Dinghy desires

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Dan Anderson

Very Happy

My wife and I own a Sea Eagle 126 with 25HP Mercury. It is a little big for a dingy. I have used it on inland lakes for swimming and fishing and a 30 mile trip with my family around the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. We are very happy with it. I would buy these this boat again! Dan
 
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Jack Rhines

Dinghy

Hi all, Just getting ready to go Dinghy shopping. Have a Catalina 22, fin keel so plan on towing a Dingy thinking of a wood or plastic sailer, have a spare 3hp motor, other way to go is get a small blow up and store on board,what have other Catalina 22 owners done? Thank you, Jack
 
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Bob Brooks

The (right???) dinghy

Unless you have a 55 ft. power cruiser with one of those power cargo winches on the upper deck that will hold anything from an 8ft. Zodiac to a 24ft. cabin cruiser, your choice of dinghy is relatively limited...size, weight, storage space, etc. I have an 8ft. fiberglass tender called "the DINK", that came with my Hunter 33. I have considered buying an inflatable from time to time. But after considering towing characteristics, drag and everything else, I think I'll stay with what I have. I only wish that someone made an inflatable tube that could be attached just below the Gunnel Rails. This would offer the stability of an inflatable. Without the cost of a "rigid inflatable."
 
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Gary Bruner

Boston Whaler/for sale

I have a Boston Whaler Squall 9' sailing dink that is unsinkable, tows/tracks very well, and rows well. Carries 4, if not too big. The downside is that, on land, this sucker is HEAVY to handle. Once in the water, it's a dream, for a hard dink.....I would sell it, though, to try an RIB. Interested???? $800 molika@teleport.com
 
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Tom

Kayaks anyone?

The timing of this question is ideal, as my wife and I were discussing getting some shore transportation this weekend. I was considering a sit-on tandem kayak. Has anyone gone this route? I figured I'd get more than one use out of it: shore transport, entertainment for the kids, and exercise for me. I realize it takes up a lot more space than an inflatable, but I figured I'd tow it when I took it along. Can anyone relate experiences towing a kayak? As they are self bailing, light weight, and easy to maneuver, I thought it might make a good dingy-alternative. Anyone else's thoughts? Tom
 
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Miles

Kayaks

We have a two person inflatable kayak from West Marine. It's not especially seaworthy (ok, it's more of a pool toy...) but in a protected anchorage it does pretty well. It has the advantage of deflating to a very small size and stowing easily on our 340 where storage space is a big issue. We've also got a 10 ft. Achilles which we tow on longer trips. It's a big heavy dink that's great when you want to move lots of gear or people but it doesn't really fit on the boat either inflated or deflated. It also weighs over 100 pounds which is a lot to wrestle around with and it's a pain to get the plywood floor in. I also know people who have a pair of hard kayaks and just strap them on the side decks and they like them a lot. It's sort of like having a second car in the garage rather than just one. I'd say a kayak makes a nice tender for an overnight trip when you just want to get to shore once and don't want a big production. The inflatable ones are cheap too just don't expect the stability or carrying capacity of a dinghy.
 
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Rick Klein

Dinghy Envy

My Catalina 22 is too small to have a dinghy. I sometimes suffer from dinghy envy. These small boats look like a lot of fun. It would be neat to row ashore after a long day of sailing after putting in at a remote anchor site. Someone write and tell me what's that like. As I understand it dinghys are work horses that prove their worth everytime they are used. And some of them can be used as a day sailor to boot. Hats off to dinghy sailors.
 
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Andy Howard

To: Tom ie: Kayacks

We have two inflatable kayaks that we use quite often. The kayaks are fast, stable, and the kids love them. They get more use than our traditional 10ft dink with motor, and they fold up into a package that can fit under your arm. (They also make great fenders),but that's a whole different story. They are made by Sevylor and are called Sea Eagle Inflatable Canoes.
 
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tom andreano

I have had two dinks with my boat. The first was a Dyer 9 footer, which is a classic styled fiberglass "rower/sailor". We attached a 4 hp nissan for running around. I really enjoyed that dink. It was fun to row and sail. The shortcoming was that to get anywhere longer than 1/2 a mile or so...it was slow. We found that we needed a dink with more carrying capacity and speed when we were in the Bahamas. There are times when you are anchored several miles from a dive site or cocktail party, its nice to have the ability to carry all your gear and even an extra friend. We ended up with a hard-bottom inflatable (10 ft) with an 8 hp Yamaha. My wife and I can plane with our snorkle gear aboard. We don't plane with the 3rd person. Many folks are moving to 15 hp motors, since they are built on the same block as the 10hp's This looks like a good combo. When I replace my current dink I will be looking at the overall weight of the dink. The difference in weight is significant from a "stripped down" to the "deluxe" versions fromthe same manufacturer. I would also look at aluminum bottoms instead of fiberglass. Hopoe this helps.
 
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Geof Tillotson

Hard dinghy and an inflatable kayak

I needed a hard dinghy so I decided to build a "d4" for around the mooring field etc. I'm often surprised how many of these I see. They seem to be fairly good. They row ok. Mine does fine with the 40 pound trolling motor too. Positive flotation for about 350 pounds. Anyway, it's a secondary mode of transportation because our marina has a launch service. Anyway, I hated the idea of towing a dinghy because we have an outboard on our sailboat. So fo those days when we're going out to the islands to explore and have lunch we got a 2 person Sevylor inflatable kayak. It's turned out to be an awesome purchase. 1 - the kids can set it up in about 10 minutes with the foot pump. 2 - It's easy enough to paddle around 3 - Flip it over, tie it off to the stern of the boat and you have a nice stable swim platform. You wouldn't believe how many hours our young teens and their friends spend playing on that thing. 4 - It stows easily out of the way in the cockpit locker. 5 - It deflates and packs in about 5 minutes 6 - It will happily ride up on deck, just lashed down 7 - I bought it on sale for about $100. 8 - Weighs almost nothing, our 8 year old neighbors kids can get it on board over the lifelines. I bought a mesh duffle bag for it and it goes into the locker wet and so far, no problems. Previous experience tells me that if we are headed somewhere overnight and will need to get ashore in decent shape, neither of my current solutions will be the best. I just call ahead to make sure that there are launch services available. There are a lot of $10 launch trips in the cost of a new inflatable. I have salivated over a dink (had one when I was a kid) but I'm not willing to "need" it enough yet to but one. Also, I had access to a whaler squall when I was a kid too. Totally awesome little boat. If it weren't for the weight I'd seriously consider another one. BTW - I can't find a pic of the dinghy in the water, but here it is on the hard while I was doing maintenance on it last srping. Geof s/v Day-O
 

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Henry F Rogers

Eight foot ex-sailing dinghy.

I have an 8' ex-sailing dinghy, that is extremely sea worthy. My son and I have won a few Cow Harbor Dinghy Races with it over the past years. My son won his first race at age 8 and his last at age 13 being undeafed through the years in his class. It can be carried by one person but at my age I find a trolley is the way to go. I can row 4 people to my boat, if it's calm.
 
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Bill

Kayak Lover

I use a 2 person Keewe Two as a dink. Keep it on a rack , weighs only 70 lbs I can carry on my shoulder or with two people it carries easy to the water's edge. Seems to track OK , slices through the water with a minimum of paddle action. Downside is it is low in the water & a strech to reach the swim ladder on my Cat 25 vintage 1979.
 
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Don Alexander

Tender Builders Please Note:-

Every river and harbour in UK (and world?) has large numbers of moorings and all need access from a tender. I/we need an aluminium dinghy about 9' long and STABLE. A small foredeck to keep off spray and a locker beneath to stow plug spanner, lifejacket, sponge, oarlocks, spare warp etc. Parallel buoyancy tanks down each side so aft thwart can be slid along to cope with one occupant without excessive bow up trim. This also prevents occupants feet getting too far off centre so adding to stability. Centre thwart fixed for strength. Nice soft fendering all round. Must be light weight as I need to pull it up on my pontoon whilst out sailing. ie. less than 100 lbs. Rowability not so important as outboard always used, except when duff! Cost - not as important as other required features. This is a serious enquiry because my present fiberglass boat is 30 years old and almost dead. Needless to say it has all the virtues listed above. No need to lift it on board as we mostly carry inflatables also. Have been unable to locate a supplier anywhere in the world so there must be a tremendous business opportunity here. If you know of a maker please contact donalex@compuserve.com Regards,
 
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Garry

Sportyak (the other kind)

There is a small boat called a sportyak (not the one that is a kayak of some type, this is a dinghy style boar). It is made of a polyethylene shell filled with flotation foam. I don't think they are still imported into the US but can be found on european web sites. Big carrying capacity like an inflatable. Tough and unsinkable. If I recollect properly they have done the Grand Canyon trip. One of these days I'd like to try one. Anybody out there used one?
 
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Jeff Bole

Kayak over hard dinghy and inflatable

I'm in the enviable position of owning four dinghies. I live on my boat, less than 1/4 mile from the dock. My Zodiac is a theft risk, doesn't row well, and robs me of exercise. My hard dinghy is a good workhorse, but doesn't fit the deck and can't be towed for risk of swamping. My single sit on top kayak is a lot of fun, but is wet and doesn't carry much. My double sit on top does everything well. It carries friends, coolers, jerry jugs, fishing poles, and batteries with no problem. It is fun to paddle and explore my surroundings. It has virtually no interior to swamp and tows like a dream - I don't even know it's back there. Unless you've got a real long haul and need to motor, the sit on top double has me sold (but ask again when the first cold front hits with 50 knot winds and chop to boot). Happy rowing....
 
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Paul Hager

Use what ya got

I tried a used inflatable but too many patches and the floor just felt unstable. Now I have a 7 ft. hard dingy that fit on my old 22 ft but not much freeboard and no way would it float with a motor. Can't board it from the water either. Been looking for something a little bigger for my 77 Hunter 25, but am spending all my money trying to my 25 in the water. One of these days.
 
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Fred

Tinker dinghy

In my selection of a dinghy I needed one for non tender duty, that I did not have to dry dock for storage, and, had sailing capabilites. The dinghy that satisfied these requrirements is the Tinker Star Traveller. This dinghy is desinged primarily for sailing-- not an after thought option as on other inflatable dingys. When I'm not sailing it, it folds nicely and can be stored in my utility closet. Since our summer condo. is only fifty feet from the cove, I just carry it over my head to the water's edge and rig it up there. Fred
 
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Bob Bass

Hard Shell 18' Power Cat

We have been through a soft bottom inflatable, a hard bottom inflatable and now have an 18' power catamaran with a 70 HP 4-stroke. We have towed it behind our Hunter 450 for three years as far south as Georgetown, Bahamas. It is self bailing and tows nicely, but we watch our weather windows more closely. It has made our cruising life a real pleasure. We go fishing, diving and exploring in places we would not be able to get to otherwise. When in port, we can put it on its aluminium trailer for storage or we can take it inland to lakes and rivers for additional use. We could never go back to a rubber ducky again after experiencing the mobility and functionality of the cat. The Hunter has become our mobil condo that moves around to beautiful fishing and snorkeling locations that we access using the cat boat. Such boats are made in smaller models from about 12' up that take single outboards.
 
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Al Eckhart

Works for Me

I purchased a 7'Zodiac five years ago and have never regretted it. It is relatively light and tows very well behind Catalina 25T. It is stable enough to step on the tubes to get up into the boat and doesn't mar the top sides. I use a 30 lb thrust electric motor primarily from dock to mooring. It does have two drawbacks; although when deflated it its in the lazaret, it is not stowable on the boat inflated, and it does not track well under power since it only has a flexible keel with wood slats. The bottom line is it does everything I need it to do at a reasonable price.
 
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