Cheapest Place to Buy a Dinghy in the US

[RainDog]

What is the cheapest place to buy a dinghy in the US?

I am looking at a Achilles SPD-290. $2,009.20 from Defender. Is there a cheaper place?

[sww914]

I bought a 10' Zodiac, PVC from them in May for $710.00. I saw used ones on craigslist the same week for $800.00 and other online retailers had the same boat for $1200.00. I waited 3 months for them to have a sale, it was worth the $200.00 discount to wait.
I know, PVC is junk and Zodiac is junk but I want junk to get stolen, not the very nicest inflatable. Junk is cheaper to replace.

[bstreep]

We bought our Mercury hypalon dinghy from Defender - and they had (and still have) some older stock for great discounts. They might also discount a 2 year old one a bit more, if you ask. It still comes with a 10 year warranty. We had an issue with our air deck (which only has a 2 year warranty) out of warranty, and Mercury shipped us a brand new one, no charge. You could save about $400 and end up with a bigger dinghy.

[motion30]

Check ebay Also you may want to talk to your local inflatable repair guy He will have opinions on wich boats are good

[4arch]

I'm in the market for an inflatable too and I'm finding it hard to beat Defender's prices. They were even lower last week when they had a sale on during the Newport show and I assume they'll have another sale on for the Annapolis show next week. The only caution is that their return policy states they don't accept returns on inflatables unless defective.

[shamrock]

I bought the actual defender brand RIB earlier this year. I'm happy with it and could not beat the price. My only complaint is that it seems like the other brands that were the same size can hold a larger outboard

[lorenzo b]

When I was shopping I found West Marine had really good dinghys at a good price because they put their name all over them and get free advertisement out of it. We bought a 350 RIB hypalon for about $2600.

[Kindle]

Raindog, I know this might not help you for your achilles but if it helps out someone else:

If you have a portsupply account WM is going to have a promotion that includes all boats and motors 5% off. I can't find the flier but I think the dates are going to be Oct 10-Nov-11 but I have not confirmed that-you need to call if this sounds like an option.

[zeehag]

the dinghy doctor in sd and they do online business. used inflatables in good shape.
jo and brian are good souls and do an awesome business

[kthoennes]

Cook, thanks zee, I didn't know there was a dingy store in South Dakota. I'll check it out.

Oh.

[brutb]

Originally Posted by kthoennes

Cook, thanks zee, I didn't know there was a dingy store in South Dakota. I'll check it out.

Oh.

I thinks she means SAN DIEGO, Ca.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by kthoennes

Cook, thanks zee, I didn't know there was a dingy store in South Dakota. I'll check it out.

Oh.

jo and brian are in san diego but they do internet sales also

[Privleoplag]

Originally Posted by brutb

I thinks she means SAN DIEGO, Ca.

I'm sure the south dakota reference was in jest... Being from north Dakota, and i see Kthoennes is from south Dakota... Every time I see the s d abbreviation, I instinctively infer south dakota, not San Diego.

[zeehag]

way more water in san diego.....and a tad warmer, mebbe.....

[Privleoplag]

Originally Posted by zeehag

way more water in san diego.....and a tad warmer, mebbe.....

An interesting fact: all time highest temp recorded in s d, 111 deg, all time highest temp in south dakota, 120 deg. Sadly, average mean temp south Dakota 45.5, San Diego 64.2.