Dinghy - get what you pay for?

[kthoennes]

So our Zodiac brand inflatable (Zoom 260, air floor) that we bought at Defender in 2015 finally got too small for us last season and was starting to look tired, so at the end of last season - just about 12 months ago - we bought a Bestway Hydroforce inflatable. Also an air floor. Amazon, but Costco sells them too. Little over 10'. A little more room makes a big difference. I think we paid $650 for the whole thing. Two aluminum seats instead of one. Looks good anyway, bigger and more comfortable and drier than the Zodiac. Generally happy but two things:

First, the pvc is thinner and more fragile than the Zodiac. We have zebra mussels on this part of the river and sharp shells punctured the pontoons twice (patched). And now the floor has failed. The honeycomb center layer let go of the top layer and now the dinghy has a ridiculous looking bubble in the air floor. I'll have to replace it. I've never seen an air floor do that. I'm having regrets taking the low budget route.

 

[mvweebles]

Years ago my friend bought a cheap West Marine PVC dinghy - slat floor and a transom for a small outboard. Our marina was near the best anchorage in SF Bay (Treasure Island, 200-yards from Clipper Cove). One Friday night, a friend anchored in Clipper Cove so my buddy and I pumped up the dink and headed out to see our buddy. One thing led to another, which led to being over-served. When we landed the dink at his slip, it hit something and put a good sized gash in the side and immediately deflated. I was close enough to being out that I just rolled onto the dock. My friend didn't realize what had happend and went down with the ship as a good captain should.

We still laugh.

My wife likes to say "Buy cheap, buy twice." Somehow I still dont always get the joke.

Good luck with #2.

Peter

 

[kthoennes]

That story makes me burst out laughing just to imagine it.

 

[SteveK]

I recommend Great Pacific dink. Sold the first one with then boat, bought another as they are every bit as good as name brands at 1/2 price.
Price probably higher now, bought last one for $1500 Can$ a year ago. 270 fiberglass bottom.

 

[ksanders]

I have an aluminium skiff and love it!

 

[rslifkin]

I have an aluminium skiff and love it!

Same here. They're cheap, durable and don't need a ton of power to make decent speed. The one downside is size. They're physically big for the amount of weight they can carry. Which is good for comfort, but limiting for a boat that can't carry a big dinghy. Our 12 footer is only good for 600 lbs, for example (that's enough for an outboard, fuel, 2 of us, the dog, and some stuff). It's not going to cart 4 people to shore without being overloaded though.

 

[4arch]

I have the same inflatable by Bestway except it was sold under the "Tobin Sports" brand name and has a slightly different color scheme. Figured with Costco's return policy it was worth a shot. Anything comparable from known brands costs 2-3X as much, and there are plenty of reports of quality issues and failures of inflatables at all price points.

I bought mine in the spring and used it all summer this year. It developed a pinhole leak in the air floor at one of the seams. I patched it rather than returning it as it was already registered with the state and was otherwise in good condition. My only other negative is the oar locks are pretty cheaply constructed and I don't think would hold up well for someone who regularly rowed the boat. It does row nicely though. Other than these issues, it's pretty well built for a $650 inflatable and it has some features other low priced inflatables don't. I feel like if I get 3-4 seasons out of mine, it will have been worth the price paid.

It does seem the air floor is a weakness and there is probably little to no avenue for getting only the floor replaced under warranty or buying a new one. I did find there are generic air floors from China sold on eBay and AliExpress that might fit this boat, but for this size boat they are around $300, which is not going to be worth the sunk cost. Also the air floor only inflates to 5 psi compared to more than double that on higher end air floor boats.

 

[ksanders]

Same here. They're cheap, durable and don't need a ton of power to make decent speed. The one downside is size. They're physically big for the amount of weight they can carry. Which is good for comfort, but limiting for a boat that can't carry a big dinghy. Our 12 footer is only good for 600 lbs, for example (that's enough for an outboard, fuel, 2 of us, the dog, and some stuff). It's not going to cart 4 people to shore without being overloaded though.

All true.

Also true you cannot put a hole in it, and if you do you can fix it easially.

My new skiff weighs a bit over 250 lbs fully equipped. The old Zodiac YL340 weighed over 700.

Big difference when pulling it up the beach

 

[rslifkin]

All true.

Also true you cannot put a hole in it, and if you do you can fix it easially.

My new skiff weighs a bit over 250 lbs fully equipped. The old Zodiac YL340 weighed over 700.

Big difference when pulling it up the beach

Ours is in the same weight ballpark as yours. About 260 lbs for the skiff, oars, 6hp outboard, full 3 gallon tank of gas, anchor, added fendering to avoid scratching up boats, etc.

 

[gilbertpark]

I have a Walker Bay 8 which weighs in at 35kg. Works a treat, very stable and difficult to put a hole in it. Hangs in davits, got mine off ebay for about $700 with sailing kit.

 

[Group9]

We only use Boston Whalers as our dinghies. Yes, they are heavy, but you can shoot them with a 12 gauge shotgun, and not only do they not sink, you fix them with a little Marine Tex.

 

[MVDarlin]

Get a RIB. Best of both options.

 

[wkearney99]

My wife likes to say "Buy cheap, buy twice." Somehow I still dont always get the joke.

For better quality gear I like the saying "buy once, cry once".

 

[Gdavid]

I am currently lusting after the Offshore Cruising Tenders, made in New Zealand and they seem to be the new trend among the youtube cruisers. Carbon construction with a really full shape, they are pricey and I don't know if anyone is importing them to the US. They have a sailing kit for them now, not sure if they are selling it yet or still in development. If I had the free time, perhaps I could build something similar with stitch and glue construction, it wouldn't be as light as carbon.

 

[mvweebles]

I am currently lusting after the Offshore Cruising Tenders, made in New Zealand and they seem to be the new trend among the youtube cruisers. Carbon construction with a really full shape, they are pricey and I don't know if anyone is importing them to the US. They have a sailing kit for them now, not sure if they are selling it yet or still in development. If I had the free time, perhaps I could build something similar with stitch and glue construction, it wouldn't be as light as carbon.

I looked very closely at OC Tenders a few months ago. They are shipped in bulk to a few points directly by OCT. Shipping is the issue for cost, and then there is rhe uncertainty about when they will actually arrive. I pinged CruisersForum forum for people who owned - would they purchase again? No doubt, owners like them despite their cost. I forget the exact size I was looking at, but in the 300 range. Was around $12k landed for the non-carbon fiber model, about 2x what I paid for an AB lightweight Aluminum RIB. But the OCT is a lifetime tender.

I will observe that they appear to be a fairly flat bottomed boat if you plan any running in surf or chop. Not positive on that though.

Peter

 

[Gdavid]

I looked very closely at OC Tenders a few months ago. They are shipped in bulk to a few points directly by OCT. Shipping is the issue for cost, and then there is rhe uncertainty about when they will actually arrive. I pinged CruisersForum forum for people who owned - would they purchase again? No doubt, owners like them despite their cost. I forget the exact size I was looking at, but in the 300 range. Was around $12k landed for the non-carbon fiber model, about 2x what I paid for an AB lightweight Aluminum RIB. But the OCT is a lifetime tender.

I will observe that they appear to be a fairly flat bottomed boat if you plan any running in surf or chop. Not positive on that though.

Peter

Thanks, that is good to know

 

[Nomad Willy]

Get a RIB. Best of both options.

OP wrote;
“A little more space makes a lot of difference”.

Half of the boat (a ducky) is tube.

 

[kthoennes]

Well, here's the follow up. After leaving a couple online call-back requests two weeks and then ten days ago with no callback, I left a Facebook messenger message. I try very hard to stay away from FB and other regular social media in general but okay, fine. Got a reply with a customer service number for Bestway. Called it. No help, zero. They don't offer replacement parts, they don't offer a third party source for a replacement floor, nothing. The call center person suggested I try ebay, but she doesn't know what I'd use as search terms. Well thanks.

I can find a number of replacement floor sources online, but the problem is that Bestway Hydroforce 130" (330cm) model has an unusually wide floor. It's 37" wide x 87" long, or ~ 91cm x 218 cm. Other than marine suppliers where the floor costs more than a whole new raft, or a custom order which is also more, I can't find any supplier that makes one anywhere close including the AliExpress sellers. I'm thinking I just learned a $700 lesson to not go cheap. And of course what's even more annoying is that if I had done something dumb myself like ripped the floor by accident that would be one thing. I dropped my $400 prescription sunglasses overboard, fine, that's the cost of my own clumsiness. But this is a failure of the floor layers, the sandwich glue (or whatever) failed (and no, I did not overinflate, I used the gauge). Pain in the neck. At the very least Bestway is losing the opportunity to make some additional after-market revenue because I expected to pay for the replacement since there's no warranty. I'll never do Bestway again.

 

[Gdavid]

Can you replace it with a plywood, multi-section floor? That would be pretty simple to fabricate.

 

[kthoennes]

I did think of that, and there's even a guy who fabricated a replacement floor from honeycombed or corrugated plastic sheeting and very helpfully posted a web page on it:

https://paddlingaway.com/how-to-make-a-floor-for-inflatable-boat/

But then we lose significant buoyancy and capacity, it'll sit lower in the water and make for a wetter ride, and after using wood, aluminum, and air-floor dinghys, we chose an air-floor on purpose because we liked the feel and ride of them, and they're lighter weight, and for long runs we roll it all up like a big burrito and flip it over the rail on the bow which won't work with a solid floor. And I'm thinking it's just not worth fooling around trying to keep a $700 dinghy alive. I should just buy something that's isn't Dollar Store grade and actually offers customer support. I have 60 items on my to-do list right now, not enough time in my life to burn on a Walmart dinghy.

Heck, I still have the Zodiac brand dinghy in a storage unit, seven years old and still in good shape. We only replaced it because it was a little too small and looked tired. I could resurrect that one for now I suppose.

 

[Simi 60]

Same here. They're cheap, durable and don't need a ton of power to make decent speed. The one downside is size. They're physically big for the amount of weight they can carry. Which is good for comfort, but limiting for a boat that can't carry a big dinghy. Our 12 footer is only good for 600 lbs, for example (that's enough for an outboard, fuel, 2 of us, the dog, and some stuff). It's not going to cart 4 people to shore without being overloaded though.

Kapten collar could be a solution.


https://boatcollar.com.au/

 

[rslifkin]

Kapten collar could be a solution.


https://boatcollar.com.au/

I'm not sure if those impact legal weight capacity though. In many cases, the issue becomes that the dinghy can practically carry plenty of weight (especially with added flotation like that), but the capacity plate still says 600 lbs. So if anything goes wrong or the police are bothering you for something else anyway you can end up being cited for being overloaded (and may have an insurance claim denied as a result too).

 

[Simi 60]

I'm not sure if those impact legal weight capacity though. In many cases, the issue becomes that the dinghy can practically carry plenty of weight (especially with added flotation like that), but the capacity plate still says 600 lbs. So if anything goes wrong or the police are bothering you for something else anyway you can end up being cited for being overloaded (and may have an insurance claim denied as a result too).

Ah yes, the land of litigation ?

Though I'm pretty sure I did read a while back them being used on a vessel for survey here and they got the capacity plate increased after demonstration of increased load carrying ability, but I could be mistaken.