Kayak as tender/dinghy?
- Thread starter Project_Mayhem
- Start date
We've only dumped our hard tandem once, in a stream under a strainer (not white water, but it seems to reinforce your point). We both instinctively reached out and grabbed a branch, and the current continued our roll for us. When we righted ourselves, we got to paddle after our sandals, water bottles, etc. as they floated downstream.
That was our first time out in the boat (my first time ever kayaking, IIRC). Presumably we learned a little since then.It was also our first date, and we've now celebrated 15 wedding anniversaries, so it seems to have have worked out OK.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,790
^^ Great story! My first roll in white water was pure inexperience; I didn't think about the impact of a cross current on a submerged rail.
I suspect the risk of capsizing a recreational kayak plummets to very near zero after the first year. I've paddled in conditions that were too rough to take my big cat out and never felt at any risk. I doubt a dingy would have been better, since it would have pounded more.
I find getting on-and-off to be a non-problem for an athletic person with balance, but a dingy is certainly easier for many. When I had both, I used the dingy for group trips but nearly always used the kayak when it was just me. It is simply easier. Now that I have the F-24, a kayak is the perfect tender (and easy to board from the wings).
http://theotherchesapeake.blogspot.com/
(I don't think Walker Bay makes this one anymore. I also use a hard sit-in kayak.)
I suspect the risk of capsizing a recreational kayak plummets to very near zero after the first year. I've paddled in conditions that were too rough to take my big cat out and never felt at any risk. I doubt a dingy would have been better, since it would have pounded more.
I find getting on-and-off to be a non-problem for an athletic person with balance, but a dingy is certainly easier for many. When I had both, I used the dingy for group trips but nearly always used the kayak when it was just me. It is simply easier. Now that I have the F-24, a kayak is the perfect tender (and easy to board from the wings).
http://theotherchesapeake.blogspot.com/
(I don't think Walker Bay makes this one anymore. I also use a hard sit-in kayak.)
Has anyone ever tried these cheap inflatables in the $250-500 range? Pros/cons? Expected lifespan?
You know how the guy who invented the little rubber doughnut dam got the idea? One day he was kayaking and said, "This paddle keeps dripping on me, dammit! Hey..."So that is what those little rubber doughnuts are?
I have the option of buying a fiberglass dinghy or a cheap inflatable. The dinghy will be stored on a rack so I may have to lift it up.
I've had both: Inflatables are easier to store, don't row worth a darn and are subject to barnacles (cuts)
Hard dinghys row better, suffer the hard shore better but are harder to stow.
Hard dinghys row better, suffer the hard shore better but are harder to stow.
We currently use a Walker Bay 8footer. I'm 5'8", 160lb. and 74years old. I use the spin. halyard to get it on deck but usually tow it. It comes home for the winter.
Our WB-8 tows well, and is pretty easy to get into a dinghy rack. Lift the bow, rest it on the rack frame, and lift the stern. You never have to lift the entire ~70 lbs. It's definitely a 2-person job to get it on a car roof rack, but doable there too. The little skeg wheel seems underbuilt, but ours is still working; real dinghy wheels would roll better, but then I'd have to store those too.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,790
I've had my Walker Bay 8 for about 15 years - can't remember exactly but around there. I am thoroughly impressed with the durability of this cheap boat. I figured I'd get 5 maybe 10 years out of it. I'm not terribly kind to it, I drag it onto the dock, roll it on the little wheel, drag it up rocky beaches, overload it and leave it out all year round. I store it on a dinghy rack when not used during the summer and all winter. It gets towed pretty much everywhere and generally behaves very well. I have a sit on top kayak which gets used for putzing around the anchorage and my daughter's sometimes use to get ashore but you get wet so not really a suitable replacement for the dinghy, just a nice addition. My youngest's Optimist was with us for this trip.
We have a Sevylor inflatable dinghy that cost us a little over $100. Its our second on, the first one succumbed to a shard of glass on the beach of Harbor Island, north of Drummond Island in the North Channel about 7 years ago.
It takes about 15 minutes to retrieve, inflate and deploy. I made a plywood floor for it to keep the bottom flat while moving into and around it. We use it to paddle ashore in anchorages. It does that job well for the Admiral and me. Of course, stowing it deflated is the big advantage!
We don't use it very often, because we are usually happy on the boat at anchor, but it's there when the urge to explore ashore, or visit friends strikes us. Also, Lake Erie has many marinas we enjoy, and Put-in-Bay has taxis for its mooring field.
It takes about 15 minutes to retrieve, inflate and deploy. I made a plywood floor for it to keep the bottom flat while moving into and around it. We use it to paddle ashore in anchorages. It does that job well for the Admiral and me. Of course, stowing it deflated is the big advantage!
We don't use it very often, because we are usually happy on the boat at anchor, but it's there when the urge to explore ashore, or visit friends strikes us. Also, Lake Erie has many marinas we enjoy, and Put-in-Bay has taxis for its mooring field.
