Dinghy Warranty

pbyrne · May 05, 2023, 08:24:40 PM

Looking for a new dinghy and engine, and it's been a bit of a mine field getting current solid info on warranties.

Who's making dinghy's with a good trust worthy warranty? I'm sure there is plenty of experience here!

karista · May 06, 2023, 08:16:38 AM

Good luck in your search! Had a Zodiac Fastroller Dinghy, the entire transom separated from the tubes after 3 years while still under warranty which was not honered and useless. Then bought a Mercury Hypalon RIB with a 10 year fabric warranty, the fabric was white and after 2 years it developed gray patches on both tubes. The selling dealer turned this over to Mercury only to be told that discoloration is not warranted.
So, the warranties I had from Zodiac and Mercury were useless.

pbyrne · May 06, 2023, 12:19:24 PM

Quote from: karista on May 06, 2023, 08:16:38 AM
Good luck in your search! Had a Zodiac Fastroller Dinghy, the entire transom separated from the tubes after 3 years while still under warranty which was not honered and useless. Then bought a Mercury Hypalon RIB with a 10 year fabric warranty, the fabric was white and after 2 years it developed gray patches on both tubes. The selling dealer turned this over to Mercury only to be told that discoloration is not warranted.
So, the warranties I had from Zodiac and Mercury were useless.

Ouch. I've get a line on an Achilles roll up that's a few years old. They seem well built.

Ron Hill · May 06, 2023, 01:50:00 PM

pby : If you want to haul more than 2 or 3 people I wouldn't get a roll-up!!

My thought

Jim Hardesty · May 07, 2023, 03:45:29 AM

QuoteWho's making dinghy's with a good trust worthy warranty?

My two cents is that a good dealer is probably better than a good warranty. If the dinghy needs a repair but needs to be shipped somewhere to fix that's inconvenient and expensive.
Jim

pbyrne · May 07, 2023, 05:34:43 AM

Quote from: Jim Hardesty on May 07, 2023, 03:45:29 AM
QuoteWho's making dinghy's with a good trust worthy warranty?

My two cents is that a good dealer is probably better than a good warranty. If the dinghy needs a repair but needs to be shipped somewhere to fix that's inconvenient and expensive.
Jim

Yes, I agree. I've ruled out Achilles and AB because of that. I really only have Highfield nearby. They seem to have dominanted the area around me at least. The warranty, on PVC is 5 years tube and seams, if you register, 2 years otherwise. Not sure why you need to register, but might as well!

Analgesic · May 07, 2023, 11:49:03 PM

Another opinion: my 20 year old Achilles 10'6" air deck roll up is still working well, used May-Oct. in New England. We transported our family of 5 to dinghy docks and while crowded, never felt overloaded.

pbyrne · May 17, 2023, 09:09:01 PM

Ended up finding a Highfield 260UL with a mercury 6hp in very good condition in my backyard. Gave it a spin, and well, with 3 adults, it's not the fastest thing in the world...

waughoo · May 18, 2023, 07:28:33 AM

Quote from: pbyrne on May 17, 2023, 09:09:01 PM
Ended up finding a Highfield 260UL with a mercury 6hp in very good condition in my backyard.

Wow... that is some back yard you have there. I only find weeds in my back yard.

rmjohns · May 18, 2023, 09:17:14 AM

I have that same setup, the UL260 with the Mercury 6hp and yeah with just my wife and I it wants to plane but it just can't quite get there. I bought the 6hp for the weight carrying it around, my prior setup had a 9.9hp 2 stroke and it was heavy. The 6hp was still a little awkward to get off the dingy in the water so I also added a lift, though I went with the forespar nova lift. It makes lifting the outboard so easy I now wish I had gone with the 9hp motor. C'est la vie.

Rob

pbyrne · May 18, 2023, 01:27:55 PM

Quote from: rmjohns on May 18, 2023, 09:17:14 AM
I have that same setup, the UL260 with the Mercury 6hp and yeah with just my wife and I it wants to plane but it just can't quite get there. I bought the 6hp for the weight carrying it around, my prior setup had a 9.9hp 2 stroke and it was heavy. The 6hp was still a little awkward to get off the dingy in the water so I also added a lift, though I went with the forespar nova lift. It makes lifting the outboard so easy I now wish I had gone with the 9hp motor. C'est la vie.

Rob

Yeah, I've read somethings about changing the prop to something with a different pitch (sorry I don't know what it is), and adding hydrofoils. Not sure if you need both? There's a few YT's on this topic, I just haven't investigated.

My problem is that I have some beefy davits already, and I'm scratching my head how to add an engine hoist, or maybe just use the davits somehow? Do you have davits with the hoist?

pbyrne · May 18, 2023, 01:34:47 PM

Rob, one more question. Assuming you have davits, what's your setup for connecting the 3 hardpoints in the dinghy to the davits?

Ron Hill · May 18, 2023, 01:52:26 PM

pby & Rob : My 3 hard points were easy to make - I took the inside nuts off the towing eye in the bow and replaced it with a SS eye-nut. Did the same on the transom of my RIB with 2 more eye-nuts..

Between myself and wife we total just under 300 lbs. and I have a 5 hp 2 cycle (Nisson) that easily gets up on plane!! I assume that your 6hp (Mercury) is a heavy 4 cycle??

A few thoughts

pbyrne · May 18, 2023, 06:31:34 PM

Quote from: Ron Hill on May 18, 2023, 01:52:26 PM
pby & Rob : My 3 hard points were easy to make - I took the inside nuts off the towing eye in the bow and replaced it with a SS eye-nut. Did the same on the transom of my RIB with 2 more eye-nuts..

Between myself and wife we total just under 300 lbs. and I have a 5 hp 2 cycle (Nisson) that easily gets up on plane!! I assume that your 6hp (Mercury) is a 4 cycle??

A few thoughts

Ron, luckily I had welded tabs that I can use 3 inside, and 2 on the exterior of the transom up at the top. Do you connect directly to the eyes or do you have some kind of bridle that connects to the davit lines?

All up I figure 330lbs for wife and I, and 134lbs for dinghy and engine for a total of 464lbs. You'd think that would be okay, but...it feels like there's something is not quite right. With 3 adults, up to 80% throttle the speed increases, and from there to 100% no change in RPM or speed. Engine runs clean though, and starts on 1-2 pulls. But that's what people were saying to change the prop pitch... maybe stock it's to market top end for one person, and real world, you need a different pitch to let it rev out...

rmjohns · May 19, 2023, 02:30:44 AM

Ron, yes 4 stroke 6hp mercury, bought it new last year.

pby, again, your scenario matches mine exactly. Same weight on the dingy. It powers up nicely to about 80% and then it just can't get over the bow wave.

Let me know if you get a different prop. I'd be curious if that makes a difference.

Rob