Durability of PVC dinghy in storage

[poiu]

I want to buy a small roll up dinghy to serve as a back up, It can be a kid dinghy and being very light I can land on steep beaches with breaking waves where I can't pull my big heavy one up to safety. Also maybe useful to leave somewhere risky, where I would be worried my nice one would be stolen, or indeed as a temporary back up when it is eventually stolen anyway.

I don't expect it to be used much at all. Maybe one day a week on average and for it to be in its locker most of its life. The decision to make is if to get a hypalon or a pvc version. The costs are roughly $2600 vs $1300 for a Highfield roll up

I know hypalon is much more UV resistant, but I wonder if it is not just UV that kills PVC. Will my PVC dinghy die very soon in a locker in the tropical heat. Put away salty and sandy a little bit? Clearly it has to live more than half as long as a hypalon dinghy to be justify taking the saving from the cheaper dinghy.

Any advice for me?

[a64pilot]

I'd go for PVC as if I understand it will not be used very often and will spend most of its life stored away. Ozone will destroy plastic too,
On my Hypalon dinghy, it seems that the PVC bits and the glue holding the thing together are beginning to fail, prematurely. So there seems to be more to a dinghy's life expectancy than just how long the Hypalon fabric will last

[Sailmonkey]

Our old pvc dinghy, stored for most of its adult life, had the glue joints fail well before the fabric showed signs of age. At 12 years old we got rid of it, I was tired of re-gluing seams after every use

[Suijin]

My 10 year old PVC dinghy is still going strong. It's a hard bottom but it gets deflated/inflated with annoying regularity as it won't fit on my foredeck coachroof inflated.

If yours is going to be rolled and stored, it should last a long time. Just roll it as loosely as you can so you're not creasing the crap out of the material every time you stow it.

[tedowens]

As the other commentator stated, the glue on RIB's has a decay life that is independent of UV exposure. So you will definitely prolong it's life by keeping it in the shade, but it will not last forever.

[rwidman]

I had a Zodiac PVC dinghy and the wooden transom rotted through in only three years. Zodiac would not fix it under warranty so that was a bunch of money wasted.


I replaced it with a different brand Hypalon dingy but it is considerably heavier and since I have to lift the dinghy on and off the boat, this is a problem.


If I had it to do over again, I would buy a cheap (probably Korean) PVC dinghy and toss it when it failed.

[Mango51]

My father bought a zodiac pvc in 1982. Slated bottom
The floor came loose in 92 only at the transom. But my brother and I were ignorant about dropping fuel on pvc.
I Itook In partial trade for a j 24 in 2001 an old zodiac 8.5.
Still holding air. I use it once a month rinse it every time wait till it drys fold it store it.

[poiu]

Originally Posted by Mango51

My father bought a zodiac pvc in 1982. Slated bottom
The floor came loose in 92 only at the transom. But my brother and I were ignorant about dropping fuel on pvc.
I Itook In partial trade for a j 24 in 2001 an old zodiac 8.5.
Still holding air. I use it once a month rinse it every time wait till it drys fold it store it.

Gosh, that sets the record so far.

[marlinmike]

7 years with PVC and rarely in the sun, but if that works out better for you go for it!

[Emouchet]

Originally Posted by rwidman

I had a Zodiac PVC dinghy and the wooden transom rotted through in only three years. Zodiac would not fix it under warranty so that was a bunch of money wasted.

Same for me. A 2013 Zodiac Cadet 285 model ! When talking with the local dealer, he told me he no longer promote and sell any Zodiac Cadet made in China. This is one of the main weakness point of the Cadet series: then are taking water at the bottom of the transom that eventually will ended as a rotted piece of crap.

I then bough an used 1998 Zodiac Cadet, but made in France with an authenticate Zodiac certificate. Still going strong after 2 heavy duty season... How to scrap a brand reputation...

[iseadreamer]

West Marine roll-up mostly stored now going on 20 years and looks good. See Inflatableboats. com regarding interesting info on inflatable life PVC vs Hypalon. With the new PVCs you may want to save yourself a chunk of change

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Emouchet

Same for me. A 2013 Zodiac Cadet 285 model ! When talking with the local dealer, he told me he no longer promote and sell any Zodiac Cadet made in China. This is one of the main weakness point of the Cadet series: then are taking water at the bottom of the transom that eventually will ended as a rotted piece of crap.

I then bough an used 1998 Zodiac Cadet, but made in France with an authenticate Zodiac certificate. Still going strong after 2 heavy duty season... How to scrap a brand reputation...

I think mine was made in France but what sort of company would produce a boat with non-marine plywood for a transom? How much more would marine plywood have cost them? Or fiberglass?

Yep, I won't be buying any more Zodiac products and I won't be recommending them,

[Mike Banks]

I had a PVC one made in the Land of Smiles, for just such an occasion. When the occasion eventuated it was in a cyclone alert and I needed it to tie off my vessel in a cyclone hole against mangroves--where the crocodiles roam and sharks are often at play.

Anyway with a coil of rope aboard I sallied forth--only to notice air escaping from one of the seams. I tried to get back aboard my boat--but by the time I got to it, the whole damn thing has separated at the seams, all the air was gone and I was in the water tangled in rope. This was an unused dinghy, but I had kept it for about three years rolled up.

Fortunately I was rescued by a couple in a boat who happened to be tying off their powered vessel nearby.

The moral of the story? Stored dinghys deteriorate rapidly. The PVC was fine--the glue was USELESS after that amount of time. When I got it back aboard the seams easily pulled apart. I might as well have repaired it with double-sided sticky tape--that was about the quality of the glue after prolonged storage.

Instead--I threw it into the tip--$400. completely wasted and I could easily have drowned or been a croc dinner.

I now have a Polycraft dinghy--and I never leave it on board unless I am there or nearby.

So--if you must have a rolled and stored dinghy--make sure it has double WELDED seamsd. not glued ones.

[poiu]

Originally Posted by Mike Banks

I had a PVC one made in the Land of Smiles, for just such an occasion. When the occasion eventuated it was in a cyclone alert and I needed it to tie off my vessel in a cyclone hole against mangroves--where the crocodiles roam and sharks are often at play.

Anyway with a coil of rope aboard I sallied forth--only to notice air escaping from one of the seams. I tried to get back aboard my boat--but by the time I got to it, the whole damn thing has separated at the seams, all the air was gone and I was in the water tangled in rope. This was an unused dinghy, but I had kept it for about three years rolled up.

Fortunately I was rescued by a couple in a boat who happened to be tying off their powered vessel nearby.

The moral of the story? Stored dinghys deteriorate rapidly. The PVC was fine--the glue was USELESS after that amount of time. When I got it back aboard the seams easily pulled apart. I might as well have repaired it with double-sided sticky tape--that was about the quality of the glue after prolonged storage.

Instead--I threw it into the tip--$400. completely wasted and I could easily have drowned or been a croc dinner.

I now have a Polycraft dinghy--and I never leave it on board unless I am there or nearby.

So--if you must have a rolled and stored dinghy--make sure it has double WELDED seamsd. not glued ones.

What make was it that let you down so badly?

[a64pilot]

I thought most if not all PVC was welded, not glued?