Inflatable Dinghies - Recommendations ?

[Southern Star]

I tend to agree that RIB's are the way to go if you have space to store them on deck, or below (davits being, in my view, unsafe for anything except coastal cruising in decent conditions). I have suggested the air-floor for Mike because, on his Peason 365, it would not only be much easier to stow below (try fitting an RIB through the average companionway, let alone finding the space for it) but also to inflate/assemble on deck than either wood or frp floors, after he arrived at a destination.

Air floors permit quick assembly, are lighter than solid floors and yet permit an inflatable 'keel' and a v-shaped planing hull that is impossible with a roll-up.

Brad

[Mike Sibley]

Originally Posted by KIWI

I work at the marina and one of our jobs is repairing inflatables, 80% of our repairs are Zodiac, **** glue

Thanks for the response and the information. However, the fact that most repairs are Zodiac is not easy to interpret. Since Zodiac seems to be the largest maker, and certainly the oldest, one would expect that a high proportion of inflatables being repaired would be Zodiac, especially if the ones being repaired are old.

Do you mostly repair Zodiacs that are still under warranty or are the repairs on units that are more than 5 years old?

[Minggat]

Where does it come from that Zodiac is the largest maker? If it's true, I can't understand why I see so many more Achilles out there than Zodiacs.

Few cruisers with a lot of miles behind them are still on their first dink. And Zodiacs seem to me to be disappearing from the scene. What I'm trying to say is that 'survival of the fittest" may also apply to inflatables, and Zodiacs may be an endangered species with no mourners at their passing.

[KIWI]

We fix all types on inflatables Hypalon and PVC most just have holes from people just being a bit rough with there inflatable.

After Xmas we always get a rush of inflatables to fix mainly holes some the seams just come apart, Some,, And I will say just lately the majority have been Zodiac and it's always the seams coming apart.

We had one last week with a inflatable keel "Zodiac" that the bottom was coming apart, Before you start re-glueing u pull it back until the glue holds firm clean it with acidtone and we use a 2 pot German glue what started to be a small job we ended up pulling off the whole bottom the glue was crap ,, The old Zodiac's were great we have some of the older models to repair [hole's only] and the glues still holding.

So I will stand by what I say the biggest percentage of repairs that we do where seams are coming apart are ZODIAC'S

[Mike Sibley]

Originally Posted by KIWI

We fix all types on inflatables Hypalon and PVC most just have holes from people just being a bit rough with there inflatable.

After Xmas we always get a rush of inflatables to fix mainly holes some the seams just come apart, Some,, And I will say just lately the majority have been Zodiac and it's always the seams coming apart.

We had one last week with a inflatable keel "Zodiac" that the bottom was coming apart, Before you start re-glueing u pull it back until the glue holds firm clean it with acidtone and we use a 2 pot German glue what started to be a small job we ended up pulling off the whole bottom the glue was crap ,, The old Zodiac's were great we have some of the older models to repair [hole's only] and the glues still holding.

So I will stand by what I say the biggest percentage of repairs that we do where seams are coming apart are ZODIAC'S

I wasn't questioning your information, but just looking for additional information that would help with interpretation. The information that the old Zodiacs were good but the new ones have the problems is very useful. Thanks!

[Orion Jim]

I've had a Zodiac roll-up for one year and I'm happy with it so far. I'm not circumnavigating and I'm not a live aboard so lets keep things in perspective. I needed a quality inflatable which would stow in a cockpit locker when not being used. I have two hard tenders and only tow a tender when absolutely necessary. I can also stow a hard tender on my foredeck but find it a pain in the neck. With my limited seasonal coastwise cruising I anticipate several happy seasons with the Zodiak. Should I have a problem with the wood slat floor or experience glue failures I'll share it with the forum so we may all be kept informed.

[Jay Knight]

I support what everybody says about WM inflatables. The bottom fell out of mine in Isla Mujuras Mx at the 4 year 10 month mark, when I got to the retail outlet, warranty over!! I believe it to be a Zodiac rebrand. Nothing lasts forever, but replacement was a bitter pill!

Jay

[mike d.]

look at the practical sailor web. they did a survey in Sept.- Oct. last yr. believe you me very informative. would never have bought our Brig if they had done the reviews earlier.
everything they said about Brig is true.
regards

[Celestialsailor]

I was wondering with all this input about cost and repair of an inflatable if you might consider a hard dink. I'm not here to start another dinghy war but I have had inflatables, folding boats, nesting boats and now a 7.5ft Livingston. There are other options out there.

[Minggat]

Yep, that's a can of worms all right. I love it.

I carry 2 dinks. One inflatable and one hard. Guess which one gets used most?

The hard dink launches and retrieves faster, has it's own motor or I sail it. I'm lucky that my boarding ladder can act as a davit and my stern arch does the lifting.

In the marina I set sail from, I just didn't see that many hard dinks. But in cruising grounds there is a surprising number of them. The marina was mostly weekenders I guess.

To be fair, They are 2 different purpose dingys. My inflatable is a go fast toy and ocassional tug. That is important to me. The hard one does everything else. I do have flotation tubes on my hard dink, which makes it more stable and I can sail without heeling as much.

If it sounds like I have a lot of deck space to pull it off, Minggat is only 36 ft.

[Celestialsailor]

Most of my hard dinghy's could only have minimal outboards to push them along. So I agree that there is a need to have a faster dink. But...My Livingston 7.5 has a 6hp. 4 stroke Tohatsu and it planes scary fast! My only gripe is the weight compared to an inflatable. I think the Livingston is 90+ pounds. I even have dinghy wheels for it. I think it is a pretty cool set-up.

[Mike Sibley]

Originally Posted by Mike Sibley

After considering anticipated usage and all the tradeoffs, I have come to the decision to buy a small rollup inflatable with a high pressure floor. However, I don't know much about the different makers. Zodiac, Walker Bay, Sea Eagle, Mercury, West Marine and others have competing models. Defender has a nice sale on the Walker Bay Odyssey 240 AF, but I don't know about quality. Any opinions regarding the relative quality of the different makers? All help greatly appreciated.

Based on all the useful input, I bought a Achilles LSI 260. It has the high pressure air floor for light weight and ease of assembly/disassembly. It is a hypallon boat, to survive the high UV rays and heat of the south. It costs more than many of the alternatives, but I have always been a sucker for quality. Thanks for all the input.

Mike

[jrib]

I know from owning many boats that I will not buy PVC boat.Love Avon boats had 2 sr4.0 seariders,2 340 rib,redcrest,roll up,and more.own and use 4 avons now.One searider 32 years old and no problems .All in Bahama sun and hold up well.However a 1998 wood floor boat Avon used a PVC keel it developed some leaks in keel.Keel not repairable new keel too expensive.Cut hypalon keel from older Avon and put it in that boat.So since zodiac now owns Avon and Avons are still being built from hypalon if it not a rib or roll up ,keel could be PVC.Did own zodiac mark 2 in 1970's that was made from hyplon and it was great boat.

[SabreKai]

Anyone remember an inflatable by a company called Seaworthy? Thats the name tag on both sides of the dink I inherited with Espina. I just finished cutting a new transom to shape an hope to salvage it. But she goes flat in about 6 hrs too. Haven't looked for leaks yet, that will wait til I get the new transom in.

Sabre

[Minggat]

Seaworthy is apparently alive and well. There is an inflatable repair shop in La Paz called Rock Hard Dingy that is one of their distributors. I believe the quality of Seaworthy inflatables has improved greatly over the years. But I'm not dingy shopping right now, so I haven't done any homework.