Advantages Disadvantages of tube material

[midlander]

hi, fairly new to this game, so i have read that there are different types of tube material, Hypalon / PU and PVC, could some one tell me what / which is the best and why ?

[jyasaki]

In general, they all perform adequately for normal usage.

PVC: Poly-vinyl chloride inner and outer with a fabric reinforcement in the middle; more inexpensive (didn't want to use the word "cheaper"), suitable for machine assembly (robotic welding.) Can be glued up by hand as well. Early problems with seams not staying together, plasticizers migrating out of the fabric.

Hypalon: An outer layer of hypalon, a fabric reinforcing layer, and an inner layer of neoprene. More costly than PVC per yard, how much varies with material weight. Has to be glued up by hand, as far as I know. Some problems with fading with long term direct sunlight, but generally holds up better than PVC for a given amount of exposure.

Polyurethane: construction similar to PVC; supposedly more abrasion resistant, but less puncture resistant (or so I've heard.) I believe it can be welded or glued. Don't really know that much about it. As far as I know there's one primary builder in the US using PU, and they're fairly high end (Wing Inflatables.)

As far as "best", it depends on what you need it to do, how you plan on caring for it, how much you can spend, and a bunch of other factors.

jky

[midlander]

as i said , new to this side of boating, and have been looking at several ribs, some were hypalon and looked in bad condition with material smiling at me through the rubber, a PVC one that looked a bit like a blow up toy from a beach side shop, now apologies and i might be wrong and i do not mean to put down anyone who has one, but it was a rimini, just did not look strong to me, and then a humber that has been retubed in PU, looked very smart but again a bit plastic, i intend to use the RIB for a couple of weeks non stop, and then perhaps once a month for a weekend, mainly around the south coast and weekends round wales, that is why i am asking questions as if i get a puncture, how easy is it to repair all the said materials ?