Don't Buy an AB Inflatabe

[randoo]

regards adhesives, I just did a glue job on my Achillies and all the sources said use the 2 part product. I did and have had great success.

[Rough Magic]

Achellies. Mine is 10 years old, shows age, but is still going strong.

Had an Avon, bottom ripped out just traveling through water, four years old.

[adlib2]

I had a 11ft Avon for 15 years and had no problems before I lost it during a storm in the Caribbean. I purchased a new 12ft Avon in St. Maarten and experienced many problems. Perhaps due to Zodiac now owning Avon.
The inflatable floor leaked constantly, so I replaced it with a wooden floor. That didn't work too well with leaks around the Transom. Finally sold a 2 year old Dinghy for $100 and glad to get rid of it.

[mcmccomb]

being in the market for a new dinghy these comments are all much appreciated.... is there a special review section by product and or product type located on this forum site somewhere?

[Roy M]

On the other hand, I love my 10'6" AB VS, a fiberglass-hulled RIB.

[a64pilot]

By all accounts Zodiac's are supposed to be junk. Mine is a little heavy, but so far no issues. (knocks on wood)

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I've often wondered about the ability to glue to aluminum...? So what say ya'll? I know there are some proponents of Alum RIB's on this forum. For those who have had theirs a couple years..or more... any problems?

G'Day Cheech,

We've had our aluminium hull Gemini for nearly ten full time cruising years now. This boat has a hull made by Swift in Oz, and the hull has been superbly durable. When the dink was nearly new it was stolen(in Hobart) the motor removed and some petrol poured into it and set alight. We got back a badly scorched hull and some charred rags of Hypalon. The Gemini guys put a new set of tubes on it for about half the cost of a whole new dink, and those tubes lasted about 8 years before becoming so porous as to be useless (reinflate twice a day). But the glue joints to the hull have given zero problems. We've now had a second set of replacement tubes installed. These are PVC and from China, and are only a few months old, so no good data there yet.

Rather to my surprise, the hull, which was powder coated and which has suffered the usual slings and arrows of cruising as well as being burnt, is still in great shape. Plenty of scrapes down to bare metal, but no signs of corrosion. I would buy another Swift hull without worry, and in fact would buy a whole Swift dinghy. Despite the above reference to poor warranty response, they have a very good reputation here in Oz, and are the dinghies of choice for many charter outfits. To be honest, I haven't heard of many good warranty stories where inflatables are concerned... anywhere in the world!

Cheers,

Jim

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by ErikFinn

Don't buy Swift Inflatables (Australia) either. They didn't honor their 10 year warranty.

Or Zodiac. The wooden transom rotted through after three years and they would not repair or replace it. One would expect a boat's transom to be able to withstand water.

[ontno1]

In my opinion the best glue for repairing any inflatable is Rema Tip Top. An industrial glue that is used to glue conveyor belts together. Have been using it for years with great success on both pvc and hypalon.

[scottmills]

Sorry to hear of your experience with corporate greed, soulless salesmen and downright offensive customer service morons.
I too had a horrible experience with a company from Michigan (who may be out of California by now) called DUX. They sell these hard to assemble and very poorly made inflatables. They completely stole over 3K from us and we never pursued it because of emotional trauma they put us through. These people are to be avoided at all costs.

[Bulawayo]

Greetings - thanks for having the guts to make the posting. We have met a couple of folk that reported the same issues, when we were in the market for a new dinghy and had just about settled on AB. Then we started seeing the product and concerns in the flesh (metal) and quickly reverted to our alternative. So far, our Australian built 100% aluminium 'inflatable' has lived up to its advertising. For anyone interested check out OceanCraft - the owner provides a very comprehensive warranty (actually astonishingly so) and helped us with the shipping etc. He also customised our dinghies as we ended up buying two, with one being a second hand trade in. As we use our big dinghy as a full blown life raft we wanted some integral extra's which he organised and charged very little for. The dinghies are rated for such use by the Australian authorities. Beside OceanCraft, we have also had good experiences with Avon - but this was long ago and they have now been taken over by Zodiac. I cannot comment since the Zodiac take over as our last Avon never needed any attention in over 10 years of use in the tropics.

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

Originally Posted by Mainstay

That settles it for me: no AB!!! I'm in the market for a new inflatable but will definitely stay away from AB, swift and Mercury!

Any recommendations for a GOOD dink???

SVJennie,
Apparently Bostik 2402 works well on hypalon.

We love our Walker Bay Genesis.

[Bulawayo]

Have a good peer at the Aussie built OceanCraft. We have two! We are as pleased as punch so far......they ride very smoothly, are quick and well built. They both weigh a good few Kg's more than advertised but are manageable - we have fitted beaching wheels, too. Ours have extra features as they are fitted to be adaptable to life rafts as well, a use they are certified for. You can also see one in the YouTube clips 'S/V Delos' about the travels of an Amel 54ft mono-hull.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

By all accounts Zodiac's are supposed to be junk. Mine is a little heavy, but so far no issues. (knocks on wood)

I have a West Marine by Zodiac dinghy. I've have it for starting on 8 years. It came with my first boat and looked pretty old even then and I didn't think it would last a year at the time. If I have to guess I would say it is 15 years plus old. Has 1 small patch and 1 tube that the valve leaks and needs pumping up every couple of weeks (going to replace that valve some day but have been saying this since I've had it).

Hope when I replace it I get the same life out of the new one.

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