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Old 01-28-2015, 02:02 PM   #1
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Plastimo Hard Dinghy

Hi Guys! I'm looking for a hard dinghy to sell in my store. I'm thinking of importing the plastic boats made in France by Plastimo.
I'd really like your opinion on if they would sell in the USA or not.

They make them in four sizes of roughly 7 foot, 8 foot, 9 foot and 10 foot.
The following prices are what I think they would have to sell for in the US.
The sizes shown are rounded up to the next even foot.

PRS210 $675.00 (7 foot)
PRS245 $799.00 (8 foot)
PRD260 $1050.00 (9 foot)
PRD300 $1150.00 (10 foot)

They appeal to me. I really like the looks and that they have a wheel built into the bottom. I can see throwing one on the roof of my car and launching it just about anywhere. The 8 foot would fit nicely across the transom of my Ellis, Possum.

They look like they might row reasonably well and they have a neat way to store the oars aboard.

Here is a link to the Plastimo online catalog. Plastimo

Follow the link, click on the little boat picture on the right of the screen, flip through the pages to page 142.

Tell me what you think. Are they a good value compared to other plastic boats currently available in the USA? Do they look good to your eye?
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Old 01-28-2015, 02:51 PM   #2
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Parks:

Sorry to say that I find them ugly. Like something that you'd find in a kiddie swimming pool. Can't say about their seaworthiness or how well they row,

Walker Bay makes dinghies that can be had in the same price range discounted through Defender or others. While I don't particularly like them either, they look better than the Plastimo to me.

A very popular dinghy around here is the Puffin. They used to be sort of in the same price range as the Plastimo but they are now being made by a new owner of the molds and the prices seem to have gone up. But maybe they are looking for dealers?
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Old 01-28-2015, 03:58 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by dwhatty View Post
Parks:

Sorry to say that I find them ugly. Like something that you'd find in a kiddie swimming pool. Can't say about their seaworthiness or how well they row,
ditto...boats should be pretty...
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Old 01-28-2015, 04:07 PM   #4
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This one blew in over the last couple of days. I found it bouncing around between my boat and and the boat next to me. No identification on it.
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Old 01-28-2015, 04:17 PM   #5
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Hi David, You have better taste in boats than I do! Puffin is beautiful. Kind of a poor man's Trinka. They are fiberglass rather than plastic which would explain the price difference.

I think the Plastimo would probably be competing with the Walker Bay rather than a pretty boat like Puffin.

I'm thinking that the 8' Plastimo (PRS245) may be less tippy than the 8' Walker Bay.
If I did the math right, the Plastimo has a beam of 58 inches and hard chines.
The Walker Bay has a beam of 50 inches and soft chines. I think that's why they made inflatable tubes to strap on the sides.


The PRS245 has a load capacity of 250 kg vs. the 8' Walker at 170 kg.
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Old 01-28-2015, 05:00 PM   #6
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The virtually indestructible plastic dinghy is dinghy of choice for cruisers and houseboat charter companies here. My marina had a number of them for users convenience, as well as for hire boats. Many seemed to get waterlogged, becoming heavy and hard to control, due to being double skinned and water getting between the 2 skins, presumably from damage to the outer skin, probably due to abuse because of the apparent indestructibility.
They row ok, if not waterlogged. I think that even not waterlogged, they are quite heavy, but that might be because I never met one that wasn`t.
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Old 01-28-2015, 05:04 PM   #7
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It took two guys to haul the one in the picture out of the water.
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Old 01-28-2015, 05:21 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HopCar View Post
Hi Guys! I'm looking for a hard dinghy to sell in my store. I'm thinking of importing the plastic boats made in France by Plastimo.
I'd really like your opinion on if they would sell in the USA or not.

They make them in four sizes of roughly 7 foot, 8 foot, 9 foot and 10 foot.
The following prices are what I think they would have to sell for in the US.
The sizes shown are rounded up to the next even foot.

PRS210 $675.00 (7 foot)
PRS245 $799.00 (8 foot)
PRD260 $1050.00 (9 foot)
PRD300 $1150.00 (10 foot)

They appeal to me. I really like the looks and that they have a wheel built into the bottom. I can see throwing one on the roof of my car and launching it just about anywhere. The 8 foot would fit nicely across the transom of my Ellis, Possum.

They look like they might row reasonably well and they have a neat way to store the oars aboard.

Here is a link to the Plastimo online catalog. Plastimo

Follow the link, click on the little boat picture on the right of the screen, flip through the pages to page 142.

Tell me what you think. Are they a good value compared to other plastic boats currently available in the USA? Do they look good to your eye?
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Old 01-28-2015, 06:07 PM   #9
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"I think that even not waterlogged, they are quite heavy, "
The 8 footer is about 90 pounds. The Walker Bay is 19 pounds lighter.
Is the Walker Bay single skinned? It's been a long time since I looked at them.
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Old 01-28-2015, 06:09 PM   #10
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Plastimo Hard Dinghy

You should carry those portable Navlights in their catalogue.
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Old 01-28-2015, 06:12 PM   #11
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Talking

David, behave yourself. I don't need no blue faced shaking heads staring at me!
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Old 01-28-2015, 06:18 PM   #12
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Thanks Oliver, I'll take a look at them.
Are you and your Dad coming down for the Miami Boat Show?
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Old 01-28-2015, 06:21 PM   #13
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Thanks Oliver, I'll take a look at them.
Are you and your Dad coming down for the Miami Boat Show?

Yep, will you be in it?
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Old 01-28-2015, 06:33 PM   #14
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Quote:
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"I think that even not waterlogged, they are quite heavy, "
The 8 footer is about 90 pounds. The Walker Bay is 19 pounds lighter.
Is the Walker Bay single skinned? It's been a long time since I looked at them.
Parks, a Walker Bay dinghy attached to another boat was nudging our bow at the NYE fireworks. Looked single skin, but floatation tubes must affect durability. At one point it had 4 guys sit in it, sat low, didn`t sink.
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Old 01-28-2015, 06:42 PM   #15
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I know you need something that will move off the shelf but the Possum deserves one of these .
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Old 01-28-2015, 06:44 PM   #16
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David, behave yourself. I don't need no blue faced shaking heads staring at me!
Mea culpa. Sorry Parks.
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Old 01-28-2015, 07:36 PM   #17
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Parks, Don't forget that momma has to like it too, and the colors are NOT going to appeal to the fair sex. (And it's ugly). I really like the Puffin tho'. Ben
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Old 01-28-2015, 07:52 PM   #18
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Sorry Parks, they don't appeal to me either.
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Old 01-28-2015, 08:33 PM   #19
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Have you considered Livingston? The 10 ft is a very capable well constructed boat and made in America.

Livingston Boats

I own one but have no affiliation with Livingston or any other boating sales related companies.
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Old 01-28-2015, 08:45 PM   #20
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The color is a tad froggy.
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