New Alum RIB - paint peel

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by chouliha

Sorry to hear of your issues. First barnacles can work thru the paint and when removed will remove the paint.

Just curious why you don't lift the dink when back at the dock. We hoist our dink every evening with a halyard and leave it along side against the shrouds. Never had to scrape the bottom since we purchased it years ago. Leaving it in the water 24/7 for years especially in a marina it's not surprising you have growth and paint peeling.

Glad to hear they manufacturer will replace the dink. Amazing!!!

Chuck
Jacaranda
Tahiti

I answer this... we use the mothership on weekend and a long cruise or two and the dink is tied to a town float... and we can't get it out of the water... no place to put it and it's too heavy with the motor.

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by mindsofman

Hey Luanne.someone should have talked
This guy out of buying a Highfield.
My first one I forgave them for..when the
Second was the same..no more Highfields.
Back to Caribe.
Problem with alum. Hulled dinghies is
The fabric is glued to the paint NOT the
Alum..leave the dinghy in the water long
Enough, galvanic reaction takes place and
Paint comes of the alum. Plus the fabric.
Worse when the dinghy is around docks.
Lots of stray current...

My thoughts exactly... I am changing to Fiberglass RIB

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

HighFields warranty on the hull is 1 year more than there competitor AB Inflatables.

Your information is old!

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by DotDun

Your information is old!

Warranty extension becomes available upon proper registration of the product by the owner via Highfield Boats warranty website: REGISTRATION - Highfield Boats.

Highfield hull structure is covered by a five 5 years warranty.

The powder coating is warranted for a period of 2 years against manufacturing defects.

Duration of the warranty coverage:
Tube made of ORCA® (Hypalon) fabric: 10 years from vessel date of purchase.

Tube made of Valmex® (PVC) fabric: 5 years from vessel date of purchase.

[cagney]

I have a Highfield UL260 PVC. It's been used for 15 month and big patches of the white paint in the bottom has come off. The "action" is now very close to the glued tube joints in some places. It seems like a forgone conclusion that the glue bond will come undone.
I'm now hoisting the dinghy regularly every night, but did not do so, to start with. The peeling continues however. I have never scraped the bottom, only used brushes.
The paint peeling starts with bubbles in the paint, similar to osmosis.

IIRC Highfield doesn't guarantee anything when it comes to the paint, the leave it to the owner to keep it in perfect condition....!!!

Similar to other posters, I'll probably buy a grp rib next time.
The only aluminium rib I would consider would be one with a mechanical joint between the aluminium hull and the tubes.

/Thomas

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Warranty extension becomes available upon proper registration of the product by the owner via Highfield Boats warranty website: REGISTRATION - Highfield Boats.

Highfield hull structure is covered by a five 5 years warranty.

The powder coating is warranted for a period of 2 years against manufacturing defects.

Duration of the warranty coverage:
Tube made of ORCA® (Hypalon) fabric: 10 years from vessel date of purchase.

Tube made of Valmex® (PVC) fabric: 5 years from vessel date of purchase.

You are correct about Highfield's warranty, one point to make is the material/tube warranty only covers the tube's ability to hold air.

When I stated your information is old in my previous post, that was in reference to the information you posted about AB's warranty.

[SV Bacchus]

I think I'm a little confused. You want to leave your little boat in the water, for what sounds like all the time, and your griping because stuff grows on it?

Great solutions were offered and you threw up roadblocks to every one of them, you just can't do them.

How about bottom paint? Anyone ever bottom paint a dink to leave it in the water all the time? Not sure if that is an option but if it is, problem solved!

[pdenton]

On the electromotive series Al is way down @ -1.6 volts anodizing helps but if is not the correct alloy eg Fortress it is still reactive. The remainder of the series is metals which explode when you throw a pure piece into water. Oh yes, there's Al nearest neighbor on the chart, magnesium which can be persuaded to burn in air.
And then there's the huge cost.
Got me 12' bateau all seven ply mahogany. Weighs in at 110 lbs. Three locker/thwarts. Way more interior footage than a twelve foot RIB which is 10 feet from the transom to the inside of the bow. La bateau is stable as a parish parson and alligator-proof down on the bayou.
I've failed in my job if this post don't pi-- someone off.

[Mango51]

I've had a hidhfield pvc classic 290 for over three years. Don't leave it on the water ever. Rinse with fresh water and cover looks like new. For the dock I use a 15 year old zodiac pvc. With 50 patches. Row in deflate stick in my truck

[JD-Odyssey]

You show a picture of the dinghy on your foredeck... would it be practical to store it there when not in use rather than keeping it in the water? We have done that when we didn't have a dinghy rack on shore. We used our spinnaker halyard to hoist it up on deck (although, our inflatable weighs less than 100 lbs). Our outboard gets hoisted onto a block mounted on the seat rail in the aft part of the cockpit. Just a thought...

[Sandero]

I suppose our use is too out of spec for the boat. We live 50 miles and come for the weekend. Our sailboat is moored over a mile from the only dock where were can keep a dink to get to the boat. We bring all the provisions for the weekend so it's not practical to row. We need a dink with a decent motor (we have a Yamaha 8) and enough volume for 2 - 4 adults and 2 small children (occasionally) and a small dog and provisions. The C310 is fine in all ways.

I will have to clean the boat frequently or apply antifouling which I have found in the past to be ineffective. It's not going to keep the paint on!

I am exchanging this boat under warranty for a fiberglass RIB and maybe get a hypalon version.

[wcrosby]

Originally Posted by Sandero

I am on my second Alum RIB... actually 3rd. First 2 were AquaPro , hypalon and this last one is a Hghifield PVC.

#3 replaced #2 last July after one of the 2 towing rings came apart under tow and we practically lost the boat in RI Sound. When we got to Newport we went to Bristol to Maritime Solutions and purchased a Highfield PVC. A very nice and well designed boat. They charged me to deliver it to Newport (creepy but what the heck) and we were off!

I did not paint the bottom. I pulled the dink the first week of Nov (4 months in the water) to clean it for winter storage. It had a lot of barnacles and a layer of some sort of marine growth. See the photos. I only had time the first day to do one side. I came back the next to complete the cleaning. I used plastic scraper and barnacle buster and some soft scrub and of course water.

Please comment. Thanks!

I have the same boat from Maritime Solutions placed into Narragansett Bay in July. I haven't pulled yet. I'll take a look at the bottom when pulled and see if it looks like yours. I'll also look to see if there are similar problems.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by mindsofman

Hey Luanne.someone should have talked
This guy out of buying a Highfield.
My first one I forgave them for..when the
Second was the same..no more Highfields.
Back to Caribe.
Problem with alum. Hulled dinghies is
The fabric is glued to the paint NOT the
Alum..leave the dinghy in the water long
Enough, galvanic reaction takes place and
Paint comes of the alum. Plus the fabric.
Worse when the dinghy is around docks.
Lots of stray current...

You need two dissimilar metals in an electrolyte with an an electrical connection for a galvanic reaction to occur. This is not possible with this dinghy unless some fool has bonded the motor to the aluminum. Neither is stray current corrosion possible without a return path through ground, so unless this dinghy is equipped with shore power it's just not possible either.