Pontoon material
Hypalon or PVC Poton? Founder of Pro-Safe, Søren West, gives the answer here.
At Pro-Safe we are often asked:
"Why should I choose Hypalon for my professional RIB boat?"
Immediately, my first thought was to answer:
"Because 95% of all the world's professional RIB users do it." But I can see that answer is insufficient, and I have therefore set out to give a better answer here.
The Sun's Strongest Opponent
First, hypalon effectively blocks the sun's rays. Here at the workshop, we have seen many examples of 7-10 year old PU vessels where the sun has simply eaten the canvas, mind you the Danish sun, which can hardly be accused of being strong. It is therefore quite natural that RIB boats for professional use, which are often exposed to great heat/cold stress, are manufactured with hypalon and not PVC or PU, which already start to melt at 80 degrees.
Bonding and Repair
The actual process of mounting and gluing components is significantly more durable on hypalon, which also gives a better result for future repairs. There is simply no material that is better to work with for an inflatable boatman, especially PU is extremely difficult to get a good result out of for repairs. Some RIB manufacturers, preferably Chinese, use PU because it can be welded, this is an advantage if you do not have a controlled gluing production. Unfortunately, none of these manufacturers can avoid having to glue individual components to the pontoon and finally to the hull. Here, things often go wrong because things don't bond very well. It reduces the life of the boat and makes it extremely difficult to repair any damage. Studies show that PU has a strong and wear-resistant surface that withstands a lot of rubbing.
Nice to have / Need to have
Hypalon is a more expensive solution, and unfortunately we cannot change that. On the other hand, we can look at the needs of Danish RIB users, most of whom are not everyday users. As you know, the sun in Denmark is not the worst, and therefore many choose to "make do" with a PVC pontoon. If you have an eye for quality and production techniques, this solution can definitely be recommended - depending on the intended use and frequency. For example, 9 out of 10 BRIG boats sold in Denmark have a PVC pontoon. They are still hand-glued and of a good quality that can easily cope with normal maritime rigors. But for the Southern Rescue Service in Greenland and the soldiers on mission in Africa, there is only one solution, and it is called: Hypalon.
