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General Activities => Main Message Board => Topic started by: pbyrne on May 05, 2023, 08:24:40 PM

Title: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: pbyrne on 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!
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: 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.
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: pbyrne on 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.
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: Ron Hill on 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
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: 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
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: pbyrne on 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!
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: Analgesic on 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. 
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: 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.  Gave it a spin, and well, with 3 adults, it's not the fastest thing in the world...
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: waughoo on 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.
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: 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
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: pbyrne on 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?
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: pbyrne on 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?
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: 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 heavy 4 cycle??

A few thoughts 
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: pbyrne on 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...
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: rmjohns on 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
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: scgunner on May 20, 2023, 10:34:13 AM
rmjohns, pbyrne,

If you're getting no RPM increase after 80% throttle I'd say you've either already hit the stop or the control is not opening throttle to the max. Changing the prop may get you some more RPMs at the top end but it will most likely cost you some bottom end torque. It's the torque or low end grunt that gets you moving and up on a plane not the prop or the HP.

I'd say the reason Ron can more easily get on a plane is his 2-stroke weighs significantly less than your 4-stroke and that weight is concentrated on the very back of the dinghy. Imagine trying to get on a plane while sitting on your motor, then trying it while you are hanging over the bow, which way would the dinghy more easily achieve a plane.

Unfortunately the only way to increase torque is with a bigger (aka heavier) motor. One other option would be to lighten the overall dinghy package which will have the same effect as a torque increase.
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: Ron Hill on May 21, 2023, 12:13:26 PM
Guys : Beside crew weight and 2 vrs. 4 cycle (weight again) a VERY big difference is having a 8' RIB (short - weigh once more/less surface friction).  The bottom is hard and I put a coat of wax so it's as "slippery" as it can get (reduced drag/friction)!!

A few thoughts

Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: scgunner on May 21, 2023, 04:21:45 PM
Ron,

FYI, I used to work with a guy who was a nationally ranked Hobie Cat racer when I asked him about bottom prep he said the last thing you want to do is wax the bottom, it creates a suction that causes drag and actually slows the boat down. He said if you want to go fast wet sand the bottom with 400 wet/dry that's what makes the bottom slippery. However for a working dinghy a protective coat of wax is probably a good idea.
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: Noah on May 21, 2023, 04:50:15 PM
Then on the flip-side... is my 2001 hypalon Avon Rover roll-up with aluminum slat floor and 2 hp. air cooled Honda 4 stroke—which serves me well. Taking a chapter from the "tortoise and the Hare"  8)
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: scgunner on May 22, 2023, 08:04:47 AM
Noah,

My original setup was a Cribe 10' RIB with a 15hp Merc 2-stroke which I used as a dive platform. This arrangement would transport two divers, two sets of dive gear and two extra tanks at around 17 to 18 knots which was great for getting quickly to and from distant dive spots.

The problem was while it also works great for to and from the dinghy dock and dinghy cruises the setup when not diving is a real mother, that Merc weighs 70lbs and it's big which also makes storage a challenge. So I did what you did I got a Honda 2.3hp 4-stoke. It's great, it's lightweight, stores easily in the port side cockpit locker, doesn't need pre-mix and easily gets us to the dock.
Title: Re: Dinghy Warranty
Post by: pbyrne on May 30, 2023, 08:55:52 PM
Quote from: scgunner on May 22, 2023, 08:04:47 AM
Noah,

My original setup was a Cribe 10' RIB with a 15hp Merc 2-stroke which I used as a dive platform. This arrangement would transport two divers, two sets of dive gear and two extra tanks at around 17 to 18 knots which was great for getting quickly to and from distant dive spots.

The problem was while it also works great for to and from the dinghy dock and dinghy cruises the setup when not diving is a real mother, that Merc weighs 70lbs and it's big which also makes storage a challenge. So I did what you did I got a Honda 2.3hp 4-stoke. It's great, it's lightweight, stores easily in the port side cockpit locker, doesn't need pre-mix and easily gets us to the dock.

Yeah, the 6hp is plenty big enough to manhandle.  I can't imagine what a 15hp would feel like!  If electrice wasn't so mind boggling expensive I would have gone with that.