dinghy

31seahorse · Jun 23, 2014

RE: dinghy digest
Hello Jess,
First, there might not be a correct dinghy for all occasions. Your search may boil down to just picking one. However, here are a few thoughts regarding dinghy choices we have made.

1. We only use a dink infrequently, so we can make accomodations as needed.

2. Sailing dinghy - towed OK, but the time I forgot to block the daggerboard slot the dink filled with several inches of water before we realized that the high bow towing attitude was due to extra weight in the stern. We never did sail that dinghy, just rowed it. It was very unstable when we climbed into or out of it.

3. Soft bottomed inflatable - light to handle on shore to storage rack and also stowable onboard rolled up. We learned a few dance steps as we boarded that dink, moved about to our respective seating positions, mounted the OB on the soft transom's plastic bracket, and climbed out of the dink. Available for cheap if you buy used. We have never owned one with an inflatable floor, but we have been ones owned by friends. That type seems to be a pretty good choice.

4. Hard bottomed inflatable - HEAVY! We used a halyard to hoist the dink onto the foredeck. Both the soft bottomed and the hard bottomed dinks were heavy to tow behind the boat. We felt we lost a half knot or more while dragging it. We did experiment with tow line length. We settled on towing them close to the stern to avoid backing over the tow line. I believe we bought one of the last Hudson Bay dinks ever produced. It has regularly shed or partly shed pieces starting with the rubrail and progressing to the handles. The oarlocks are unusual and difficult to engage because the stem is permanently attached to the oar.

5. Canoe or kayak - sleek and easy to pull, but they can veer off to one side or the other like a fish attempting to throw the hook. Tricky to enter and leave the canoe/kayak. Biggest plus: the motors always started!

None was ideal.

Best wishes in your choice.

shemandr · Jun 23, 2014

1. Hard dingy resistant to puncture, rows better. Inflatable more stabile, can carry more for it's size.
2. We tow it.
3. Oars mandatory. Motor good. Self contained fuel tank, very good. You need emergency kit for signaling distress. Life jackets and/or seat cushions (USCG prefers life jackets). Bailer. All around rail bumper or equivalent. For a dingy forget sailable. Too much gear to carry.
4. Your boat your choice. Define your use and go from there. 80-90% of dingy's I see are inflatable. I've never found one that suits my taste. I have a pram and have used it for 15 years.

Bill Roosa · Jun 23, 2014

You need to define what you need it for.
Getting to and from shore with howmany people? Multiple trips OK? and how often would that happen. so number of people it needs to carry
emergency use to get a kudge anchor out in a hurry? Needs to go well to windward in a sea. Will you have time to get a motor on it?
Stability getting in and out. Can't beat inflatables here but flat bottomed hard shells do well with a little practice.
Longevity, hard shells have it hands down
Storage on the boat, davits have some issues with stern lights and short helmsman not being able to see over/under the dingy. Storage forward also has the same problem.
I have to transport two adults routinely and 5 on occasion, I make multiple trips in those cases. I don't want gas on board so I use oars all the time. You can't beat the spring maintenance on them over an small engine. They store well too. in an emergency I have found that being able to go reasonably long distances has significant advantages so a sailable dingy is handy and can be fun as an "at anchor" distraction.
Soo I went with an 8' hard shell sailing pram.

Sailm8 · Jun 23, 2014

Hyperlon type vs PVC is another decision. Sun destroys PVC and seams give out before hyperlon. I have had a soft bottom inflatable, an inflatable floor inflatable and finally a RIB inflatable. For stability getting on and off we love the hard bottom RIB.

If you are married or have a significant other make sure they have a say in the decision. My wife hated going from a dock to the soft bottom dink. Made her knee buckle if the drop was any distance. No problem with the RIB. She can stand on the tubes if she needs to. The blow up floor never seemed to stop leaking air.

We dinghy fairly long distances exploring, so a 5hp motor does the trick for us.

I made a big mistake when we bought our 10.5ft RIB. We use Weaver davits and if we heel over 15 degrees the dink drags in the water. Live and learn.

THECUSCUS · Jun 26, 2014

Not to be mean, but I wouldn't tow that behind a boat in a bathtub, much less out in the ocean. That thing won't track, will fill with water and will bury inself in the first wave as soon as you hit hull speed in the towing boat. Bad choice IMOP.

kito · Jun 26, 2014

Those boats were designed for fishing on calm waters. Looks like the center of gravity with 2 people aboard in rough water will make the trip fairly exciting to say the least. And like Thecuscus said, tracking will be a problem.....may end up going down like a fishing lure.

dinghy

trainmanjess

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31seahorse

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shemandr

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Bill Roosa

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Sailm8

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trainmanjess

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