Aluminum vs FRP RIB Dinghy

[David B]

Originally Posted by truant

We're in the market for a new dinghy, and weight is an issue. There are many new dinghys on the market now that have alum hulls and are light weight. I'm concerned about corrosion, pitting, maintenance, durability, etc in salt water. Any input is always welcomed. Used to have a Caribe FRP, but too heavy for new boat. Will go with hypalon over pvc. Cheers for a great new year.

Don't overlook high pressure air floor as an option (Zodiac were the inventors of the concept, but there are a few more now).

You get a hard, rigid floor, a decent Vee for a good ride, and when you are done, you can roll it up and stow below for winter.

We keep ours on the davits as a RIB when using regularly, but it is great to be able to 'lose' it when we are done. Can't do that with a RIB.

David

[KP44]

Originally Posted by truant

Any input is always welcomed. Used to have a Caribe FRP, but too heavy for new boat. Will go with hypalon over pvc.

Comments on Al and FRP.

I used to fish with a Mackenzie River boat; a drift boat. Mine was FRP and with all my gear, oars, and my 30 lb lead river anchor, I could give the boat a shove and it would slide across the dry gravel bar for about 10 feet. It slid easily over rocks, sand, or gravel in shallow water.
My partner bought the most expensive "guide model' aluminum drift boat. We hit a rock with the bow going through a rapids area and the bow hung on the rock and we were spun around within seconds, heading down the river backwards. Very dangerous. On the upper Hoh River, the stream divided into 4 or 5 branches (like a delta) and we ran out of water and had to slide the boat about 150 feet. The aluminum hull would not slide at all. We had to lay down small trees and big sticks to slide the boat. Quite a chore. And we always used my FRP boat after that. Bill put a formica sole onto his aluminum boat and it handled better, but was still much heavier than my drift boat of the same length and capacity.


The point is, my FRP boat was lighter and the gel coat was much better to drag over land. I think if you paint an aluminum hull with a few coats of an epoxy, the drag problem might go away.

I have a 10' hyperlon FRP RIB and it flies with a 15hp outboard. I could easily go down to 8 or 10hp.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

The Highfield dinghys are very light.

Our HighField CL340 Hypalon 11’5” is 134 lbs and carries 6 people.

Outboard is a Suzuki DF20A outboard 97 lbs.

It still looks great after our 1st year.

They come with a 10 year warranty.
.
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Cotemar,

What happened to the composite catamaran dingy you built???

I thought it had a lot going for it.

[donradcliffe]

I bought a Swift 3.1 aluminum/hypalon dingy in 2001, and it was still going strong in 2011 when I sold it after using it over 300 days each year. It weighed 100 lbs and never lost air, or had the paint flake. Its big tubes kept me dry.