New Dinghy Purchase

[yeehaa]

Very poor responce from AB Inflatables saying that the paint is not structural and promised me that there was no paint under the hypalon and I did not believe them as I could see clearly the a paint blister extending from 3 inches on the outside of the seal to under the Hypalon. Well now the Tubes are beginning to be unsecured to the hull as the paint under the seal is failing and I am more than unhappy

[yeehaa]

Originally Posted by Laidback

Yeehaa,
what is the response from AB inflatables? Have they offered to replace the dinghy? What do they mean by "paint is not structural" ? You say the Tubes are glued to the paint - is that correct? normally the tube is glued directly to the Aluminium!!

Hi laidback

Heres some photos as an example
- Cruisers & Sailing Photo Gallery

No have not offered to replace the dingy, The hypalon is glued to the paint that was painted on the aluminum, AB promised me that there was no paint under the hypalon and that it was indeed glued to bare aluminum. Well this was not the case in my inflatable. Also to say that paint is not covered by the guarantee does not make sense, At 2,400 usd its like buying a really small car and after a few weeks the paint falls off and the dealer says its only cosmetic and is not covered.
All the best Laidback and if I get a better reply from AB I will notify this page

[Sandero]

I had a paint problem with the Aquapro. My first boat had been stolen and replaced by insurance settlement. A year after use I observed the paint coming off in large area, one where the tube was glued to the hull and one just out side this "joint".

I sent photos to the dealer who sent the to Aquapro and they admitted they had had some quality control issues in preparing the aluminum to receive the epoxy paint. They admitted a manufacturing defect and sent me a new boat. I was frankly surprised at their customer support. So it was a mixed blessing. A good design, a company that had manufacturing problems, but a company who stood behind their product. This may be related to moving the manufacturing offshore. Don't know.

Let's see what the future brings.

[Vasco]

yeeha,

Boy that really looks terrible. The towing rings are all rusted, I have never seen anything like that. As for the paint, I was aware that it comes off the bottom after bashing around for a while but yours is unbelievable. Where did you buy the dink and was it in storage for a long time before you got it? $2400 is a good price for an aluminum bottom, my 10'06" AB lite RIB's cost that.

[CSY Man]

Everyone stands up so you don't really need a seat, just takes up room.

Hmm, not so sure about that.
I prefer to sit and I tell my pax/crew to remain seated during the voyage.

I have seen folks driving a dink standing up but never understood why...?

Look for reefs, navigate between shallows.? Look cool?

[Nonsuch30C208]

Originally Posted by CSY Man

Hmm, not so sure about that.
I prefer to sit and I tell my pax/crew to remain seated during the voyage.

I have seen folks driving a dink standing up but never understood why...?

Look for reefs, navigate between shallows.? Look cool?

Standing keeps your clothes drier. No one wants to use precious fresh water to rinse the salt out of their clothes. Many cruisers don't allow anything salty below.

[justwaiting]

Originally Posted by Nonsuch30C208

Standing keeps your clothes drier. No one wants to use precious fresh water to rinse the salt out of their clothes. Many cruisers don't allow anything salty below.

i prefer to stand with an extention on the steering so my weight is futher forward in the boat. This allow the boat to get on the plane with less power.

[deckofficer]

Dinghies that get on plane with little power are the new air entrapment cat hulled that are popping up all over.

[yeehaa]

Looks like a fun cat. An update on my problem with my AB Aluminum inflatable. After a lot of expense and paperwork which included shipping the scrap dingy back to columbia and not to the supplier ahhhhh and reshipping the new dingy back to guatemala and having to almost go to legal action to get a true answer from AB I got a replacement dingy-
Fact / would I ever recommend an AB dingy again- Not a chance.
Fact/ The customer relation service is unbelievable.
Fact No I would never by anything with an AB sticker on it. the sticker would probably fall off anyway
Lots of great dingys out there and I know some good AB ones too but my experience was the worse case of headache I have had in 90,000 miles sailing.
Figure that out.
Thanks AB

[justwaiting]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

Dinghies that get on plane with little power are the new air entrapment cat hulled that are popping up all over.

have you go a link , they look interesting
thanks

[deckofficer]

Originally Posted by justwaiting

have you go a link , they look interesting
thanks

They have RIB cats, but for my needs that is overkill and weigh a lot more. The only reason for a RIB in a conventional dink is a more efficient hull surface. Since the center hull doesn't even touch the water, the inflatable bottom works fine, plus you air the floor at about 4X PSI of the tubes.
There are more, but this one has one that is only 33kg, what I'm looking for....


Can't do this on a conventional dinghy


HOME - Takacat.com

Some are more into high performance, still good as a tender but most of us don't need a 60+ kt dinghy.

XTM xtreme tunnel hull cat inflatable

[goboatingnow]

I have an aqua pro rib I've had nothing but great usage from it no rust or paint problems. Sad to hear manufacturing has gone to china, looks like another Rocna to me.

For me the best rib i ever had, had a ABS moulded floor, indestructible, lightweight, brilliant.

Dave

[terrygandh]

We live aboard and cruise and are in year 10 of a Caribe RIB. Don't have any complaints and haven't had any major problems. We have had dingy chaps almost from day one. We think this helps protect the hypalon.

[deckofficer]

Originally Posted by terrygandh

We live aboard and cruise and are in year 10 of a Caribe RIB. Don't have any complaints and haven't had any major problems. We have had dingy chaps almost from day one. We think this helps protect the hypalon.

That kind of life explains why the Caribe is so popular among cruisers.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

That kind of life explains why the Caribe is so popular among cruisers.

Caribe rules, nothing comes close to it. I do like the idea of the AB with alu hull but it's more trouble than it's worth. The big thing is the tube diameter, especially on the bow. Second is the deep V. Third is the seating.

ciao!
Nick.