Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 29-08-2016, 08:25   #1
S/V rubber ducky
 
sailorboy1's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: heading "south"
Boat: Hunter 410
Posts: 20,363
Dinghy Material

I'm rapidly getting to the point of needing a new dinghy (I'm probably really past the point). The question is whether Hypalon is really worth $700 more than PVC? I've had my current dinghy for 8 years and it was old when I got it, but that was living in the Northeast.
__________________
Don't ask a bunch of unknown forum people if it is OK to do something on YOUR boat. It is your boat, do what you want!
sailorboy1 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 29-08-2016, 08:39   #2
Moderator Emeritus
 
a64pilot's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Jacksonville/ out cruising
Boat: Island Packet 38
Posts: 31,351
Re: Dinghy Material

Answer is I believe that if you can keep it out of the sun by either chaps or being up where the sun don't shine, then no it's not worth it.
But if you down South where the sun shines brightly and you can't keep it out of the sun then your only going to get I don't know, maybe three years out of PVC?
I really don't know, but suspect three years may be pretty good for PVC

I assume RIB that will always be kept inflated and out in the weather day after day and not a roll up that may be stored in a bag often.

I don't think my Hypalon will last 8 yrs
a64pilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-08-2016, 09:20   #3
S/V rubber ducky
 
sailorboy1's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: heading "south"
Boat: Hunter 410
Posts: 20,363
Re: Dinghy Material

As I said I'm had my current PVC dinghy for 8 years and it was OLD when I got it. So I'm looking more for owner real life experiences down in the Sunnyland
__________________
Don't ask a bunch of unknown forum people if it is OK to do something on YOUR boat. It is your boat, do what you want!
sailorboy1 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 29-08-2016, 09:26   #4
Moderator
 
tkeithlu's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Carrabelle, Florida
Boat: Fiberglas shattering 44' steel trawler
Posts: 6,083
Re: Dinghy Material

I've had some bad experiences with rotting inflatables in Florida. My answer eventually was the 8' Walker Bay plastic dinghy, with the REPLACEABLE inflated collar and a cover. So far, so good, and it's quite light.
tkeithlu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-08-2016, 09:57   #5
Registered User
 
Tayana42's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Long Beach, CA
Boat: Tayana Vancouver 42
Posts: 2,804
Re: Dinghy Material

I sail in Southern California and northern MX. Twelve years ago I bought a PVC air floor dinghy. I was not cruising or living aboard then but sailed at least a couple of days each week. When not sailing the dinghy was on a float and it was covered. When the dink was 7 years old the PVC was still good but the transom rotted. I replaced it with another PVC air floor dinghy, moved aboard and went cruising. The new dink lives in the sun all the time, never covered. After 3 years the PVC of the tubes is still good, as is the glue, but all the added on parts ( spray rail, oar locks, grab rails, logos) are a sticky mess as the PVC breaks down from the sun light.

The cost of a hypalon dinghy may be worth it if the add on bits aren't PVC. I think the best bet is to keep it covered anyway.


S/V B'Shert
Tayana42 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-08-2016, 10:09   #6
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Oregon
Boat: Seafarer36c
Posts: 5,563
Re: Dinghy Material

[QUOTE=Tayana42;2200243]
The cost of a hypalon dinghy may be worth it if the add on bits aren't PVC. I think the best bet is to keep it covered anyway.


I suspect our Defender hypalon rib has pvc glue on "bits" It's 4 years old and the handles, oarlocks etc are all coming off. There are chaps but they don't cover those. It's in the sun for 6 months per year.
model 10 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-08-2016, 10:15   #7
RDW
Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Lexington, Kentucky
Boat: Morris 1996 46' Lexington
Posts: 382
Re: Dinghy Material

I just got thru putting TUFF COAT on my 8 year old hypalon (Caribe) dinghy. I have used chaps most all the time. I have patched some damage on the bottom from pulling it over sand and rocks. It looks very good now. I saw one tinny pin hole while using the
TUFF COAT which sealed with the paint.
We will see if I am fooled.
RDW
RDW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-08-2016, 15:51   #8
Moderator Emeritus
 
a64pilot's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Jacksonville/ out cruising
Boat: Island Packet 38
Posts: 31,351
Re: Dinghy Material

[QUOTE=Guy;2200255]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tayana42 View Post

The cost of a hypalon dinghy may be worth it if the add on bits aren't PVC. I think the best bet is to keep it covered anyway.





I suspect our Defender hypalon rib has pvc glue on "bits" It's 4 years old and the handles, oarlocks etc are all coming off. There are chaps but they don't cover those. It's in the sun for 6 months per year.

I just glued the oar clips back on mine last week, and one seam where I sit was coming loose, and the rub rail which is PVC is beginning to go soft and sticky on the front, like I had spilled a solvent on it, but I haven't. It's three or maybe four years old, based on that I think maybe two more years is all it will last? It is a Zodiac, which except for the PVC parts has given excellent service.
The Hypalon seems fine, except the glue is beginning to degrade, and the PVC part are failing.
Is there anything you can put on one that would help, like some kind of Armor all product? I have not done that for fear that glue wouldn't stick if I did that.


Sent from my iPad Pro using Cruisers Sailing Forum
a64pilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-08-2016, 17:13   #9
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Oregon
Boat: Seafarer36c
Posts: 5,563
Re: Dinghy Material

[QUOTE=a64pilot;.
Is there anything you can put on one that would help, like some kind of Armor all product? I have not done that for fear that glue wouldn't stick if I did that.


Aerospace 303 really works and is not a contaminant like Armor All. I don't see how any surface product could keep the glue from failing under an oarlock or grab handle.
I going to get some Hypalon gear attach rings from a whitewater rafting store to replace the grab handle things. I needed the oarlocks for the first time this year because of dirty fuel, maybe I won't ever need them again.
model 10 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2016, 13:17   #10
Registered User
 
Tayana42's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Long Beach, CA
Boat: Tayana Vancouver 42
Posts: 2,804
Re: Dinghy Material

I think the protectants work only if you use hem before the PVC starts to break down. A good citrus cleaner and a 3M white scrub pad will clean the sticky mess off but even with protectants it becomes sticky again an a couple of weeks.


S/V B'Shert
Tayana42 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2016, 13:59   #11
S/V rubber ducky
 
sailorboy1's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: heading "south"
Boat: Hunter 410
Posts: 20,363
Re: Dinghy Material

303 isn't cheap and I can see using it on a PVC to cost more in the long run than buying the hypalon to start with. But I don't know for a fact.

If you spray 303 on your dinghy, does it later strain your pants when you sit on it???
__________________
Don't ask a bunch of unknown forum people if it is OK to do something on YOUR boat. It is your boat, do what you want!
sailorboy1 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2016, 14:40   #12
Moderator
 
JPA Cate's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: aboard, cruising in Australia
Boat: Sayer 46' Solent rig sloop
Posts: 28,432
Re: Dinghy Material

For the pvc handles, etc., if you can make yourself do it when the dinghy is new, buy a little compatible white paint and paint them. Sunscreen, as it were. It will make a huge difference in how long they last. Once it degrades to "sticky," pvc is a huge pita.

Since DuPont's patent ran out, many manufacturers are making hypalon, and some of it is thicker and better than others. We have a Gemini dinghy, originally tubed with South African hypalon. Those tubes were not anywhere so long lasting as our German hypalon dinghies, which preceded it, nor our ancient Zodiac, glued, probably of Du Pont hypalon.
The difficulty in being assured of the hypalon source, and the cost, eventually led us to try pvc tubes. They are now only 2 yrs. old, and they are covered--we made chaps for it within weeks of receiving the tubes.

If you want a long lasting dinghy, I still think it should be hypalon, but it's going to be the highest cost option. As, if a manufacturer offers two identical except for weight, and one the same size is lighter and cheaper, the weight difference is in the thickness of the hypalon used, and the better hypalon will cost more.

The bottom line thinking about it for me is that there is no other way to guess at the quality than by the heavier hypalon (and of course you have to consider the stuff of the rigid part, too, grp or aluminum). (Ironically, we all want light weight dinghies, for ease of handling.]

Something else to consider is what color material to make the chaps from. We've learned that the darker sail cover materials, the black, the burgundy, etc. absorb more UV than the lighter ones (pearl gray, etc), so the darker is desirable for that application. But who wants to burn their bottom when they sit on their dinghy? Most dinghy covers are lighter colors, the greys, the yellows for visibility, and so on. I wonder which is better for hypalon and pvc? absorb UV or try and reflect it?

Ann
__________________
Who scorns the calm has forgotten the storm.
JPA Cate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2016, 15:24   #13
RDW
Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Lexington, Kentucky
Boat: Morris 1996 46' Lexington
Posts: 382
Re: Dinghy Material

Something else to consider is what color material to make the chaps from. We've learned that the darker sail cover materials, the black, the burgundy, etc. absorb more UV than the lighter ones (pearl gray, etc), so the darker is desirable for that application. But who wants to burn their bottom when they sit on their dinghy? Most dinghy covers are lighter colors, the greys, the yellows for visibility, and so on. I wonder which is better for hypalon and pvc? absorb UV or try and reflect it?

This may be too vague but the real issue is what UV gets to the inflatable material. If the material of the chaps prevents the UV from getting to the inflatable by absorbing uv or by reflecting UV, what difference does it make so long as it does not effect the inflatable material?
I would elect for a cool butt and reflection.
RDW
RDW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2016, 15:35   #14
Moderator Emeritus
 
a64pilot's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Jacksonville/ out cruising
Boat: Island Packet 38
Posts: 31,351
Re: Dinghy Material

The guy from Defender came on a year or two ago and gave a dissertation on dinghies. Be nice to find his post.
If I remember correctly there are only two sources of Hypalon or Hypalon like fabric as I guess Hypalon is a trademarked name?
I just received a quart of 303 from Amazon, I bought it to put on a car I just bought for my Daughter as she was in an accident, not her fault, but her little Miata was totaled.
My concern was I have in the past applied products on things that made paint and adhesives nearly impossible to adhere to it before and didn't want to put protectant on my dinghy only to find out that I couldn't do glue repairs anymore.
Think silicone on fiberglass.


Sent from my iPad Pro using Cruisers Sailing Forum
a64pilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2016, 15:37   #15
Moderator Emeritus
 
a64pilot's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Jacksonville/ out cruising
Boat: Island Packet 38
Posts: 31,351
Re: Dinghy Material

I hope to keep the drink together long enough so that I can get out there and see several and find one that I like.
I want of course what everybody else wants, stable, fast, and light and cheap. I know pick two right


Sent from my iPad Pro using Cruisers Sailing Forum
a64pilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
dinghy

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Best Material for Experimental dual hull Dinghy Outriggers? captain-cowboy Construction, Maintenance & Refit 29 30-09-2014 10:18
DINGHY ... DINGHY ... Caribe ... AB ... Mercury alphabravo2 General Sailing Forum 11 03-01-2014 07:04
For Sale: LOTS of stuff (dinghy, outboard, sails, dinghy-tow, etc.) decca Classifieds Archive 7 31-03-2013 11:40
Admiral Dinghy and his RTW Trip in a 9' Dinghy? Bark Cruising News & Events 4 09-11-2009 06:21
Dinghy Chaps? Draw String Material? JohnnyB Auxiliary Equipment & Dinghy 8 11-02-2009 18:23

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:44.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.