inflatable dinghies

[Wayne Morris]

Does anyone have any feedback on the catamaran style inflatable dinghies.Are they good to be used as a sailboat tender. they are advertised as being more stable,faster and can carry more payload. Before I buy a dinghy I am interested in knowing if anyone has one or seen one in action.

 

[Carl]

Practical Sailor

Hi Wayne,Thought it was freezin' there and you'd be below decks not out in a dinghy.About 5 years ago Practical Sailor had a real good article on dinghies. That was before the new cats you mentioned.We find a standard inflatable with a plywood floor pretty stable. Sales lady steered us away from roll ups.We'll follow the other replies to learn about cat types and ask anyone we see in the Bahamas who is using one how they work out.

 

[Mark Mynsberge]

Dux

I bought a Dux inflatable for the same reason you mentioned. A nice wide stable platform seemed the perfect answer. The one I bought was a Sand Shark one of the racing models. It is very fast and I guess if that is all you want it for it would be graet. Unfortunetly they are not good as a tender. The inflatable is to wide for davits and it is not a good low speed tender. If you get more then two people on you will not get it up on plane and some of them will even submarine on you. Dux does have a yacht tender model that looks more friendly but I will recomend you stay away from the racing and performance line. If you have any specific questions feel free to e-mail, I am in the directory.

 

[HiHo Silver]

Inflatable Dinghy

Is any one familiar with the Tinker Tramp Dinghy? It supposedly is of the catamaran type