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Old 16-09-2024, 07:37   #16
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

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You’ve now had enough experience to know towing or leaving on a mooring in open water is a recipe for problems. Leaving the engine attached while towing in open water is a mistake. Did you also leave the fuel tank in it, unsecured?
Partially swamping it is not the answer. Stop this and learn from your mistakes.
You either need a way to bring it aboard and stow it safely, or you need a lighter or larger tender (maybe one of each) appropriate for your intended use.
Yup, do not tow a dinghy when off shore. Easiest and least costly way is to hoist it using a harness and halyard to an inverted position on the bow. Then strap it down. Oh yeah, the engine is of course previously hoisted to a pushpit mount and the gas tank is placed in a lazarette.
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Old 16-09-2024, 07:55   #17
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

We have an aluminum hull AB RIB we love. Because it weighs less, we were able to get a larger motor and winch boat & motor on board with no trouble.
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Old 16-09-2024, 08:19   #18
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

For me this was a no brainer. I sailed through the Caribbean, Panama Canal and all the way to Thailand with my fiberglass AB. It was way to heavy for my wife and I. I bought an aluminum rib in Malaysia. Changed our lives forever. Easy on the deck storage when heading off shore and best of all it could be done easily by one person. I always thought I needed a heavy hull and while that may fit some cruisers depending on their needs, it was one of the best decisions I made during our circumnavigation.

Good luck,

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Old 16-09-2024, 10:28   #19
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

I like grp better.


I hit an aluminum rib on a rock when landing her once. I tried to fix it and it was difficult. I am not a welder and we do not carry a welding kit onboard.


With grp a fix is just an epoxy and glass and it is fixable to basically anybody, anywhere.


I have seen a carbon/epoxy rib too and I did like it - it was a bit lighter than its grp version, and probably quite a lot stiffer.


b.
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Old 16-09-2024, 15:04   #20
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

Grantmc has a point about having one's dinghy be all aluminum. Such a dinghy is not so vulnerable to crocodile bites as an inflatable RIB. Eliminate the fragile part seems to make sense, and we've friends who circumnavigated with a plywood hard dinghy.

In my opinion, the soft dinghies or RIBs are more comfortable to enter and exit, especially with dive gear.

So, to me, where you want to go in safety, what you want to do when you're there will have a bearing on what you want in a dinghy. Honestly, crocs scare me. Any being who can remain submerged, hardly moving, for 2 hrs., and is bigger, stronger, and faster than me, who considers me a light picnic lunch is a worry.

The world is a big place, and there's lots for cruisers to do.



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Old 16-09-2024, 15:48   #21
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

Having owned both, aluminium is better in my view. It is lighter and much tougher than the fibreglass alternative. This would be my recommendation.

However, the aluminium used for these dinghies is very thin. Most of the construction involves pressing the thin flat sheets. This makes it difficult to weld, it can be done, but probably not in locations away from expert welders.

If you do puncture the hull, it is going to be difficult to repair, but the good news is that the aluminium is so tough and puncture resistant that you have to be incredibly unlucky to puncture it. We have dragged ours over rocks in places such as Scotland numerous times to raise the dingy above the high water mark without any issues.
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Old 16-09-2024, 16:23   #22
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

Brief fast fix for holed aluminum: epoxy and a soft drink or beer can. Cut the can with tin snips, and glue the patch on. Jim did this on a corner in an aluminum fuel tank, and it kept the fuel in for years.

On a RIB, weld when possible. Or glue on a new patch.

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Old 16-09-2024, 23:05   #23
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

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Despite my optimistic resuscitation efforts the old Mercury has finally given up the ghost.

In a new RIB, relative to the hull, I am looking at both aluminium and fiberglass. I understand there is a weight difference, and perhaps strength variances. Are there any other meaningful considerations in choosing one over the other?
Having had both Ali and fibreglass they both have their pro's and cons.

Fibreglass
Pro's - Fibreglass is heavier and therefore more stable and easier to repair should you give it a bash on a rock etc - go for a deep V it will be a drier ride.
Con's - Fibreglass its heavier to man handle if you want to bring it up on deck.

Aluminium
Pro's - Aluminium - lighter, more commonly available - available with false floor giving more weight down low and tends to keep your feet dry - Again go for deep V.
Con's - powder coating IS CRAP!!! and will fail and cause trapped water to blister and corrode - My advise would be to get one that is not powder-coated if you can ie natural (our sailing club has a natural finish one and it still looks great even with dings and scrapes)
Its harder to repair unless you have access to a welder
I must admit im reasonably hard on dinghies having had Terminator, Aakron, Aquapro, Southern Pacific, Zodiac and currently Highfield. The terminator and Zodiac were both fibreglass - I'm loving the Highfield except for the fact its powder-coated!
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Old 19-09-2024, 06:56   #24
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

Lots of good info and experiences here to consider, thank you all. I've narrowed things down a bit and just need to choose a brand. Looking forward to a fully inflated and dry, non-sticky ride.
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Old 19-09-2024, 08:57   #25
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

The idea that a fiberglass hull is inherently easier to patch is just not correct in a cruising context. Yes, a “permanent” repair on aluminum requires specialized tools and techniques, but a functional patch in aluminum is no harder than on on fiberglass. Epoxy, fiberglass and you put the patch on aluminum just as easy as on fiberglass.

It takes a bit of technique to get a good epoxy/Al bond, but it is not hard work, nor does it require specialized tools and skills.

When you take the repair ability canard out of the mix, Al seems the better choice for almost everybody who can afford it.
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Old 19-09-2024, 09:07   #26
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

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Originally Posted by argonauta1 View Post
Yup, do not tow a dinghy when off shore. Easiest and least costly way is to hoist it using a harness and halyard to an inverted position on the bow. Then strap it down. Oh yeah, the engine is of course previously hoisted to a pushpit mount and the gas tank is placed in a lazarette.
I would NEVER recommend putting a gas tank in a lazarette.
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Old 20-09-2024, 03:44   #27
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

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Originally Posted by SailingHarmonie View Post
The idea that a fiberglass hull is inherently easier to patch is just not correct in a cruising context...
... a functional patch in aluminum is no harder than on on fiberglass. Epoxy, fiberglass and you put the patch on aluminum just as easy as on fiberglass...
Oxidized aluminum may lose as much as half of its lap shear strength; which is how much force, two substrates are able to withstand, when pulled in opposite directions.
However, with proper preparation, most types of aluminum can easily be
bonded, using epoxy adhesives, for a wide variety of applications.


1. Cleaning/degreasing: The aluminum is immersed, sprayed or wiped with a chlorinated solvent, ketone, or mineral spirits. The aluminum could also be vapor degreased, with chlorinated solvent.
2. Abrasion: The surface would be detergent scrubbed, or abraded.
3. Etching: The surface is chemically treated, with a strong acid solution, like: sulfuric acid and sodium dichromate, or citric acid for a less effective, but more environmentally friendly cleaning option.
4. Rinsing: The part is then rinsed, with [DeIonized] water.

“How to prep surface of aluminum before bonding with epoxy ~ System Three Resins
https://support.systemthree.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007537213-How-to-prep-surface-of-aluminum-before-bonding-with-epoxy

Method One (Recommended)
1. Degrease with denatured alcohol or acetone.
2. Apply an aluminum pre-treatment primer or solution such as Alumiprep-33.
3. Rinse the metal thoroughly in cold running tap water.
4. Bond within 1 hour.

Method Two
1. Degrease with denatured alcohol or acetone.
2. Sand to 80-100 grit.
3. Clean sanding dust.
4. Bond within 3 hours.
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Old 20-09-2024, 08:45   #28
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

I beat the crap out of my Swift alloy dinghy for 11 years with absolutely no separation problems. However, what Gord is saying is that there is can be some quality control issues with bonding things to aluminum.
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Old 20-09-2024, 08:55   #29
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

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I beat the crap out of my Swift alloy dinghy for 11 years with absolutely no separation problems. However, what Gord is saying is that there is can be some quality control issues with bonding things to aluminum.
I am actually saying that, it's relatively easy, to mitigate the oxidation problem, with a little preparation.
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Old 20-09-2024, 09:47   #30
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Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass RIB

Given a do-over I would go Alu without inflatable pontoons and definitely not painted in any manner.

Weight is a no-contest win. First thing that goes on our inflatable pontoon tender is the handles. That proves the weight issue right there. A fibreglass V-hull RIB with motor is too heavy to drag over sand even by its factory-condition handles.

For us, variable skilled operators taking tender onto and off a sand/stone/shell/rock beach : better off with a very light aluminium tender and I feel (unscientific) a light Alu is less likely to get damaged than fibreglass + pontoons.

For us in tropics, the sun & heat are brutal on inflatables.

For a temp repair on a trip, it is imho easier to do combo rivet aluminium patch with some Sika than odds of having all the materials and time and likely on land to repair fiberglass properly.

Negative of Alu not inflatable : you need a ladder of sorts for people getting in from the water, unless they are good at finning up and over into tender. Inflatables are kinder on middle-aged folk leopard-crawling aboard.
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