Dinghy: Hypalon vs Chaps

[chrisr]

here's an interesting commentary on how long hypalon can last

on our our 15yr old hypalon dinghy, the tubes are still going strong...but the aluminium hull is starting to wear out.

ok...maybe it's been dragged up on a few too many coral reefs etc...but who would expect the hypalon part to last longer than the aluminium part ?

cheers,

[yacht.wanderer]

The easiest and cheapest sun protection for a dink is simple agricultural shadecloth, covering the whole dink.
It keeps the sun off the tubes and and keeps the tubes cool. Made one up in 2012, fitted it to a Valmex fabric welded pvc tube dink and its still being used in the Caribbean and still as good as new, in 2020. Nuff said.

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by yacht.wanderer

The easiest and cheapest sun protection for a dink is simple agricultural shadecloth, covering the whole dink.
It keeps the sun off the tubes and and keeps the tubes cool. Made one up in 2012, fitted it to a Valmex fabric welded pvc tube dink and its still being used in the Caribbean and still as good as new, in 2020. Nuff said.

can you clarify a bit : do you use the shade cloth just when the boat is stored eg on the davits, or is it a fitted cover like chaps ?

thanks !