Is hyphlon a Myth? Help me out here!

[SV THIRD DAY]

PVC or Hyphlon Dingy?

There I was, all set to make my purchase of a Walker Bay Genesis dingy made from Hyphlon and then I had a rather interesting phone call with Ken Fritz, West Coast Sales guy from Walker Bay (a great guy by the way).  He asked me why I was looking at Hyphlon over PVC and I gave him the standard caned answer of UV protection.  He told me that honestly in his view, he wouldn't pay the extra for Hyphlon and for the cost of a good cover would save the extra money.  Now...I have to throw this out for comments.  The price difference is about $500 ($1700 to $2200), which can buy quite a bit of sunbrella fabric to make my own cover and anything else out of sunrella I want.

SO what are your thoughts...save the $500 and cover the dingy and be happy or blow the $500 still cover the dingy and....well...I don't know what I would really have except less $ in my pocket.  Help me out here...any thoughts.  

It also should be noted that for the walker bay boats....you can buy new tubes for about ½ the cost of the boat....which is a big plus as compared to other RIBS.

[Doug Ritchie]

In my opinion, he's full of shit.

For what it's worth....

I had a PVC inflatable that literally got sticky, turned brown & black and disintegrated in the course of about 3 summers.

I've had my Achilles Hypalon for 3 years, it spends a solid 7-8 months per year on the water, is our main transportation back and forth from our mooring daily (we're liveaboards) and it is in just as good a shape as when I bought it. We don't cover it.  Ever. It spends so much time in the water, we use the inflatable anti-fouling bottom paint.

The only option I would consider over Hypalon, is a hard dinghy.

If you're looking for a light weight hard bottom inflatable, you might also want to consider the AquaPro.  The AquaPro uses aluminum for the hull material and wasn't much heavier than my Achilles. I have friends that just recently returned from a 6 year circumnavigation and used a AquaPro as their tender and it held up well & came back looking very good.

[Don Woodruff]

I have no experience with PVC but I have a 10 foot Seaworthy plywood bottom inflatable that I bought 15+ years ago for $800 that stays in the Maine water with no cover for 4-5 months a year. The hypalon has some abrasion showing on the high points of the seams but I expect another 5 or so years from this barge.

I also have an inflatable bottom hypalon that I bought 2 years ago as a back up that had been sliced up in five places. I paid $200 for it and after buying a good contact adhesive repair kit, it has stayed inflated and in the Maine sunshine. The point is that the hypalon is repairable at minimal expense.

I see a lot of dingies at the dock each year and aside from a beautiful wooden pull boat I would not go with anything but hypalon.

Don Woodruff

[SV THIRD DAY]

Ok....I give!

I just placed the order.

Rigid Hull Inflatable (RIB) 10' 2"
Genesis Light 310 FTLH Grey 2006
Length 10' 2", Hypalon, 105 Lbs Folding Transom
Manufacturer:  WALKER BAY INFLATABLES
Model #:  310FTLH-Hypalon
Sale Price:   $2131.00

[SV THIRD DAY]

Ok....I have to comment on this.  I just received a phone call from the owner of Defender.com to answer any questions and give me his opinion on hyplon vs PVC.  He was full of great information and a nice guy.  

In this day and age of internet sites only interested in giveing you a low price and zero customer service, it was great to get a phone call from the owner making sure I was happy with the product.

Kudos to Defender.com

[kevin barber]

Good call on getting the hypalon.  My 2 year old PVC zodiac is totally sticky and brown with dirt stuck to the stickyness.  My next dinghy will definately be hypalon.

I too was thinking i could save money using a cover, but then the reality of trying to use a cover when the dinghy was in the davits hit me.  Easier said than done.  Total pain in the rear.

Let us know how that boat does in your davits.  I remember looking at it, and thought it was a little wider than most RIB's.  How do you like it?

[merman365]

I have a well used walker bay 10 footer(I asked my bride for her hand and the rest of her) in that dingy.This year we are adding the Hypalon tubes that walker Bay sells. We believe adding the Hypalon tubes makes the most sense for use (we love our Walker Bay) the cost is high but it looks like the pay off is pretty good. WE upgrade and keep the best tender we have ever had.

[Sta-Sea-Dawn]

I just bought a used 1993 9'1" Avon Hypalon dingy.  All the tube (air pressure) seams are in good shape.  There is a samll spot on the bottom of the fiberglass hull where the hypalon tape is turning loose.  After reading all the postings here, I decided to buy the Clifton Hypalon Adhesive...Pt = 47.00 including shipping from NRSweb.com.  The rub rail is loose most of the way around the boat.  The transom seams are tight with no loosening .  Now...here is my question....The hypalon material is mildly rough and crazed.  Should I coat or paint the inflatable tubes themselves with a coating (flexane 80) to try and get some more ware out of this old dingy.  It appears to be in serviceable shape now...But?