Explorking

Ahoy, mateys! Ever been excited about a shiny new toy and then found out it had a couple of screws loose? That’s kind of what happened when we took our 2022 Highfield Classic 360 for a spin. This dinghy, which we dropped a cool $18,124.73 on, turned out to be a mixed bag of treasure and trials. Our Highfield, when not at sea, snoozes under a snazzy cover we snagged from Amazon. It’s the dinghy equivalent of a superhero cape, shielding it from sunburn and rain-soaked bad hair days.

All set to set sail for the Bahamas, we soon found our Highfield was more of mischievous pirate than a trusty first mate. First off, the steering assembly. It’s like someone played a prank on us. The steering cable had a weird love affair with the guide tube, rubbing against it non-stop. Not the kind of friction we were hoping for, especially not at sea! And then came the fuse holders. Apparently, they had a serious fear of salt, because they started rusting faster than you can say “Ahoy!” This led to a blackout, and not the fun kind – our lights and bilge pump just stopped working. Next, we noticed the steel plugs in the fuel filter assembly getting a rusty makeover, leaving telltale red stains. Hey, at least it matched the sunset!

When we pinged Highfield for some warranty love, we ended up playing an exasperating game of ping-pong between them and the dealer. The warranty turned out to be more like a ghost ship, almost impossible to find. Now don’t get us wrong, we’re still smitten with our dinghy. It’s just that we didn’t expect to play ‘spot the issue’ from day one. So, here’s a little dinghy wisdom for you – if you’re going for a Highfield, get someone to swap out all the non-marine bits. Actually, scratch that. Do it, no matter what brand you choose. Oh, and here’s a fun fact we discovered a tad late. The Yamaha 30 and Yamaha 40 are practically weight twins! Nobody clued us in, and we could have done with that nugget of knowledge before shopping. But hey, sales folks gotta sell, right?

Our Highfield Classic 360 journey has been, well, a rollercoaster. We’ve had our share of sunsets and salty breezes, but also a good deal of, well, rust. But, hey, isn’t that what makes a journey memorable? So, remember folks, do your homework before you hop on that dinghy. Because it’s not just about the destination, it’s about having a boatload of fun along the way!