I found a deal on a west marine inflatable for 300$ it's a dinghy series it has a motor mount , ors, wood floor, pump, ect is that a good deal ? Thanks for your time
Inflatable
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How big is it, how old is it? what kind of shape is it in? I hope you found out more about it that you let us in on!
It may be a deal .But: Is it a deal for your boat ,How long, sounds old with wood floor lots of parts to store, and where is all the extra space on your boat? You might be better paying more . The new inflatable with air floor & built in motor mount is hard to beat!..Dale
It's 8 1/2 I do not know how old it is holds air and looks ok it will be used on lake texoma with a elec motor I have a 22 macgregor to use it on
It is probably a PVC model. I would not give you $100 for a PVC unit.
If you purchase a used unit (or new) only get hypalon.
You mentioned that it holds air (do you know for how long?)
If you purchase a used unit (or new) only get hypalon.
You mentioned that it holds air (do you know for how long?)
I don't know man, it would have to be in pretty good shape. Even if it's the roll-up like I'm thinking it might be, that sucker is heavy. I mean, I'm thinking about hoisting it up on a 22' boat and stowing it? Nah, you'd have to tow it.
You can build an 8' hard shell sailing, rowing, motoring dingy (with all the timings of sail dagger board, rudder.....) for $300.
Lasts a lot longer, rows great, sails great (the kids love it at anchor, and with just sails or oars they can't get into too much trouble). took about 3 weekends to build
Lasts a lot longer, rows great, sails great (the kids love it at anchor, and with just sails or oars they can't get into too much trouble). took about 3 weekends to build
With the Mac you are going to have to tow it everywhere, which can be ok depending on how you want to use the boat. We are trip type sailors with our Mac vs. day sailing and anchor in remote places and wanted the dinghy to go ashore. Unless you need to go ashore and you can beach the Mac do you need a dinghy?
We have always....
...towed the dinghy without problems except for the first trip where we just pulled her with a poly line. The dingy would run into the back of the Mac, the line would get around the outboard and rudder. It was a mess.
After that I turned the swim ladder into...
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-30.html
...a tow bar and no more problems as it kept the dinghy secure just behind the boat and it couldn't get into anything. It is also nice to use the ladder out like that to get into and out of the dinghy and you just pull out the one brace and the ladder goes down. With the tow bar we have towed hundreds of miles including Florida's west coast and across Florida Bay. We are conservative when we travel though and if worst came to worst I'd cut the dinghy loose, but we have never had a problem (also don't tow with the outboard on).
I would not want to tow a hard shell with our boat as it would be banging into the ....
..boat at night. I also feel much safer in the Zodiac...
...in waves vs. a hard shell, but you don't row it when the wind picks up and it is a pain to row without wind so consider that. Short distances I paddle with a kayak paddle sitting on the bow. Otherwise I use the outboard and would not get one unless I had an outboard.
On the PVC deal I wouldn't let that discourage you if it is in good shape and you aren't leaving it in the water all of the time. We paid $600 for a 4 year old Zodiac 9 footer, about half new price. It is still fine after 3-4 more years of use, but we only use it for our trips, so it has only been in the sun about 5 months during that period.
We made dinghy chaps...
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-main/canvas-14.html
..for it last year anticipating having it on the back of the Endeavour for longer trips and hoping to extend its life until we sell the boat. Since we use it on both boats we need to have a soft bottom so we can fold it up and haul it between FL and Utah. It does have a wood floor though and the keel also blows up which helps it track better in the water vs. a flat bottom.
A rib or hypalon would be great and if we were younger would probably get one, but this dinghy has worked great for us,
Sum
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]============================[/FONT]
Our Endeavour 37
Our MacGregor 26-S Pages
Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida
Mac-Venture Links
We have always....
...towed the dinghy without problems except for the first trip where we just pulled her with a poly line. The dingy would run into the back of the Mac, the line would get around the outboard and rudder. It was a mess.
After that I turned the swim ladder into...
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-30.html
...a tow bar and no more problems as it kept the dinghy secure just behind the boat and it couldn't get into anything. It is also nice to use the ladder out like that to get into and out of the dinghy and you just pull out the one brace and the ladder goes down. With the tow bar we have towed hundreds of miles including Florida's west coast and across Florida Bay. We are conservative when we travel though and if worst came to worst I'd cut the dinghy loose, but we have never had a problem (also don't tow with the outboard on).
I would not want to tow a hard shell with our boat as it would be banging into the ....
..boat at night. I also feel much safer in the Zodiac...
...in waves vs. a hard shell, but you don't row it when the wind picks up and it is a pain to row without wind so consider that. Short distances I paddle with a kayak paddle sitting on the bow. Otherwise I use the outboard and would not get one unless I had an outboard.
On the PVC deal I wouldn't let that discourage you if it is in good shape and you aren't leaving it in the water all of the time. We paid $600 for a 4 year old Zodiac 9 footer, about half new price. It is still fine after 3-4 more years of use, but we only use it for our trips, so it has only been in the sun about 5 months during that period.
We made dinghy chaps...
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-main/canvas-14.html
..for it last year anticipating having it on the back of the Endeavour for longer trips and hoping to extend its life until we sell the boat. Since we use it on both boats we need to have a soft bottom so we can fold it up and haul it between FL and Utah. It does have a wood floor though and the keel also blows up which helps it track better in the water vs. a flat bottom.
A rib or hypalon would be great and if we were younger would probably get one, but this dinghy has worked great for us,
Sum
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]============================[/FONT]
Our Endeavour 37
Our MacGregor 26-S Pages
Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida
Mac-Venture Links
If PVC, the seams maybe shot or the floor about to fall out. I learned those lessons the hard way. I was told by the repair guy that you should keep them inflated as much as possible. Mine had a slow leak so I deflated it and took it in for repair. When we blew it up all of the seams blew out. I now have hypalon.
This site has some good deals. This is the USA site
http://saturninflatableboats.com/
There is also a Canadian site, just change the .com to .ca
http://saturninflatableboats.com/
There is also a Canadian site, just change the .com to .ca
Mr. Roosa, I'm intrigued by your $300 sailing dink. Do you have a plan, or website info on this?
I need a little inside project on the yard here, and sorta perused the Puddle Duck idea, but is this something different?
(The homemade nuclear submarine project is not panning out)...
I need a little inside project on the yard here, and sorta perused the Puddle Duck idea, but is this something different?
(The homemade nuclear submarine project is not panning out)...
I'd be interested in that boat of Thecuscus's. It could be a Cat, gaff rig, or whatever.My thinking is, it would be cool to stick a mast in a "slot", and hoist a small dink sail to come and go to keel boat. I've got a most detestable stinky little put-put to go on one, but I'd MUCH rather pitch a rag. Show a little sailing class you know..
So is there a drawing on your boat Sir?
So is there a drawing on your boat Sir?
sand dollar
I built this boat for a little over a grand. Great rowing and sailing boat. Plans are from www.archdavis.com
Boat is called a sand dollar. It has three sail options. I used the lug sail and made all spars and the sail myself. It was easy.
I built this boat for a little over a grand. Great rowing and sailing boat. Plans are from www.archdavis.com
Boat is called a sand dollar. It has three sail options. I used the lug sail and made all spars and the sail myself. It was easy.
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We now use a two man kayak, stores nicely on the deck. have used a hard dink, then thought an inflatable was the way to go. Gas, oars, lifting and lugging, a slow row. The kayak is not so good if you need to leave the boat in rough weather but far nicer the rest of the time. (light weight plastic,Costco purchased)..I'm 52, vertically challenged for my weight and have yet to wind up in the drink boarding or un boarding. Just a thought.
Chris, this dingy was designed by a friend, so not sure if he's ready to give out the plans yet. It's not designed for a sail rig ( although he has made a similar boat with a gaff sail rig). It was designed to be a rowing dink for our 22 and 25 foot Macgregors. It's designed to be light weight, very stable for entry/exit, high freeboard to keep the inside dry in small waves/chop. Here's a more recent pic of my progress.
I bought a Mercury pvc inflatable last summer for 200. Owner swore it held air, and I did not have time to let it sit for hours to check. Turns out on closer inspection he had used a lot of Goop, and it leaked. I ended up buying 3 new valves and pvc repair materials. It is a lot better now, but still lraks slowly. It is usable as a tender to get to my boat moored on a lake.
I would not buy this unless you can ensure it holds air for a few days, meaning, owner cannot reinflate when you are not there. If so, and all the fittings, floor, transom are in good shape, maybe go for it. iboats.com has some deals on a Red Star inflatable for around 400- I have no idea if they are any good, but I'd consider paying an extra 100, unless the West boat is pretty new.
I would not buy this unless you can ensure it holds air for a few days, meaning, owner cannot reinflate when you are not there. If so, and all the fittings, floor, transom are in good shape, maybe go for it. iboats.com has some deals on a Red Star inflatable for around 400- I have no idea if they are any good, but I'd consider paying an extra 100, unless the West boat is pretty new.
Good looking boats THECUSCUS and Dave!
This is a couple of good links for small boat building plans http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans.htm and http://www.clcboats.com/shop/wooden-sailboat-kits/
Some of the plans on Duck Works are free IIRC. I dream about someday having the room in my garage to build a dink.
This is a couple of good links for small boat building plans http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans.htm and http://www.clcboats.com/shop/wooden-sailboat-kits/
Some of the plans on Duck Works are free IIRC. I dream about someday having the room in my garage to build a dink.
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