Excel Inflatables

Great service from Excel at their busy workshop and showroom, very happy with my new Volante SD330 and Suzuki DF6AS outboard.I came as a serious buyer and was treated as such, Terry is straight talking and very easy to deal with, offering clear advice and was transparent on what he was offering.There happened to be a delivery when I arrived so I was asked if I could wait 20 minutes until the forklift work was done which was totally understandable from a safety point of view. It is a working yard and it’s clear that they are popular with plenty of work on the go.His colleagues are also very friendly and happily showed me around my new outboard while it was being commissioned and how to pack down the boat.I am very happy with the price we agreed and service I received, I hope Terry is too. Cannot recommend highly enough!

I was looking for my first SIB and after doing a large amount of research online I found Excel. I only heard good things about the quality of their inflatable boats and their excellent customer service. I had some quality issues with my first delivery but after taking some photos and passing them onto Terry the issue was dealt with very quickly and professionally and within a couple of days I had a brand new replacement delivered and the faulty one collected. The replacement was all good.All I needed then was a weather window to try out my new toy. The Excel Vanguard 395 was an absolute pleasure to use felt very stable and dealt with quite a swell and high winds very well. Myself and the family enjoyed the first trip out a great deal and can't wait to get out again. I would definitely recommend Excel and Terry to anyone looking to purchase an inflatable boat.

I used to fly aircraft but now being disabled, and unable to get a medical, I woke up one morning wanting a boat. My brother and I always wanted a boat as kids. I did not know about brands nor about the difference between a rib and sib. I came into boating very green". I sought advice from the Facebook groups and my uncle

Really well made boats, nicely designed and engineerd. They are quite bulky compared to inflatables I have owned before, which is reassuring, if not very convenient. The reason for the low score is the customer service. Its poor and disjointed. I had to chase and chase to sort both my orders out and everytime I spoke to someone else, I got different information. Plus my dealings with the owner regarding a swapped boat were highly unpleasant. I look forward to the indignant reply!

Very poor quality. Slow puncture in tube due to poor seam adhesion. Dinghy still in warranty but UK distributor failed to reply to emails and when I did finally manage to speak to the MD (Terry) he stated he had been too busy! So obviously happy to generate new business but not interested in resolving problems with existing clients. He finally agreed to refund me for a bottle of Rib Store Seal Skin repair compound which did the trick. 12 months later the same fault has arisen on the opposite tube! The same weakness has also arisen on Excel dinghies owned by 2 other friends. Sadly, it seems that you get what you pay for. Would not recommend Excel dinghies or customer service to anyone.Further to post above and reply from Excel Dinghies the following further feedback is offered:- It required 2 emails from me on 14 and 17 July 2021 and a phone call to Excel on 19 July (not from Excel to me as stated in their reply) to address my concerns. Excel we’re emailed again on 26 July and 3 August to discuss the issue further and to request additional information. A reply was finally received on 5 August 2021. In my eyes, an effective customer service response would be expected within 48 hours, even if it is just a simple ‘holding’ message- I was reluctant to return the dinghy to base as I was informed that despite the dinghy being under warranty, I would be responsible for packaging and posting costs to Excel and back to me post repair. Not a cheap option! I suggested using a local RIB repair company near me on the south coast. Excel would not consider this option and we’re not aware of a company that could provide such a service despite being in the inflatable dinghy market.- At no time was I advised to monitor the tube pressures during any of my correspondence and communication with Excel including when I visited Terry (MD) at the Southampton Boat Show in September 2021. There is also no mention of this in the Owners Manual. Furthermore, the dinghy is fitted with pressure release valves which should manage this issue. It seems that the pressure release valves are obsolete or faulty in this regard.- Excel quote the Recreational Craft Directive which I’m sure all / most inflatable dinghy users would find incredibly frustrating if you are expected to re-inflate up to 20% of tube pressure every 24 hours.

Before leaving positive feedback try calling this company for aftercare or ordering spare parts. They will not interested in you at all and you be left alone. Keep that in mind.

I recieved my order 2099 on Friday afternoon and after un wrapping the black plastic wrap it was apparent to me the box had been re taped as if it had been previously returned. Upon opening the box which was soaked through i began to take out the boat, flooring & accessories when i found that the pump has 2 cracks which made it un usable to inflate the boat. once the boat was inflated using my old pump i soon spotted lots of marks on the boat including glue around one of the valves. After taking a closer look 2 out of the 3 air valves on the main tubes leak air after being inflated to correct pressure. Overall i am very dissatisfied with my purchase and feel like there has definatley not been any quality control either at production or at Excel before shipping. Asked for a refund and they talked me in to swapping for another boat. After recieving the replacement i tested the boat and it did not preform properly using the recommended max 15hp motor. the boat feels unstable with the front end digging in causing loss of speed and lots of spray which i believe is a design issue which many people are suffering with after checking a forum. Asked yet again to be refunded after sending the boat back in origional packaging within the 14 days of purchase but dont seem to be getting anywhere.

I recently purchased a new Exel Virago 520 which I had ordered at the boat show in Southampton.The whole process was handled in a very efficient manner and Terry was very easy to deal with.I am delighted with my purchase, It is exactly what I ordered.The quality of the finish is excellent and the amount of room to move about in the RIB is great with no need to squeeze past the seating and consul.If you are considering buying a RIB of around 5.2 metres then look no further, substantially cheaper than the well known makes but every bit as good from a quality prospective.Boat will be launched this weekend and I will update with video footage ASAP.

The Excel Volante 290 is a cheap Chinese made copy, you can find multiple copies from other companies. This does not indicate the quality of there other products, but I wouldn’t buy from them. The Volante is also extremely unstable and moves all over the place when on plane. I defiantly wouldn’t put a 10hp engine on it as the transom is already separating from the tubes with only a 6HP Tohatsu.