I recently bought a '95 Catalina 42' MKII. I inherited a nice 10.5' RIB Zodiac dinghy with the sale. I am now stuck with a dilemma. Should I have the expensive davits and gear installed or sell the Zodiac and go to a dinghy capable of deflation and easier storage? What's your opinion? Does the RIB secured in the davit cruise well coastally? Will I have to remove it from the davit in heavy weather anyway? Any performance problems with 350 or so lbs. on the stern? Is the performance of the deflatable dinghy ok? What are the trade-offs?
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Dinghy information
Steve, There are many considerations here, but I would recommend a roll-floor Avon as your best bet. First the answers to your questions: The Rib secured to davits is safe in calm water for coastal cruising, but I would not be comfortable with a davit hung dinghy in rough water. There are those who disagree, YMMV, but I would want the dink on the deck and lashed down if things got interesting. 350 lbs is significant, even for a larger boat. My friends with the Kelly-Peterson found that their RIB was making a noticeable difference in the rolling they experienced when it was lashed on deck. This is on a 46 foot boat with much more displacement than the Catalina. (I'll crew for you any day and we'd dust them) Most rollable boats have a high pressure inflateable floor. This is good for stowage but compromises stability and adds the risk of puncture from gear dropped in it. The Avon rolling floor models offer the best of both worlds, at a greatly reduced weight, and will fit through the companionway if life ever gets really nasty. This was the solution the KP eventually used. YMMV Justin - O'day Owner's Web
Steve, There are many considerations here, but I would recommend a roll-floor Avon as your best bet. First the answers to your questions: The Rib secured to davits is safe in calm water for coastal cruising, but I would not be comfortable with a davit hung dinghy in rough water. There are those who disagree, YMMV, but I would want the dink on the deck and lashed down if things got interesting. 350 lbs is significant, even for a larger boat. My friends with the Kelly-Peterson found that their RIB was making a noticeable difference in the rolling they experienced when it was lashed on deck. This is on a 46 foot boat with much more displacement than the Catalina. (I'll crew for you any day and we'd dust them) Most rollable boats have a high pressure inflateable floor. This is good for stowage but compromises stability and adds the risk of puncture from gear dropped in it. The Avon rolling floor models offer the best of both worlds, at a greatly reduced weight, and will fit through the companionway if life ever gets really nasty. This was the solution the KP eventually used. YMMV Justin - O'day Owner's Web
Same situation here
I just moved up from a 36 to a 380 Catalina. My 380 came with a RIB also. I tried it out three times and have placed it "for sale"... It is too heavy for easy handeling. It does ride smoother than my Achilles inflatable bottom but for me the trade off is not worth it. I can plane the inflatable with my wife and I but can only plane the RIB alone. The RIB could easily be hung by davits and the weight problem would be solved, however I don't like the stern view compromised. My wife has been with me every time I have launched both dinghys and feels the same way. I too am in S.F. area and think that the weight consideration is important in our area.."for sale, one RIB" good luck, Gary
I just moved up from a 36 to a 380 Catalina. My 380 came with a RIB also. I tried it out three times and have placed it "for sale"... It is too heavy for easy handeling. It does ride smoother than my Achilles inflatable bottom but for me the trade off is not worth it. I can plane the inflatable with my wife and I but can only plane the RIB alone. The RIB could easily be hung by davits and the weight problem would be solved, however I don't like the stern view compromised. My wife has been with me every time I have launched both dinghys and feels the same way. I too am in S.F. area and think that the weight consideration is important in our area.."for sale, one RIB" good luck, Gary
My solution - wait til it rots.
I bought a 35 Hunter a couple years ago that came with an old but still functing Avon. was about 11' long and weighed 150 pounds. We had no place to store her and it was such a pain in the ass to handle (much less inflate deflate) that we ended up leaving her sitting in the water for a couple months. Well, by that time in Biscayne Bay it qualified for a natural reef. We ended up chucking it. What you should get depends on what you need. There is generally a trade off between performance and portability. RIBs perform the best but it would be hard to fit one in my lazarette. For me, portability was the key. I bought a slat-floored WM RU-260 for $825 and use it with a 3.5 Nissan and just love it. The dingy only weighs about 37 lbs and rolls up into a 1 x 2 x 4 bag. It's so easy to blow up and just pick it up and toss it in the water. Its not a speed champ (can barely plan when I'm alone) but that's the trade off. Sounds like an inflatable floor model is the best compromise, but add about another $1000 to the package to go that route. If your requirements are for ocassional use and you want something you can handle easily, the RU-260 is hard to beat in my mind.
I bought a 35 Hunter a couple years ago that came with an old but still functing Avon. was about 11' long and weighed 150 pounds. We had no place to store her and it was such a pain in the ass to handle (much less inflate deflate) that we ended up leaving her sitting in the water for a couple months. Well, by that time in Biscayne Bay it qualified for a natural reef. We ended up chucking it. What you should get depends on what you need. There is generally a trade off between performance and portability. RIBs perform the best but it would be hard to fit one in my lazarette. For me, portability was the key. I bought a slat-floored WM RU-260 for $825 and use it with a 3.5 Nissan and just love it. The dingy only weighs about 37 lbs and rolls up into a 1 x 2 x 4 bag. It's so easy to blow up and just pick it up and toss it in the water. Its not a speed champ (can barely plan when I'm alone) but that's the trade off. Sounds like an inflatable floor model is the best compromise, but add about another $1000 to the package to go that route. If your requirements are for ocassional use and you want something you can handle easily, the RU-260 is hard to beat in my mind.
Dinghy advice from an expert.
We own a inflatable shop on the west coast of florida. We sell and service Dinghies and life rafts. My advice to you is to buy a good set of davits such as ST. Croix rotating davits, after you buy the davits I would sell the Zodiac and buy a dinghy made of hypolon not pvc. I would stay with a rib its the only way to go. It tows better, rides better, planes faster and is alot dryer ride than your soft bottom dinghy. As far as wieght goes you could go with a lite model rib by Apex 10ft 89 pounds or Caribe lite 10ft 116 pounds, you put a 15hp 2 stoke motor that weighs 81 pounds or a 8hp which weighs around 56 pounds. A dinghy on davits is the best way to go, your dinghy is always ready for you to use it, where rollaway models you have to pull them out, unroll them and then sit there with a foot pump on deck if your at achor and inflate the boat. Rollaways are great if you dont have a place to store your dinghy. A good davit system and a ribed inflatable would be my advice.
We own a inflatable shop on the west coast of florida. We sell and service Dinghies and life rafts. My advice to you is to buy a good set of davits such as ST. Croix rotating davits, after you buy the davits I would sell the Zodiac and buy a dinghy made of hypolon not pvc. I would stay with a rib its the only way to go. It tows better, rides better, planes faster and is alot dryer ride than your soft bottom dinghy. As far as wieght goes you could go with a lite model rib by Apex 10ft 89 pounds or Caribe lite 10ft 116 pounds, you put a 15hp 2 stoke motor that weighs 81 pounds or a 8hp which weighs around 56 pounds. A dinghy on davits is the best way to go, your dinghy is always ready for you to use it, where rollaway models you have to pull them out, unroll them and then sit there with a foot pump on deck if your at achor and inflate the boat. Rollaways are great if you dont have a place to store your dinghy. A good davit system and a ribed inflatable would be my advice.
DINGHY PROS AND CONS
IF YOU USE THE DINGHY A LOT KEEP THE RIB, ITS CLOSEST TO A REAL BOAT. IF YOU FEAR THEFT AT NIGHT GET DAVITS AND HAUL IT UP [I DO THIS IN BAHAMAS EVERY NIGHT] IF YOU GET DAVITS BE SURE THEY ARE ENGINEERED FOR SIDE LOADS. THEY ALL WILL PICK UP ADEQUQTELY BUT WHEN THE BOAT MOVES AT SEA THE DINGHY WANTS TO ROCK AND THAT PUTS BIG STRAIN ON THE DAVITS. KEEP THE DRAIN PLUG OUT WHEN IN THE DAVITS. THINK ABOUT THE DRAIN IF THE STERN IS ON THE UPHILL SIDE AND ITS RAINING. TRY TO KEEP IT OFF THE FOREDECK IN OFFSHORE SAILING AS THIS GETS THE GREEN WATER AND NOTHING WILL RESIST THIS FOR LONG. WITH THE DINGHY ON DAVITS YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO OPEN THE STERN PULPIT GATE. P.S. I HAVE A RIB ON DAVITS ON 'ACADIA' [MK 1] AND FIND IT BETTER THAN THE ALTERNATIVES BUT YOU REALLY NEED TO FIGURE THOSE COMPROMISES. GOOD LUCK
IF YOU USE THE DINGHY A LOT KEEP THE RIB, ITS CLOSEST TO A REAL BOAT. IF YOU FEAR THEFT AT NIGHT GET DAVITS AND HAUL IT UP [I DO THIS IN BAHAMAS EVERY NIGHT] IF YOU GET DAVITS BE SURE THEY ARE ENGINEERED FOR SIDE LOADS. THEY ALL WILL PICK UP ADEQUQTELY BUT WHEN THE BOAT MOVES AT SEA THE DINGHY WANTS TO ROCK AND THAT PUTS BIG STRAIN ON THE DAVITS. KEEP THE DRAIN PLUG OUT WHEN IN THE DAVITS. THINK ABOUT THE DRAIN IF THE STERN IS ON THE UPHILL SIDE AND ITS RAINING. TRY TO KEEP IT OFF THE FOREDECK IN OFFSHORE SAILING AS THIS GETS THE GREEN WATER AND NOTHING WILL RESIST THIS FOR LONG. WITH THE DINGHY ON DAVITS YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO OPEN THE STERN PULPIT GATE. P.S. I HAVE A RIB ON DAVITS ON 'ACADIA' [MK 1] AND FIND IT BETTER THAN THE ALTERNATIVES BUT YOU REALLY NEED TO FIGURE THOSE COMPROMISES. GOOD LUCK
Avon 3.15 Rollup
We selected an Avon Rollup in '91 after talking to numerous people who have cruised all over. The material and overall construction was a major decision factor; many people said they'd owned various brands but finally went to the Avon Hypolon and that was the last inflatable they had to buy. So when the dealer said to go with Hypolon I'd recommend following that advice. The 3.15 has a book weight of 115 lbs with the roll-up floor. This is a lot when it is an awkward size. However, over the years I finally worked out some of the bugs for handling. I made a four line bridal which goes over each pontoon and one line for each pad-eye which were added for towing. I bought the largest Schaeffer boom-vang setup for lowering and hoisting the inflatable, attaching one end to the main halyard and the other to the bridal. It works really well to avoid dragging it over the aluminum toe rail. Because of the relatively small size of the boat the dingy is stowed deflated and folded on the coach roof in front of the dodger. This covers the main salon hatch but it can be lashed down to the handrails easily. The good part is I never have to worry about it's security or loosing it. For blue-water work I'd recommend putting in pad-eyes on the coach roof vice using the hand rails - they aren't designed for the load one might get with a wave. The outboard is a Johnson 8hp which was the lightest "American" made motor I could find at the time and it's still heavy and bulky. I use the vang to put the motor on too but if there are many waves this can still be difficult. The Avon will plane with the two of us and some stuff but it's not a really high-speed plane with no wake; there is some noticible wake. With one person though it's great. For frequent launching and sheltered cruising I would consider a "throwaway" non-Hypolon light-weight inflatable for ease of launching and retrieval. Something that could get holed and patched and I wouldn't feel bad about if it got ruined. The Hypolon is expensive and a scratch in the bottom is not something you'd want. If one could justify and support a RIB this would be very nice to have. With regard to davits, I'd not recommend a set that will use the pushpit for support - most of the lesser expensive boats have poorly anchored (1/4" bolts?) rails but a lot of people do it. I wouldn't go to sea with a setup that relyed on the factory pushpit construction. A 2.85 meter RIB with 8hp to 10hp would be a fun inflatable but I'd recommend test driving one first with your significant other and some stuff to see if it performs like you want. This setup would be expensive and I'd hate to always be concerned about theft. My dream setup would be like what Corruba has. This is something like a 70 footer in Pudget Sound. They have a tender that is about 14 or 15 feet long, it looks like an inflatable but is made of fiberglass, and has a small cuddy and windshield and a wheel. For power they use a 200 hp Mercury - two of them!! Yup - 400 hp!! It's name is "Rumrunner".
We selected an Avon Rollup in '91 after talking to numerous people who have cruised all over. The material and overall construction was a major decision factor; many people said they'd owned various brands but finally went to the Avon Hypolon and that was the last inflatable they had to buy. So when the dealer said to go with Hypolon I'd recommend following that advice. The 3.15 has a book weight of 115 lbs with the roll-up floor. This is a lot when it is an awkward size. However, over the years I finally worked out some of the bugs for handling. I made a four line bridal which goes over each pontoon and one line for each pad-eye which were added for towing. I bought the largest Schaeffer boom-vang setup for lowering and hoisting the inflatable, attaching one end to the main halyard and the other to the bridal. It works really well to avoid dragging it over the aluminum toe rail. Because of the relatively small size of the boat the dingy is stowed deflated and folded on the coach roof in front of the dodger. This covers the main salon hatch but it can be lashed down to the handrails easily. The good part is I never have to worry about it's security or loosing it. For blue-water work I'd recommend putting in pad-eyes on the coach roof vice using the hand rails - they aren't designed for the load one might get with a wave. The outboard is a Johnson 8hp which was the lightest "American" made motor I could find at the time and it's still heavy and bulky. I use the vang to put the motor on too but if there are many waves this can still be difficult. The Avon will plane with the two of us and some stuff but it's not a really high-speed plane with no wake; there is some noticible wake. With one person though it's great. For frequent launching and sheltered cruising I would consider a "throwaway" non-Hypolon light-weight inflatable for ease of launching and retrieval. Something that could get holed and patched and I wouldn't feel bad about if it got ruined. The Hypolon is expensive and a scratch in the bottom is not something you'd want. If one could justify and support a RIB this would be very nice to have. With regard to davits, I'd not recommend a set that will use the pushpit for support - most of the lesser expensive boats have poorly anchored (1/4" bolts?) rails but a lot of people do it. I wouldn't go to sea with a setup that relyed on the factory pushpit construction. A 2.85 meter RIB with 8hp to 10hp would be a fun inflatable but I'd recommend test driving one first with your significant other and some stuff to see if it performs like you want. This setup would be expensive and I'd hate to always be concerned about theft. My dream setup would be like what Corruba has. This is something like a 70 footer in Pudget Sound. They have a tender that is about 14 or 15 feet long, it looks like an inflatable but is made of fiberglass, and has a small cuddy and windshield and a wheel. For power they use a 200 hp Mercury - two of them!! Yup - 400 hp!! It's name is "Rumrunner".
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