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First off let me start out by saying I worked for Maravia for 6 years but feel fairly unbiased on most boats. I feel all manufacturers and materials and constructions have their strengths and weaknesses. Be it longevity, durability, costs, etc. There is a place in the market for everyone.
I do think PVC has been out there long enough to be a proven material. Seams are another issue. Early glued PVC boats had their problems and only time will tell with the new ones. I think the reason we haven't seen issues with glued seams in recent years is because not enough time has gone by with the new products, just about all manufacturers that glued PVC back in the day went to welding. Lets see what happens with the new product in say 10 years. Jury's out till then. As far as welding PVC, Maravia started welding in the mid 80's and they have had no seam issues since along with all the others who started thereinabouts or just after, so I would say that welded PVC seams are a proven at this point. 20+ years is a pretty good indicator. I'd love to be proven wrong on the glued seam issues. I think there is certanly a market and a place for less expensive rafts out there. Funny thing is it's quicker and easier to weld a seam than it is to glue so i don't get why seams are glued at all on PVC.
Oh and you can than Maravia for the valve cap fix, that was their idea. We had outfitters that were deflating and stacking boats on a daily basis and were pulling caps of all the time. The wire thing fixed it so it does work.
Since you're in Boise you can get that at either Boise Rigging or Idaho Industrial Hardware both down in Garden City.
Good luck with the boats.
EricS |
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I'm going to challenge a few points for ya... New 
BoaterTalk 
