Hypalon

[larsake]

Is Hypalon as dingy material worth the higher price?

[TheOffice]

Depends. How far south are you? How long do you want it to last? How will you store it?

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by larsake

Is Hypalon as dingy material worth the higher price?

That all depends on how long you are going to sail, is the boat exposed to sunlight all or most of the time etc ertc

If you are going on a multiyear cruise in the tropics the short answer is yes

[larsake]

Originally Posted by TheOffice

Depends. How far south are you? How long do you want it to last? How will you store it?

South of Europe, at least 5 years. Normally it hangs in davits.

[Cheechako]

Yes...

[wrwakefield]

Our hypalon Carib RIB is going on 22 years old- half of that time in the tropics. (Full time use; stored in davits.)

We do keep it fitted with chaps too... (Following photo from May-2020 when being refitted for new chaps.)



Here are the old chaps that served their purpose:


Work in process fitting of the new chaps:



Here is a decent article listing pros and cons of hypalon vs. pvc for inflatable boats.

In case any of this helps you decide...

Cheers, Bill

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by larsake

Is Hypalon as dingy material worth the higher price?

Who knows. Depends. In Minnesota I only see PVC and dinghies last for years and years, but the season is short and there's less sun.


I have a wood and fiberglass dinghy because I find it distasteful to spend thousands of dollars on a rubber boat with a short life, problems with uneven quality, and poor warranty service.

[PamlicoTraveler]

I think one of my biggest mistakes cruising was buying a PVC dinghy and not spending the money right off the bat with Hypalon.

The dinghy is your car, but what happens is that the pictures of the cheaper quality ones look just as good as the expensive ones. It's kind of like that "diamond" I bought my first wife. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Larsake,

The short, simple answer is that generally hypalon is preferable to PVC. Where it gets difficult is in the thickness of the hypalon versus which PVC fabric the dinghy in question happens to be constructed of.

We have an aluminum hulled RIB, and it's original tubes were hypalon, a Gemini dinghy. Previously, we had owned only hypalon dinghies, first, a very used 13 ft. Zodiac, glued up by diligent French women; then a DSB, a German one, which lasted a very long time... we've averaged roughly 10 yrs. per dinghy, but the Zodiac was 10 yrs old when we got it! The dinghy was stolen and set afire, but we recovered the hull, and had Gemini replace the tubes. Those tubes were made from South African hypalon that was thinner than the hypalon we had had previously on other brands of dinghy, and did not last as well. Ironic, because they weighed less and we thought having the dinghy lighter would make it easier to handle, which it did, but we didn't realize the hidden cost of less longevity.

When those tubes wore out, after discussions with a reliable dinghy repair shop, we settled for German PVC reputed to be very good quality, fabricated into tubes in China by the source recommended by the shop. At that time, here, proper gauge hypalon was over twice as costly as the PVC. We are now into the PVC experiment 8 yrs. Where exposed to the elements, the white has little grey marks on it, so it does not look pristine; however, it looks and feels pretty much like new, the seams are still all good, still holds air well. The dinghy has worn chaps since 2 weeks after we bought it, and is on its second set of them. At 8 years, we're feeling it was probably the right move, but bear in mind, it is both intentionally very high quality PVC and construction, and you need both for good longevity. We were not game to try it uncovered, so it has had the benefit of chaps the whole time. [And, we make our own chaps, so all it costs to have them is the purchase of the Sunbrella, ptfe thread, our labour, and the SOLAS reflective tape I add so it shows up at night by flashlight.]

Ann

[sailasia]

Some hypalon boats are nearly TWICE as expensive. Id rather get 2 for one, but some of you guys are super rich and dont care about expense, so go for it.

Saying that, I dont live aboard in the tropics. As for the guy who simply said "YES"..........well, I will keep my mouth shut about that.

[GreenWave]

If you buy PVC take some of your savings and get chaps. Our chap covered Caribe hypalon is on its 13th year. Still going strong.

[Statistical]

If you are in the tropics buy Hypalon. PVC isn't going to last more than 5 years and honestly quite a few don't last half that. Hypalon with chaps and proper care can last a decade.

If you are further north than Florida though quality PVC with chaps will do you fine and will be significantly cheaper. Chaps are a good investment regardless. If four years when they look like garbage you can replace them and your old dingy will seem new again.

[JPA Cate]

I should have added to my post above, our PVC dinghy tubes have spent roughly half their time in tropical areas, and the other half, ranging as far south as 43 deg. If the post above were true for all pvc, ours should be on its last legs by now, and it is not. I think it is the quality of the pvc, coupled with the quality of the manufacture (both not easy to find out) that determines the longevity for a particular pvc dinghy.

Ann

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

I should have added to my post above, our PVC dinghy tubes have spent roughly half their time in tropical areas, and the other half, ranging as far south as 43 deg. If the post above were true for all pvc, ours should be on its last legs by now, and it is not. I think it is the quality of the pvc, coupled with the quality of the manufacture (both not easy to find out) that determines the longevity for a particular pvc dinghy.

Ann

Correct, quality PVC (e.g. German-made Valmex) is not the same sh*t that most posters are referring to. Our True Kit dinghy spent the first 6 years of its life naked in New Zealand, two seasonal trips to the South Pacific, and our first year in tropical Australia. We finally made chaps for it and expect the dinghy to outlast the chaps. It’s in as-new condition.

[Mickeyrouse]

I had an Achilles hypalon dinghy stored mostly outside for about 20 years. When I finally gacpve it away the fabric was totally sound. Air leaks were in the seams.