motion30
Guru
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2010
- Messages
- 1,213
I am considering the purchase of a West Marine 11-foot hayplon rib
Feed back good or bad?
Feed back good or bad?
My 3.10 single hull West planes nicely at around 15knots with a 8hp Yammie 4stroke with up to about 400 pounds of people and gear. Larger loads it seems like a 9.9 would be fine as it "almost gets on plane" and might if I played with trim a bit more...but maybe not.
In the last 8 years I have owned two PVC inflatable boats. The first one I bought used but looked in almost new condition.
After 2 seasons in the northeast the first boat blew out a 12 inch seam and you could see that other seams were headed for a similar failure quickly. That boat went to the dump.
The second PVC boat I bought new and was at the dingy dock for one season and tipped up on my dive platform for most of a second season. Again in the northeast. At his point the fabric was showing signs of sun damage and many areas of the boat were becoming sticky. The next 4 years this boat stayed under cover in my shed and taken out occasionally when I needed it (a few times a year). Now ALL the fittings are dropping off,...."D" rings, oar mounts rub strakes and such. Another PVC boat destined for the dump.
In the past I owned a Hypalon Zodiac and a Hypalon Brig inflatable. The Zodiac I bought used and owned for 10 or 15 years but it performed poorly under power. The Brig was a rib and its performance was fantastic. I sold it after about 4 years as my boating plans changed. I should have just kept that boat.
I am wondering what others have experienced with PVC inflatables. I think I am going to spend the little extra for Hypalon (now CSM) this time. I am specifically looking at Achilles and looking for feedback on those boats. I am looking at air floor or aluminum floor boats around 10 feet in length. I would buy another Brig but I don't want to spend that much on a boat I will only use ocassionally.
Rounding this thread specifically back to the WM RIBS, I've been looking into them myself as I'm not too far from buying a new tender and the West Marine boats are an attractive price.
We currently have an 11' Carib Light (LT11), 2007 model. According to Carib's site it is 11'1" in length and weighs in at 154 lbs. The light model does not have a floor or anchor locker, just a single layer hull. I'm highly skeptical of that 154 lb claim. I think it weighs a good bit more than that.
The boat I'm looking at most closely is the Highfield 360 Classic. It's an aluminum double hull boat with separate anchor locker, 11'10" at 163 lbs. Looks like retail on it is around $7K.
The West Marine 350 RIB double floor is 11'5", fiberglass and weighs 161 lbs. So it is 6" shorter and weighs two pounds less. Retail cost on it is $3,600. So the weight of the fiberglass boat is basically the same as the aluminum boat? How could that be (other than it is slightly smaller)? Also, it's barely more than 1/2 the price, where is all of that cost savings come from?
Do y'all think the build quality is less? Is the layup thinner on the hull maybe? Lighter tube material? Or just less marketing?