New Alum RIB - paint peel

[Sandero]

I am on my second Alum RIB... actually 3rd. First 2 were AquaPro , hypalon and this last one is a Hghifield PVC.

#1 (2002) was perfect so naturally someone stole it in Narragansett Bay. It was manufactured in NZ. The 2nd was manufactured in China but the plaque on the boat stated it was made in NZ. That was probably illegal and definitely creepy. AquaPro NZ told me they licensed all the markets except NZ to a Chinese company. I heard they pulled the license. I suspect because of build quality.

#2 (2008) arrived with a small pinhole or two. Not a good sign. It was like pulling teeth to get the USA dealer in CA to arrange for a repair. It was PITA and I had to get the boat to and from the repair facility 50 miles away. The repair was fine.

But it started to come apart. a few hand holds... very solid... came unglued. Towing ring fabric ripped... but worst of all was that the epoxy paint began to flake off. It had bottom paint. I was told it was from galvanic corrosion.
The OB is only in the water when the boat is underway. Should not have been from OB. Perhaps the marina where the dink is tied all week has stray currents in the water? Or maybe (likely) the paint prep was poor? Or something similar??? When it was on it's last legs... too much effort to keep going... thread on sewing of the front flap rotted... couldn't be repaired... we decided to replace it last summer.

#3 replaced #2 last July after one of the 2 towing rings came apart under tow and we practically lost the boat in RI Sound. When we got to Newport we went to Bristol to Maritime Solutions and purchased a Highfield PVC. A very nice and well designed boat. They charged me to deliver it to Newport (creepy but what the heck) and we were off!

I did not paint the bottom. I pulled the dink the first week of Nov (4 months in the water) to clean it for winter storage. It had a lot of barnacles and a layer of some sort of marine growth. See the photos. I only had time the first day to do one side. I came back the next to complete the cleaning. I used plastic scraper and barnacle buster and some soft scrub and of course water.

When I was done... I discovered that the epoxy paint has come free from from the aluminum is several places... too many.

1. scratches - this may have, but not necessarily been from the cleaning (scraping). It may have resulted from dragging and sliding the boat around on the wood dock. But the boat rides on the keel and tubes I think.

2. under barnacles - seems as if some barnacles have *glue* stronger than the paint to aluminum bond... and if mechanically removed they take the paint with them. All the barnacles seem to leave a footprint which dissolves in Barnacle Buster (Phosphoric Acid 85%)

3. under paint where there were no barnacles (bubbles) and even evidence of paint failures under the PVC fabric. This could lead to fabric separation and even sinking I suppose. YIKES

A - I am wondering if the bottom needs more / better maintenance... take it out and scrub it perhaps monthly???? Is this a reasonable expectation? Is bottom paint required? What type? (it didn't do much on the Aquapro). Does high metal content bottom paint perhaps promote galvanic corrosion? Is there a better way to remove barnacles... that is without disturbing the paint bond? I am thinking the paint application is not good enough.

B - once all cleaned I noticed the port tube lost air. I found a small pinhole which I believe was under a barnacle. I repaired it with Bondic and intended to put a small patch over top when the weather was warm enough.

C. I sent pics to RI dealer who contacted Highfield and they offered to provide a new replacement boat. I would have to get the old one to them however. It's a 5 hr drive and I don't have a vehicle for the trip however. Good service for sure... but ....

*****

Does this seem like a problem which will manifest in the next boat? Is this an issue common to all aluminum RIBs? (I am 2 for 3 so far in 14yrs of ownership) Is this a galvanic corrosion problem that can be mitigated or not? Is this a paint application issue or not? Is this a maintenance issue (may be for the barnacles... but what about where there are none)?

Any advice on what I should do... with the dealer? with the maintenance?

If I had the option to choose the same boat in fiberglass I definitely would.

Please comment. Thanks!

[Dulcesuenos]

This is why Ab quit painting aluminum hulls. To fix the fabric separation is almost impossible

[Sandero]

UPDATE...

The dealer Maritime Solutions has offered to replace the boat but claims Highfield never had this paint peel problem and didn't want it repaired... I can sail up in the Spring and do a swap. EXCELLENT

The dealer also offered a boat almost identical to the Highfield C310 in every way except for a fiberglass bottom... 22 pounds heavier but a forward seat location. No extra charges.

http://www.highfieldboats.com/classic-310/ 5 person

It's made by Highfield and the line is called Aruba, the model BORA Comfort 10

COMFORT 10 - ARUBA BOATS 4 person

I am thinking of driving up one weekend for an up close and personal look at the boat and if it essentially the same... change to fiberglass. I am not sure the weight is a issue for us.. we tow and don't use davits. No more paint peel to worry about.

Good customer service from Maritime Solutions of Portsmouth RI!!!

Any comments?

[Cotemar]

HighField Hypalon dinghy's have a 10 years warranty, so that is the way is should play out .

All Good that ends Good

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

HighField Hypalon dinghy's have a 10 years warranty, so that is the way is should play out .

All Good that ends Good

I don't intend to keep the boat for more than 5 or 6 years... which I hope PVC can do... Hypolon is much more... although I could upgrade to Hypalon...now.

[JD-Odyssey]

I bought a PVC Zodiac Cadet with a high pressure floor in 2004 that we still use today on the Chesapeake Bay. Over the winter months, we leave it inflated on a dinghy rack (we're liveaboards) and it's held up quite well. We never let the dink remain in the water if we're not out and about cruising the bay. During warm weather especially, marine growth will get quite heavy in just a couple days. Even when we're out for weeks at a time, I'll flip the dink over occasionally and scrub the bottom when we're at anchor. My take-away... don't keep your dink in the water for extended periods of time or when you don't need it.

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

HighField Hypalon dinghy's have a 10 years warranty, so that is the way is should play out .

All Good that ends Good

Highfield's hull warranty is only 2 years!

[Bulawayo]

We've had our two OceanCraft (Australian) dinghies for several years now. They get the hulls /tubes cleaned regularly and both are still as new - unpainted. They are lifted aboard every single night as a security precaution. These are not the cheapest, but they are amazing, tough, dinghies. You'll also see one in the S/V Delos YouTube clips. We have a 3.4m and a 2.6m - both will handle up to 30hp and both perform amazingly. Worth a look, I would suggest......

Originally Posted by Sandero

I am on my second Alum RIB... actually 3rd. First 2 were AquaPro , hypalon and this last one is a Hghifield PVC.

#1 (2002) was perfect so naturally someone stole it in Narragansett Bay. It was manufactured in NZ. The 2nd was manufactured in China but the plaque on the boat stated it was made in NZ. That was probably illegal and definitely creepy. AquaPro NZ told me they licensed all the markets except NZ to a Chinese company. I heard they pulled the license. I suspect because of build quality.

#2 (2008) arrived with a small pinhole or two. Not a good sign. It was like pulling teeth to get the USA dealer in CA to arrange for a repair. It was PITA and I had to get the boat to and from the repair facility 50 miles away. The repair was fine.

But it started to come apart. a few hand holds... very solid... came unglued. Towing ring fabric ripped... but worst of all was that the epoxy paint began to flake off. It had bottom paint. I was told it was from galvanic corrosion.
The OB is only in the water when the boat is underway. Should not have been from OB. Perhaps the marina where the dink is tied all week has stray currents in the water? Or maybe (likely) the paint prep was poor? Or something similar??? When it was on it's last legs... too much effort to keep going... thread on sewing of the front flap rotted... couldn't be repaired... we decided to replace it last summer.

#3 replaced #2 last July after one of the 2 towing rings came apart under tow and we practically lost the boat in RI Sound. When we got to Newport we went to Bristol to Maritime Solutions and purchased a Highfield PVC. A very nice and well designed boat. They charged me to deliver it to Newport (creepy but what the heck) and we were off!

I did not paint the bottom. I pulled the dink the first week of Nov (4 months in the water) to clean it for winter storage. It had a lot of barnacles and a layer of some sort of marine growth. See the photos. I only had time the first day to do one side. I came back the next to complete the cleaning. I used plastic scraper and barnacle buster and some soft scrub and of course water.

When I was done... I discovered that the epoxy paint has come free from from the aluminum is several places... too many.

1. scratches - this may have, but not necessarily been from the cleaning (scraping). It may have resulted from dragging and sliding the boat around on the wood dock. But the boat rides on the keel and tubes I think.

2. under barnacles - seems as if some barnacles have *glue* stronger than the paint to aluminum bond... and if mechanically removed they take the paint with them. All the barnacles seem to leave a footprint which dissolves in Barnacle Buster (Phosphoric Acid 85%)

3. under paint where there were no barnacles (bubbles) and even evidence of paint failures under the PVC fabric. This could lead to fabric separation and even sinking I suppose. YIKES

A - I am wondering if the bottom needs more / better maintenance... take it out and scrub it perhaps monthly???? Is this a reasonable expectation? Is bottom paint required? What type? (it didn't do much on the Aquapro). Does high metal content bottom paint perhaps promote galvanic corrosion? Is there a better way to remove barnacles... that is without disturbing the paint bond? I am thinking the paint application is not good enough.

B - once all cleaned I noticed the port tube lost air. I found a small pinhole which I believe was under a barnacle. I repaired it with Bondic and intended to put a small patch over top when the weather was warm enough.

C. I sent pics to RI dealer who contacted Highfield and they offered to provide a new replacement boat. I would have to get the old one to them however. It's a 5 hr drive and I don't have a vehicle for the trip however. Good service for sure... but ....

*****

Does this seem like a problem which will manifest in the next boat? Is this an issue common to all aluminum RIBs? (I am 2 for 3 so far in 14yrs of ownership) Is this a galvanic corrosion problem that can be mitigated or not? Is this a paint application issue or not? Is this a maintenance issue (may be for the barnacles... but what about where there are none)?

Any advice on what I should do... with the dealer? with the maintenance?

If I had the option to choose the same boat in fiberglass I definitely would.

Please comment. Thanks!

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by JD-Odyssey

I bought a PVC Zodiac Cadet with a high pressure floor in 2004 that we still use today on the Chesapeake Bay. Over the winter months, we leave it inflated on a dinghy rack (we're liveaboards) and it's held up quite well. We never let the dink remain in the water if we're not out and about cruising the bay. During warm weather especially, marine growth will get quite heavy in just a couple days. Even when we're out for weeks at a time, I'll flip the dink over occasionally and scrub the bottom when we're at anchor. My take-away... don't keep your dink in the water for extended periods of time or when you don't need it.

If getting it out of the water when we were no using it were simple we would do it. The problem is that we leave the dink tied to a dock during the week when we are away.... and use it on weekends or when we take a longer cruise or two each season. The weight with the OB is over 200 pounds and there is no place to leave it such as a float... assuming we could get it onto the float.

The town is not thrilled with the idea of cleaning the bottom on their dinghy docks either. I need to find a solution of where to clean it and how to store it out of the water...

I am thinking about putting a cheap inflatable (toy) under it to raise it up by pumping the toy up and then deflating it when we need to use it... something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Intex-Challen...flatable+boats

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by DotDun

Highfield's hull warranty is only 2 years!

Maybe this will help.

Highfield Hypalon 10 year warranty.

Right from there web sight

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Maybe this will help.

Highfield Hypalon 10 year warranty.

Right from there web sight

Correct! The ORCA fabric has a 10 year warranty, the hull does not!

The whole boat warranty is 2 years.

The hull structure is 5 years.

Hence, I am assuming if the paint comes off at year 3, it's not under warranty.

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by Bulawayo

We've had our two OceanCraft (Australian) dinghies for several years now. They get the hulls /tubes cleaned regularly and both are still as new - unpainted. They are lifted aboard every single night as a security precaution. These are not the cheapest, but they are amazing, tough, dinghies. You'll also see one in the S/V Delos YouTube clips. We have a 3.4m and a 2.6m - both will handle up to 30hp and both perform amazingly. Worth a look, I would suggest......

Thanks... look strong, expensive and too heavy.... lifting out every night is not possible for us.

[chouliha]

Sorry to hear of your issues. First barnacles can work thru the paint and when removed will remove the paint.

Just curious why you don't lift the dink when back at the dock. We hoist our dink every evening with a halyard and leave it along side against the shrouds. Never had to scrape the bottom since we purchased it years ago. Leaving it in the water 24/7 for years especially in a marina it's not surprising you have growth and paint peeling.

Glad to hear they manufacturer will replace the dink. Amazing!!!

Chuck
Jacaranda
Tahiti

[mindsofman]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

This is why Ab quit painting aluminum hulls. To fix the fabric separation is almost impossible

Hey Luanne.someone should have talked
This guy out of buying a Highfield.
My first one I forgave them for..when the
Second was the same..no more Highfields.
Back to Caribe.
Problem with alum. Hulled dinghies is
The fabric is glued to the paint NOT the
Alum..leave the dinghy in the water long
Enough, galvanic reaction takes place and
Paint comes of the alum. Plus the fabric.
Worse when the dinghy is around docks.
Lots of stray current...

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by DotDun

Correct! The ORCA fabric has a 10 year warranty, the hull does not!

The whole boat warranty is 2 years.

The hull structure is 5 years.

Hence, I am assuming if the paint comes off at year 3, it's not under warranty.

HighFields warranty on the hull is 1 year more than there competitor AB Inflatables.