There is a 10ft 6in AB rib boat in our area with a 9.9 horsepower Honda engine for sale. They're asking $1500. Both of them were built in 2005 and have been recently inspected and are in very good condition. I'm hoping that dinghy will fit in my Catalina 34. Hoping the dinghy davits are stout enough. My wife and I plan to take at least one couple with us quite often when we sail. For the biggest boat I can fit on those davits are important to me. Thanks again for all of your input.
Dinghy size for a 34' boat
- Thread starter SeacoastRick
- Start date
The AB 10’ RIBs are good. But from 2005 the fabric is probably at the end of its useful life. After 10 years you can expect chalked leaking thin fabric. When you go to see it, bring a spray bottle of soapy water and ask the seller to pump it up firm, spray it all over and any leaks will be immediately obvious. Don’t buy it without that test.
BTW leaks at valves can be easily fixed, and leaks at seams and middle of the fabric require patching. If you see a single leak from obvious physical damage (a cut) that’s not too bad but if you see leaks here, there and everywhere RUN away from that deal. Eventually the fabric gets so thin (from chalking) it’s permeable.
That is great advice. Thank you. I will do everything you've mentioned. Boat right now is fully inflated with the engine on board. Picture shows it hanging on a dinghy davit. I will run it to the tests that you've mentioned. Hoping I can get it for a thousand bucks including the engine.
i'm a big fan of the breakdown hard dinghys by chesapeake light craft w/ optional sail rig. store on deck upside-down, not on davits. big payload. check out 'passagemaker dinghy,' chesapeake light crafts. it can be run by human oar power, w/o motor. tho there is a motor attachment pad provided . pure lin and larry pardey here and i'm too old to lift heavy gas or propane engines on and off a dinghy.