Shopping for new Dink

[rfrye1]

My WM PVC dinghy has died an ugly death in San Diego after 6 years. Time to buy Hypalon. I was looking at Defender's website and looked at Mercury RIB's. Has anybody had experience with them? Probably made in China.
Thanks. Bob.

 

[Chief RA]

Made in China does not mean it is a bad dinghy. Mine is an Exxon from China and is still a nice boat in its 13th year. It is PVC and cost $800 online. Spending much extra money for Hypalon may dismay you. If they are not cared for Hypalon or PVC won't last long. As we have posted many times: cover your dinghy and it will last for many years.
Check past posts on this subject. Your money, Chief

 

[LeslieTroyer]

I bought my pvc rib out of Canada it is made in China. Good quality $1100 delivered to my door Great Pacific Boats
Get a good cover and it will last a long time.

Les

 

[Capt jgw]

My WM PVC dinghy has died an ugly death in San Diego after 6 years. Time to buy Hypalon. I was looking at Defender's website and looked at Mercury RIB's. Has anybody had experience with them? Probably made in China.
Thanks. Bob.

I had a Quicksilver which I think is the same as Mercury, made in Yugoslavia if I remember correctly. Had a lot of trouble with the plasticizer leaching out of the fabric and getting sticky. So bad it would leave residue on your pants. And that was in Michigan with a lot less sun exposure as further south. But I didn't cover it either.

 

[Gunni]

Consider application of 303 Aerospace Protectant on your new RIB, it provides an impressive UV protection to the tubes, and the fittings. Give the boat a good cleaning once a year followed by a 2-3 coats on all surfaces, then a few wipe touch-up coats during the summer. Suntan lotion for your gear.
https://www.goldeagle.com/product/303-marine-recreation-aerospace-protectant

 

[Cest La Vie]

we recently retired a 13 year old PVC Mercury RIB. Served us well until the last year when the internal seams began to finally deteriorate. We were so pleased with that model that we replaced it with a PVC Mercury Ocean Runner 350 (11' flat floor RIB). Based on information we received at the boat show this past October in Annapolis, it appears that almost every brand name dinghy is now made in China, with one exception which I understand is made somewhere in South America. While our dinghy is stored on a skid in the Texas sun throughout the year, we keep it covered with a Sumbrella cover. We certainly have no issues with the Mercury product and find it to be a great value.

We had initially ordered a new, built to order Trident 11' RIB that we saw at the Boat Show. Unfortumately, the original delivery suffered damage in transit. The Trident had several nice features at an extremely good price during the boat show, but the vendor ultimately offered to replace it with the new Mercury. We did not hesitate to accept the Mercury as an alternative.