Our old dingy is going out with the trash in the morning for several reasons, and we are looking to get a replacement by spring. Our old one was a Mercury 270, and had a few issues, floor boards rotted, transom rotted, air leaks, drain plug kept getting clogged, but it worked.
We are wondering what is out there that will fit on the foredeck, not be too expensive, and still work pretty well in the water. Is 310 size too big? We land on barnacle encrusted gravel, so abrasion resistance is important. I would rather pay a little more for a good quality one, than put up with problems. Summer is too short to do returns if it doesn't fit, or just has problems.
I think we are planning on either an inflatable floor, or inflatable floor with floor boards. Our Mercury was really hard to get the floor boards in and out for storage, so if we go with one with floor boards, they should be well designed for ease of assembly. The inflatable floor makes me nervous with punctures. Is that really an issue? We are not in a big hurry, so planing, while nice, isn't a requirement.
What is everyone using, and how is it working out?
D & D,
We begrudgingly sell inflatables, and I mean this without reservations. Why do I say this? Well let's see...
1) They are very heavy for their size.
2) They are not rowable. Let's face it, they row as well as an inner tube.
3) They do not steer well under power. True the inflatable floor simulates a keel to improve steering but even then they are not great.
4) Without floor boards it is at the very least difficult to move around in them.
5) Without floorboards it is impossible to get one on plane.
6) Even with floor boards they require an excessive amount to horsepower to reach plane.
7) If they are not made out of Hypalon below the Carolina's, the sun eats them quickly.
8) They do not drain well.
9) They are not cheap.
10) It is only a matter of time and you will get a hole in one.
11) They have little resale value.
12) They are really not stowable. Once you have assembled it once or twice, few people ever do that again.
13) They are difficult to keep a cover on them.
Manufactures realize most of the above and offer RIB's. RIB's satisfy most every issue on my list with the exception of weight, storage and price. Once you choose a RIB the price multiples by 3 and the weight for the most part doubles if you go the traditional fiberglass hull. Storage then is no longer as issue as long as it stays in the water.
So, are there any options out there? How about a rigid hull boat? Most people never deflate and stow an inflatable and can not even do so with a RIB, so a rigid boat is an excellent option. Most rigid boats row wonderfully. In rigid boats you actually sit on a seat! Some rigid boats are even available with a sail kit. Rigid boats take much more daily abuse than a inflatable would every survive. Rigid boats even look like real boats. One note worth craft is the Walker Bay. It is made of indestructible roto-molded polyurethane, has three seats and is available in two sizes. The 8ft model weighs 71 pounds and the 10 footer weighs 126 pounds. Both are available with an inflatable surrounding tube kit for additional stability and both are available with a sail kit. Best of all the 8 footer is around $800.
If you are looking at a RIB inflatable check out the Inmar Aluma-lite. It has an aluminum pan hull with a truly flat interior floor surface. The 10 footer only weighs 95 lbs which is I believe the lightest RIB out there.
Hope this helps...
Dale
D&D
I have both an Avon 310 with a 6 HP 2-stroke and a Zodiac Zoom 260 S with a 4 HP 2-stroke. The 310 is perfect size boat for running around with a four people but is a pain to assemble on the foredeck with staysail & boom and of course more difficult to store. The 260 can be assembled and inflated in 15 minutes on the foredeck and easily dropped in the water with the spinnaker halyard. The 260 is great for a party of 2 but after that it becomes, well a little close. It stores easily and is light enough that an old guy like me can handle the stowing, setup, launching, retrieval, and rigging without much effort. Both have wooden floors – neither rows worth a damn and the Avon 310 planes and tracks better than the Zodiac 260.
They are both very stable and easy to get in and out of. You will get wet in either one of them if there is any wind or chop on the water.
I bought both of the boats second hand as well as the outboards for a fraction (less than 1/6) of the cost of a new combo. The 260 needed two (2) patches (easy to do if you take your time) and the owner of the Avon gave me the 4 HP outboard because it did not run (easy carb cleaning/rebuild). Craigslist in our area will have 4-8 for sell on any given day.
My perfect set up would be a 310 RIB on davits with a 6-10 HP 2-stroke – but I what I have works for me.
I hope this helps.
Garner
I think one of the first things to consider is how are you going to use it ? Will it be used for weekends and vacations ? If so I think a light weight easy to handle dink would be the best choice. But if you plan to stay on your boat for weeks or months at a time I would go with the largest dink my boat can handle. The reason for this it's your car. You will be picking up guest , water,fuel,laundry sightseeing, spear fishing, going to the beach, sundowners at other boats and many more daily chores for the dink. Don't forget the dink will make a fair tugboat to get you in and out when you have mechanical problems. So what I have is a 10' AB RIB 15 hp 2 stroke Yamaha dink weight 167 lb. outboard about 100 lb. The dink is stored upside down on the foredeck outboard mounted to the Stearn rail. We launch the dink with a four part block and tackle and the outboard with the mizzen halyard. good luck with your choice Allen
Lots of great info in this thread. I can think of a few more requirements that have not been addressed that might factor into my decision on a dinghy.
1. Can it be recovered in deep water after being swamped?
2. Can I tow it without it plowing through the water or turning into a kite ?
3. In an emergency will it provide a reasonable chance of survivability if it becomes my life raft.
I am leaning toward the Walker Bay rigid dinghy with inflatable ring as a very seaworthy choice. I would want to add a Sunbrella cover to shed rainwater and sea spray.
I like the classic lines of the Walker Bays. That's important especially if I hang that antique Seagull on the back. If that doesn't work out I'm impressed with the Tohatsu outboards. Very quiet.
Pete
I like the walker bay classic lines and I am sure it would row better, but the capacity of even the 10 foot is pretty limiting. Only 450 lb and 3 skinny people. I am sure they were conservative about the rating, but I don't like overloading. I think the inflatable ring addition would help, but they are sort of small, they sit pretty high and for some reason, it doesn't add to the carrying capacity.
For us, being able to easily fold it and stow it is a significant advantage, we are a 3 hour trip through the mountains from the boat. Car toping does work, so that might work with a rib, but we were figuring for long distances, it would be deflated and stowed below, so not a life raft option, we would need a separate life raft and survival suits.
In researching things, we came across a couple of folding RIB's. If they worked well, that would seem to have the advantages of both a RIB an a roll up. Only down sides I can see are cost, weight and maybe durability. I don't know if folding stresses the rubber in the tubes and could lead to problems. Winboat seems nice on their website and I think west marine sells one, that may be made by Winboat. We also have a local company that designed and builds inflatables with a lot of extra reinforcement for sharp rocks etc. on the tubes and transom. http://www.alaskaseries.com. They put thick wide rubber ribs on the bottom of the tubes, keel and transom. (They call it grizzled claw, but I think the real grizzly could get through it. Bears up here do like to chew on rubber.).
Unfortunately, their boat is bigger when deflated and is heavier as a result for of the reinforcements. It's also either a 290 or 320 size. They are thicker welded PVC material and can be either inflatable floor or aluminum floor boards.
To Pete's point, I think the inflatables could be recovered swamped, and I think they would be easier to get into if you were in the water than a rigid dingy.
On towing, am afraid, most inflatable would probably turn into a kite. So that gives a point to the rigid dink.
As a life raft, don't know which would be better. If you got a hole in your inflatable, that would not be good without a pump and a patch kit. Looking at our deflated dink on the davits, it was obvious it would not be good to be in it with even one chamber deflated. However, I think with everything inflated, it might be better than a walker bay, more stable, but harder to row.
Every time I look at the Walker Bay, I think about how limited it is. The Portland punt is a better execution of the idea, but much more expensive. Ah to be richer ... (younger too).
We have an 8' Fatty Knees that I will be adding 8" sponsons to for additional flotation and to facilitate geeting back into the boat from snorkeling. The Fatty Knees is a great dinghy to row and sail and it carried a lot! WAY more load carrying than the Walker Bay. I actually sailed ours with four people aboard. :o although only from the boat to the beach in a very protected anchorage.
They are less than a good RIB new including the sail rig, but they do show up used now and then.
A Fatty Knees dink is a great boat, you have excellent taste. It perhaps would be more suitable companion for a Hinkley or a Little Harbor as opposed to a Pearson. A Fatty 8' starts over $3K and weighs 30% more than the $750 Walker Bay 8 that has a 10 year hull warranty by the way.
Dale
We have a 10' RIB that we carry non the davits. LOVE it, but think a 9' would be better with our beam.
The Portland Pudgy is a nice hard dink. We have friends that have one, but like Allan, we prefer to be able to plane and cruise when we want to. Opens up whole new vistas when you are cruising.
For a weekender/ vacationer, I would definitely get a hard dink. They just last longer.