought another Waveline but made covers this time.

Suzumar ribs seem to be one to avoid, two friends have them and in both cases, seams have come unglued, repeatedly.
 
GrahamM376 said:
Suzumar ribs seem to be one to avoid, two friends have them and in both cases, seams have come unglued, repeatedly.
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That's good to know. Last week I was given one for free by someone who was leaving leaving the yard and proceeding to Corfu. I was toying with the idea of asking the yard for an estimate to do the regluing. Should I bother? It seemed such a waste to bin it.
 
If it really only lasted 5 months it is clearly substandard and you are entitled to your money back.

If you are able to buy in England, then try and get a second hand Avon. New ones are made of Hypalon, but about 3 times the price of a PVC equivalent.

In general the latest Chines PVC ones are reasonably durable. I had good service in Corfu out of a Plastimo 240 Raid in red, which was very popular with charter fleets. You may find the more up market PVC boats such as a Lodestar are better than the cheaper ones, but still twice the price.

As already suggested any inflatable lasts longer if it has a cover or is deflated and bagged when not in use. investing in a cover is better than replacing the dinghy after only a few years.
 
PuffTheMagicDragon said:
That's good to know. Last week I was given one for free by someone who was leaving leaving the yard and proceeding to Corfu. I was toying with the idea of asking the yard for an estimate to do the regluing. Should I bother? It seemed such a waste to bin it.
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In both cases I've seen, it was the horizontal seam on the interior (of the dinghy) face of the tube which failed, forward of the seat. One also has a failed bulkhead between the stbd & bow tube so, both deflate. I reglued one of them with Polymarine 2 part adhesive but it failed again before long and the owner just keeps patching it.
 
Spyro said:
As far as I know the only Hypalon ones are Avon but I stand to be corrected. They do last for ever but have a price tag accordingly.
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Caribe are also Hypalon, often available at much less than an Avon. Inf fact, I'm sure soemone had one for sale on here a couple of weeks back.
 
my zodiac hypalon inflatable was manufactured in 1980, and in general use for getting to mooring, and suffered its first puncture last year.....

Not sure i would be able to get anything as durable again.
 
My Quicksilver is made from PVC. It will be 9 years old in a few weeks time and has spent almost all of that in the full Mediterranean sunshine. The Airdeck went sticky after five years and was replaced under guarantee. The later type is apparently more stable. The tubes are perfect.

We have friends who also have a Quicksilver, theirs is the 230 with a slatted floor. I don't know its exact age but guess it is similar to ours. Theirs also remains in excellent condition. Neither has a cover in every day use.
 
NDH said:
That looks very well made.

Trial and error or did you have pattern to copy? any tips?
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There weren't any around to copy so trial and fortunately not many errors. I use SeaStar Mascaril made in Spain which I get via the Portuguese wholesaler. It's 153cm wide and I split it down its length so half a width for the tubes.

Basically, it's a case of cut and join at each tube join, then hem afterwards. Double sided s/a tape makes life easy. I cut and reinforced the holes for fittings in each panel, before the panels were joined together. Joanna, a Vilamoura sailmaker gave me a good tip for the holes, as the radius is too tight to use edging tape. I'll try to describe the method.

Cut a hole as tight as possible for the fitting (say a rowlock) then place a patch good face down on the outside of the cover, it needs to overlap the hole by around 50mm all round. Pin or staple it in place. Turn the fabric over and sew around the hole from the backside, about 3mm in from the edge and then cut a hole in the patch to match the hole in the cover. Take the pins out and pull the patch through the hole then again, sew around the hole and then sew around the outer edge of the patch.

I used some plastic clips on bungee to hold it on to the gutter of the rubbing strake and glued velcro strips onto the tubes for the inside. Next time I would use Velcro all round.
 
GrahamM376 said:
There weren't any around to copy so trial and fortunately not many errors. I use SeaStar Mascaril made in Spain which I get via the Portuguese wholesaler. It's 153cm wide and I split it down its length so half a width for the tubes.

Basically, it's a case of cut and join at each tube join, then hem afterwards. Double sided s/a tape makes life easy. I cut and reinforced the holes for fittings in each panel, before the panels were joined together. Joanna, a Vilamoura sailmaker gave me a good tip for the holes, as the radius is too tight to use edging tape. I'll try to describe the method.

Cut a hole as tight as possible for the fitting (say a rowlock) then place a patch good face down on the outside of the cover, it needs to overlap the hole by around 50mm all round. Pin or staple it in place. Turn the fabric over and sew around the hole from the backside, about 3mm in from the edge and then cut a hole in the patch to match the hole in the cover. Take the pins out and pull the patch through the hole then again, sew around the hole and then sew around the outer edge of the patch.

I used some plastic clips on bungee to hold it on to the gutter of the rubbing strake and glued velcro strips onto the tubes for the inside. Next time I would use Velcro all round.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that,.............. looks like I have a project.................:)
 
My understanding of the problem of seams failing prematurely is that the cheapest PVC dinghies use glued seams, and PVC is notoriously difficult to glue successfully.

The better quality PVC boats have thermo-bonded seams, with heat used to ensure a reliable and long-lasting fusion of the fabric. This seems to work well, even under the ravages of hot sun and high temperatures.
 
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