HELP! Is this boat good, or not

[Winchester magnum]

I have my eye on this boat but my research leads me nowhere. I am trying to find out if this is a quality inflatable, or a dime store rubber duck raft.

http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/boa/1457038787.html

The seller says it's a Zodiac, but I am thinking it is not. Does anyone know? The seller also claims they paid $5000, which, if true, tells me it is quality made, but I'd like the opinions of someone who truely know anything about "Mariner" brand inflatables.

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: HELP! Is this boat good, or not

Junk PVC boat out of Korea. Not made by Zodiac and sells for about $1100.00. If it lasts five years in Florida I would be very surprised.

 

[Winchester magnum]

Re: HELP! Is this boat good, or not

Thanks

When I saw korea on the plate, it raised a red flag, hence the post.

The add says they paid $5000. LOL!!

I sure wish I could find a ranking of some kind, from top of the line inflatables down to the PVC junk. I need a boat for an Alaskan moose hunt and I want qaulity. I see Zodiacs sold from west marine, and wonder if they are worthy? I dont know.

 

[Whoopbass]

Re: HELP! Is this boat good, or not

You can get 10' Zodiacs here off iboats for less then a $1000 depending on the model.
$5,000 new lol. I see a bunch of inflatables on Craigslist that are used where the Seller is asking right at what they cost new but never that much.

The best inflatables are made of hypalon. Two brands that are made of hypalon are Avon and Achilles which are very well made boats. I have both and they are tough.
I hope your not planning on packing one of these boats around for long distances because they are heavy.

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: HELP! Is this boat good, or not

Zodiac's are fine if you take into account what they are when you buy one. Personally, I'm lukewarm on that brand, for a variety of reasons. I've sold a lot of them and I think there are better buys out there in a PVC fabric boat. But, Zodiac does have warranty stations out there and other than Mercury, virtually no other PVC manufacturer does. I prefer a more durable Hypalon fabric boat rather than a lighter PVC boat, but with improvements in both Zodiac and Mercury PVC, the service life on those boats has somewhat improved over the last ten years.

 

[likalar]

Re: HELP! Is this boat good, or not

I've had 3 Zodiacs over the years: a Classic, a Futuras and a 16' Pro RIB. I also had an Avon and still have a small Achilles RIB. All were great boats, and I never had any fabric related problems at all. In fact I sold the 14 year old Pro 16' RIB looking as good as the day I bought it. All were used extensively, and all were stored indoors. That's the key to any inflatable's lifespan: indoor storage and fabric care. A neglected inflatable left outdoors looks like hell in a short while.
There is often confusion about the materials used by different makers. Strongan (by Zodiac), Hypalon, etc....and some builders have a variety of materials for different models/pricepoints, which adds to the confusion. Denier (sort of a thread count measurement) is to be considered, too. Adding even more confusion is the fact that large box outlets on occasion seem to contract with major builders (like Zodiac) to provide a cheaper product line that carries the name brand. Here's a site that may help your search:
http://www.allinflatables.com/support/general.html#fabrics
Larry in SF

 

[Winchester magnum]

Re: HELP! Is this boat good, or not

Lets just say I want to go with one of these 3 -Zodiac, Avon, or Achillies in about a 12 ft model. Are there any cheap models (of these 3) to stay away from? For example I see Zodiac futuras, mark I, mk II, mkIII, and honestly dont know the diff, other than the colors obviously.

I would like to buy a brick sheethouse, if you will. I may go new or may go slighly used, but I need quality.


'bass, GURU, and larry - I appreciate the input, thanks gents!

 

[likalar]

Re: HELP! Is this boat good, or not

In the Zodiac line, the Futura MKll and Classic Mkll are a bit over 12'. The Futura Mklll is over 14'. The Cadet 34D is a bit over 11'. I assume the Cadet line is Zodiac's entry-level line, Classic is mid-level, and Futura is their premium line of smaller boats in your size range, though the Zodiac web site does a mediocre job of explaining things. I can't find anything on their site that makes anything very clear. For instance, you can "compare" several boats, but the only info that is compared is the dimensions, weight, hp rating. No detailed info about flooring material, keel design, fabric, etc....Also, the Zodiac web site makes no mention of the much cheaper Zoom series, sold by iBoats.
Yes, the iBoat web site offers Zodiacs, at decent prices it seems. in addition to the Zodiac Classics and Futuras, you can find info on the Zodiac Zoom boats. I can't say for sure, but I doubt if they are the brick sheethouse you are looking for. It seems the Zooms use a single layer of decitex fabric, and are priced very low. The Classic series has 2 layers of the decitex fabric. Zodiac's Futura Mk series cost a lot more, and use 2 layers of the tougher Strongan fabric. Quite a puzzle, huh? Good luck!
Larry

 

[riverandocean]

Re: HELP! Is this boat good, or not

My .02

The Zodiac Mark II is a name used by Zodiac on both PVC boats and Hypalon boats. It has more to do with the size than the material. A Mark II is approx 14 feet. The boats on the Zodiac website (classic, futura, cadets, zooms) are all PVC fabric. Zodiac welds the tube seams on most of their PVC boats. Welded PVC is better generally. The Zoom line is made in China now, and has hand glued tube seams in a PVC fabric.

Hand glued seams in PVC are something I would stay away from if you want durability. Most of the made in China cheap brands use this technique. The Mariner you are looking at is probably hand glued PVC.

I purchased a Zodiac Mark II Grand Raid this year. It is a Hypalon boat. All hand glued. Very tough.

I was going to buy an Achilles SG another very durable hypalon boat, but an incredible deal came my way on the Zodiac Grand Raid.

If you want to look at Zodiac's tough boats look at the zodiac military professional website. www.zodiacmilpro.com

Achilles list prices are much easier to swallow, and boats are excellent quality.

I have noticed some good prices on the defender website.

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: HELP! Is this boat good, or not

It seems the Zooms use a single layer of decitex fabric, and are priced very low. The Classic series has 2 layers of the decitex fabric. Zodiac's Futura Mk series cost a lot more, and use 2 layers of the tougher Strongan fabric. Quite a puzzle, huh? Good luck!
Larry

Great confussion, decitex or denier are the thickness measurement of the layers that forms the fabric, not a fabric itself, all pvc boats has 3 layers to form a sandwich like plain fabric. Zodic uses a fancy French name called Strongan, but it's a pvc fabric. The only "more quality" pvc differences betwen brands and models are their (decitex/denier) construction. Larger numbers the better, just pay more compared to standard on the shelf models.

Happy Boating

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: HELP! Is this boat good, or not

Answering some tech points:

To state that welded fabric to be better, is relative, will depend on the boat manufacturer, temperature controlled rooms and good quality glues used, definitely to well fabric is cheaper and a lot faster than hand gluing. As an example, welded boats once seams has ripped over time will need to be hand glued not welded again.

You cannot compare a pvc boat to a hypalon boat, it's like comparing a legendary beetle to a Hummer, both will take you to same place, one is for normal driving the other for extreme driving. Prices issues: a good pvc 14" boat costs 3 grand, same hypalon zodiac length as much as 9 grand. There is the erroneous idea that hyapalon is a undestroyable fabric compared to pvc, the only tech issue is better UV/radiation handling and abrassion, a sharp point, knife will go through it as cheese excatly same as pvc. In the market can find thin & thick pvc and hyapalon fabrics, so the "extra long" duration will depend entirely on the denier/decitex fabric numbers used by the manufacturer.

If you are a regular boater, don't leave your boat all year round on water or sun, keeps it shaded while not in use, don't need to buy a comando hypalon boat for recreational purposes, are big, heavy and extremely expensive, dealer will take both eyes along ears, pay with credit card, don't ask final price, surely will die on a heart attack.

Bottomline: what are your boat size and boating needs, how much cash you want to expend on your water toy. A nice market alternative if unsure about other unknown brand's quality : Quicksilver pvc or hypalon models, go for the fabric and cost that best suits you

Happy Boating

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: HELP! Is this boat good, or not

I have my eye on this boat but my research leads me nowhere. I am trying to find out if this is a quality inflatable, or a dime store rubber duck raft.

http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/boa/1457038787.html

The seller says it's a Zodiac, but I am thinking it is not. Does anyone know? The seller also claims they paid $5000, which, if true, tells me it is quality made, but I'd like the opinions of someone who truely know anything about "Mariner" brand inflatables.

Can't really tell by the add, as does not contain information on it's lenght and fabric material. Assuming it's not a Zodiac brand, just a 14" hypalon sib, definitely can cost as much as 5 grand brand new. Now a days most reputed manufactures are making their boats in China/Korea to lower costs with imported good quality fabrics, buy a boat that has local warranty for your peace of mind. Hypalon cost as much as 3 times more than pvc fabrics.

Happy Boating