Inflatables

[John]

I just picked up my Metzeler (Zodiac version late model) inflatable from the repair center at a $180 cost to reseal a floor seam and add a reinforcing seam on top of that. I heard nothing but negatives from the repair guy about PVC coated boats and nothing but sales pitches trying to get me to part with $1400 for a Hypalon coated boat. What have others experienced with various fabrics and boat brands. I know I'm going to need another one in the coming months so would like to hear of others experiences, good and bad.

We all know the sun's UV-B rays are the death sentence of an inflatable but is there a substantial difference between the Hypalon and PVC to justify the $$$ difference. I have a hard shell dink as well which I take when cruising for dependability.

[Tom]

I just picked up my Metzeler (Zodiac version late model) inflatable from the repair center at a $180 cost to reseal a floor seam and add a reinforcing seam on top of that. I heard nothing but negatives from the repair guy about PVC coated boats and nothing but sales pitches trying to get me to part with $1400 for a Hypalon coated boat. What have others experienced with various fabrics and boat brands. I know I'm going to need another one in the coming months so would like to hear of others experiences, good and bad.

We all know the sun's UV-B rays are the death sentence of an inflatable but is there a substantial difference between the Hypalon and PVC to justify the $$$ difference. I have a hard shell dink as well which I take when cruising for dependability.

IMHO Hypalon is the only way to go regardless of cost. We met people in the Bahamas who had to anchor their pvc inflatable offshore and wade in because if it even touched the beach it sprang a leak. We hypaloners ran ours right up on the beach with the motor. As with most things you get what you pay for. I bought my Achilles used in 1989 and have never had a leak and have used it a lot. If you treat them right at all the hypalon inflatables will last a long time. Just my opinion.



TacCambria@thegrid.net

[John]

I just picked up my Metzeler (Zodiac version late model) inflatable from the repair center at a $180 cost to reseal a floor seam and add a reinforcing seam on top of that. I heard nothing but negatives from the repair guy about PVC coated boats and nothing but sales pitches trying to get me to part with $1400 for a Hypalon coated boat. What have others experienced with various fabrics and boat brands. I know I'm going to need another one in the coming months so would like to hear of others experiences, good and bad.

We all know the sun's UV-B rays are the death sentence of an inflatable but is there a substantial difference between the Hypalon and PVC to justify the $$$ difference. I have a hard shell dink as well which I take when cruising for dependability.

IMHO Hypalon is the only way to go regardless of cost. We met people in the Bahamas who had to anchor their pvc inflatable offshore and wade in because if it even touched the beach it sprang a leak. We hypaloners ran ours right up on the beach with the motor. As with most things you get what you pay for. I bought my Achilles used in 1989 and have never had a leak and have used it a lot. If you treat them right at all the hypalon inflatables will last a long time. Just my opinion.

I understand what you mean about the toughness of the Hypalon coating.
You're right that usually you get what you pay for. The Hypalon boats are at least twice as much as a PVC boat. I note that the West Marine basic series of boats are PVC and I think they are made by Zodiac. The fabric looks heavier than the fabric on my Metzeler (made by Zodiac). I wonder if the durability of the newer PVC boats is any better.

How well does the Hypalon seams hold up in comparison to the PVC seams after lots of sun exposure? I'm most concerned about the seam construction more than fabric abrasion resistance, even though that is a factor to certainly consider. My Metzeler has never had any fabric problems, no leaks, holds air great.

Thanks for letting me know about your experience with Achille's. I was looking at them last week.....$1500 for a nine footer....Ouch!

I hope others post their experiences with different brands.

[Tom]

I just picked up my Metzeler (Zodiac version late model) inflatable from the repair center at a $180 cost to reseal a floor seam and add a reinforcing seam on top of that. I heard nothing but negatives from the repair guy about PVC coated boats and nothing but sales pitches trying to get me to part with $1400 for a Hypalon coated boat. What have others experienced with various fabrics and boat brands. I know I'm going to need another one in the coming months so would like to hear of others experiences, good and bad.

We all know the sun's UV-B rays are the death sentence of an inflatable but is there a substantial difference between the Hypalon and PVC to justify the $$$ difference. I have a hard shell dink as well which I take when cruising for dependability.

IMHO Hypalon is the only way to go regardless of cost. We met people in the Bahamas who had to anchor their pvc inflatable offshore and wade in because if it even touched the beach it sprang a leak. We hypaloners ran ours right up on the beach with the motor. As with most things you get what you pay for. I bought my Achilles used in 1989 and have never had a leak and have used it a lot. If you treat them right at all the hypalon inflatables will last a long time. Just my opinion.

I understand what you mean about the toughness of the Hypalon coating.
You're right that usually you get what you pay for. The Hypalon boats are at least twice as much as a PVC boat. I note that the West Marine basic series of boats are PVC and I think they are made by Zodiac. The fabric looks heavier than the fabric on my Metzeler (made by Zodiac). I wonder if the durability of the newer PVC boats is any better.

How well does the Hypalon seams hold up in comparison to the PVC seams after lots of sun exposure? I'm most concerned about the seam construction more than fabric abrasion resistance, even though that is a factor to certainly consider. My Metzeler has never had any fabric problems, no leaks, holds air great.

Thanks for letting me know about your experience with Achille's. I was looking at them last week.....$1500 for a nine footer....Ouch!

I hope others post their experiences with different brands.

I've never had a seam leak or a leak anywhere on the boat. We were at sea for over 6 months straight several times and either towed the inflatable or had it stored on deck the entire time. No discernable deteriorization. I did have one of the towing rings have the ring tear through and had to replace it. The one awkaward feature of the Achilles is the floor boards. There are four plywood sections that are pretty big and thus hard to store. It's hard to find a flat spot big enough to insert them before filling so I wind up 3/4 filling with air and them wrestling the boards in place. Kind of a hassle. Achilles has a version out now that has an inflatable floor and thus eliminates the floorboards. Big $$$ though. I dream about the new one, but so far haven't had the courage to plop down the $ for one since my old one works fine. Incidentally the local inflatable shop has stacks of used inflatables for sale. You might find a similar shop where you are.

Incidentally unless they've redesigned them lately I wouldn't buy the ones with a West Marine label even in hypalon. They look like the others until you get them up close. The tubes are smaller which means they float low in the water and have much less freeboard than Zodiac, Avon or Achilles. Much wetter and much less carrying capacity than the big brands. A fellow in our marina bought one and hated it. Very shortly sold it and bought an Avon. It tight but you can get 4 adults in my 8 foot Achilles. 4 adults in the West version is a wet proposition. This was about 5 years ago so I may be out of date, but I wouldn't consider one. Hopefully others will jump in here for you.



TacCambria@thegrid.net

[Larry DeMers]

PVC inflatables have had their problems, (as I remember) due to the material delaminating in the sun (Zodiak was *forced* by the Coast Guard to recall a lot of or all of their products to repair problems with the motor transom falling off..they would not do it themselves, and so lost a goodly portion of the cruising dollar as a result).
I have a hard nesting dinghy, but wanted an inflatable so that we did not have to tow the boat everywhere (it costs us about a full knot to tow the hard dinghy). We ended up buying an Avon RollAway, which has a nice aluminum floor built into it. It simply rolls up in one piece. 10 minutes of foot pumping and then lower the main halyard and lift the dinghy up and over the lifelines and into the water. So stable...and gauranteed for *10* years against all problems with the Hypalon fabric. That is how Zodiak should have gone.


Regards,

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30

I just picked up my Metzeler (Zodiac version late model) inflatable from the repair center at a $180 cost to reseal a floor seam and add a reinforcing seam on top of that. I heard nothing but negatives from the repair guy about PVC coated boats and nothing but sales pitches trying to get me to part with $1400 for a Hypalon coated boat. What have others experienced with various fabrics and boat brands. I know I'm going to need another one in the coming months so would like to hear of others experiences, good and bad.

We all know the sun's UV-B rays are the death sentence of an inflatable but is there a substantial difference between the Hypalon and PVC to justify the $$$ difference. I have a hard shell dink as well which I take when cruising for dependability.

demers@sgi.com