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Inflatable Dinghies - the good, the bad and the ugly?


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That's interesting, but I will be annoyed if I have to do it again next year. The thing that concerns me with F2 is that it normally needs one breathable surface so it can go off properly. I don't know what they would have used originally but they didn't use much of it , its a workmanship failure I believe.

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Hey Pumbaa, I could do with your advice.

 

I have RED brand paddleboard where the foam deck has let go, it was a lemon from day 1 unfortunately but I was in denial and didn't give it back.

anyway , now the deck, the foam walk on/ decorative stuff is delaminating. A SUP guy here in akl says i can glue it back on with F2 , which would suit me , I have it.

Does that sound right to you , or do I need something more aggressive/ specialised. They are hypalon boards.

Pisses me right off of course. We bought one the first year and then bought a second of the same model the next year. The 'new' board is the lemon.

 

Hi John,

I'd use bostik 2405 with the desmodeur cross linking agent. Just because that's the stuff you should use for hypalon, F2 is useless. There would be an argument for not adding the desmodeur but if you don't want it to come off and you've got it, use it. Be careful of the foam I think was originally self adhesive and where it's stuck you can't use heat because it ruins the foam and if you're not careful sliding a putty knife under the edge it will tear easily.

 If you get it sorted, having hypalon will last you for years. I have big doubts about some of the pvc boards I've had in for repair.

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We had a Aakron yachtmaster, lasted 1.5 years (in the tropics). And have seen a few others lying around in pieces. Now have a Mercury Hyperlon which is okay. AB and Achilles seem to be the two preferred brands for world cruisers. Takacat not so good either and appear to be made in the same OEM factory in china as Aakron, Highfield, our Mercury and a bunch of others.    

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I got 12 years out of my SP puffin left on the rack at Westhaven. Bought another on last year and have it stored under the deck at home for quick launch. The new one is the next model up but the PVC is still the same.

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Have been round the houses on a few different new dinghies in recent years with mixed results. Bottom line, if you really want a consistently high-quality product the smart money seems to be on the robot-built Zodiac. Which is presumably why the military like them. I was told this by a competitor manufacturer who admitted Zodiac was the benchmark standard.

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Yeah,AC, zodiacs certainly used to be the standard to match others too. No so sure any more. And they are heavy. Weight is very important for most tenders - not so much the military. A tender needs to be able to he handled and used by one person - one that is too heavy to drag/carry/wheel up the beach by yourself is no good to me. Under 40Kg for an under 3m RIB is my standard max weight. 

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weight was a biggy for me as well.  I went for the 240TC - only 15kg for 240kg payload - wah, two kids and a wekend of supplies no problem for the next 5 years.  By that stage I'll be able to trust S1 on his own to not drown himself on the paddle board out to the boat in a breeze! 

The best thing about them though was that they were an NZ company.  I called them up - told them I didn't like the dicky rowlocks and ali oars on the puffins.  No problem - they just built me the puffin with the pedestal mounted rowlocks and I reused my old oars.

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I remember smithy commenting here that he bought a Taka Cat and was not impressed at all and sold it again.

Hey Wheels!! I bought a Takakat and really like it and still have it!! Had it almost 5 years..

The only issue I have had with it is that the inflatable floor deflates over time. The tubes stay up no problem though. It rows well, will plane 1 up with a 5hp (goes like the clappers) and is super stable. It is probably wetter than a normal inflatable or small RIB.. I like that it is a reasonable size boat (3.4 metres I think) but I can still fully deflate and bag it and chuck it in a locker or store on deck. Not sure if I like his new open transom design though. Mine has a solid plywood transom.

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Oops, sorry for that smithy. I had thought you had troubles with it.

No worries. Only minor issues. Overrall, very happy and good value for money! I'm not using it for 24/7 cruising though, and maybe it might not last the distance in that application..

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I assume your dinghy is for a sailboat...

 

If so, why not use your mast and some block and tackle to increase the options you have for dinghies?

 

A simple setup can easily be created to attached easily to hardware installed on the boom.  The setup can be completely manual: a pair of fiddle blocks, hooks, and attachment points plus a harness on the dinghy and there's no fuss (and no risk of falling overboard while retrieving a dinghy that perhaps got some water and is weighed down - I lost a good friend to a dinghy retrieval in-harbor some years ago).

 

This allows you to choose from a  much broader range of dinghys.  And if you find the right kind (I have an 8 foot mahogeny pram that would have been ideal had it been made right and didn't fall apart yesterday) you can create a setup which allows you to invert the dinghy as you bring it up and store it upside down under the boom.

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Ocean Inflatables of Dunedin. They will freight free, so don't worry about extra cost of freight. I have been really impressed with it's value for money. It is up there with the best of them, but the cheapest on the market. At first I was worried about buying one due to it being cheap, but as I said, I am really impressed. Apparently they designed the range themselves based on their own Fishing and Diving use and then got them made to their spec in China. But they use the Korean 1100 fabric. They have lots of little "extras" you only see on the real expensive names, like a bow roller, pad/strap for fuel tank, Ally floor, a splash fence right around the top that has a line threaded through it, an extra large scupper, good quality air valves and a decent solid resin seat.

Also several choices of colours.

 

Hey Wheels, 3+ years later, what's your long term verdict? Has it held up? They're still in business and prices look good. I'm gonna need to make a purchase in the next few weeks so sussing options.

 

Also, anyone know this crowd in ChCh... https://www.facebook.com/aboutinflatables/ The link to their website doesn't work so can't really get much info, but they got a plug recently from a blog I follow...https://twoatsea.com/meet-gozzilla/

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Had an old Aquapro about 12 years ago and everything was falling off it before it was even out of warranty. Only got fixed after some heated exchanges,

Bought a NZ made Aquapro rigid bottom about 3 years ago and am very happy with it.

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