Looking for Dinghy Advice?

[Bowedtoothdoc]

I am looking to purchase a Dinghy for the upcoming sailing season. I have found a used Yamaha 8hp two stroke engine for sale at my marina and I think it is a good deal at around $500. Since I am currently on a freshwater lake I do not think I need to pay the premium for Hylpalon tender. Also I have two boys that will eventually be using the dink so I don't want it to be too fast. I passed last year on a nice Caribe with a Yamaha 15hp because I thought it was too fast/dangerous for my boys to use. My only local purchase option is West Marine, but I guess I could order online if the deal was good enough and I was really sure about the model that I wanted. Currently I am looking at the slat floor roll up, the air floor, and the compact rib from WM. Also Defender seems to have good prices on Zodiac inflatables. I want to be able to keep the dink in the water at my dock for the summer and bring it home for the winter months. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Paul Mermelstein]

My understanding is that the advantage of Hypalon is better resistance to UV from the sun, compared to PVC. Salt or fresh water should not be the major factor.

Depending upon the condition of the Yamaha, it could be a good deal for $500 ... or not.

Depending upon your boys' ages and level of responsibility, 8 hp is plenty powerful and will get the dink up on plane. If you want to be more conservative with them, you could consider even a lower power such as a 5 hp.

Just my opinion. You're the dad.

 

[jibes138]

The 8HP might be a lot of motor if you are worried about excess speed. My 4HP would plane an achilles 10'2" with one passenger and would move the boat fine with a few people or more and a bunch of stuff in it.

 

[woodster]

you may want to look at the Pippen like Roger Long uses ........

regards

woody

 

[Sailm8]

Hypalon more up front $$ but long lasting. I am partial to a hard fiberglass bottom for both stability and durability. Just my opinion. Check out Busters Marine on line for good deals. They will dicker on price and shipping costs.

 

[Deadline]

Good choice

You've got the right idea on HP and the dinghy in general. I wish I had given it that much consideration when my children were that age, instead of worrying about tipping or other anxieties. Good for you.

 

[seadaddler]

8HP

I can tell you tthe 8HP does make my 9'6'' with aluminum floor go pretty fast and I did have a 4HP for it and so I felt it was too under powered and liked the 8HP instead,so slower would be the 4HP for your kids.
Nick

 

[navigator97]

We have an Achilles 9'6" Hypalon dinghy with a Honda 2 Hp 4 Cycle engine. It won't get up on plane with the 2 Hp engine, but it moves along fast enough to get us to and from the Mooring. It weighs 28 Lbs plus fuel weight. I certainly wouldn't put more than 4 Hp on it - it is not needed and adds a lot more weight to the engine. Walk away from the 8 Hp. The dinghy Mfgrs. will have a stated Max, Hp rating to be used.

 

[Bowedtoothdoc]

Thanks for the replies everyone...I think the 8hp may be too good a deal to pass up, but I need to check it out. I came across the Zodiac Zoom 310S on Defender for 749$ plus shipping. It's rated for up to a 15hp, manufacturer recommends a 10hp. The 8hp may be a good match for the boat. My boys are 12 & soon to be 16.

 

[Ron20324]

You might want to make sure that 2-STROKES ARE ALLOWED ON THE LAKE. SOME PLACES HAVE BAND THEM FOR EMMISIONS INTO THE WATER. I HAVE A HONDA 5 ON MY 8-FOOTER, AND IT MIGHT BE JUST RIGHT FOR YOUR NEEDS.

 

[Bowedtoothdoc]

Ron,
Thanks for the input..Two Strokes are allowed on my lake. I went ahead and ordered the Zodiac from Defender. When I called them they basically discounted the price enough for me to get free shipping. I have a dock neighbor that has the same boat, so I am familiar with it and I know what to expect. It is somewhat of a pain to assemble, but I only plan on doing that once or twice yearly. Also If the Yamaha is in good shape I will get it, if too much power I can always sell it and get something smaller.

 

[RichH]

Thats a good deal on the Zodiac Zoom 310S. I have a prior model of essentially the same dinghy thats lasted almost 10 years and with no signs of imminent failure ... and with NO seam separation as was common with glued-together PVC inflatables in the past. Zodiac heat welds the seams on its PVC boats. My dink is in full sun 365 days per year.

If you really want maximum life-extension for a PVC boat and to prevent 'staining' of the PVC, consider making or having made a set of "Dinghy Chaps". Can be made with a heavy 'dress makers' sewing machine. Example: http://www.sailrite.com/Dinghy-Chaps-Instructions

That 8HP will easily allow a 10 ft. dinghy to plane with 2 full sized adults on board. For small kids operating ... you can have a 'clever' OB mechanic put a 'limiter' on how much the carburetor throttle can be opened to control maximum rpm.

 

[dscribner]

I use a poor man's kicker on my dinghy. A 30lb thrust trolling motor and a large battery. It pushes my 8'-6 fiberglass dinghy quite nicely and lasts for about 3 hours full out. Granted, I can't pull over an buy a gallon of 12 volt from the marina. We took it on a week long cruise last year and had no problems running around the marinas or to shore. There was that thunder storm that woke me and convinced me to pull the battery into the cockpit at 1:00 AM. 8:00 came and along with it, the morning calm, osprey's fisherman and the like. Oh, and my dinghy about 3" from going to the bottom of Port Clyde. THEN, I jumped in to bail. I'll stop there.

 

[Bowedtoothdoc]

Thats a good deal on the Zodiac Zoom 310S. I have a prior model of essentially the same dinghy thats lasted almost 10 years and with no signs of imminent failure ... and with NO seam separation as was common with glued-together PVC inflatables in the past. Zodiac heat welds the seams on its PVC boats. My dink is in full sun 365 days per year.

If you really want maximum life-extension for a PVC boat and to prevent 'staining' of the PVC, consider making or having made a set of "Dinghy Chaps". Can be made with a heavy 'dress makers' sewing machine. Example: http://www.sailrite.com/Dinghy-Chaps-Instructions

That 8HP will easily allow a 10 ft. dinghy to plane with 2 full sized adults on board. For small kids operating ... you can have a 'clever' OB mechanic put a 'limiter' on how much the carburetor throttle can be opened to control maximum rpm.

Rich,
Thanks for your input on the boat...Also I like your idea about some sort of throttle governor.

 

[Merlin Clark]

Thats a good deal on the Zodiac Zoom 310S. I have a prior model of essentially the same dinghy thats lasted almost 10 years and with no signs of imminent failure ... and with NO seam separation as was common with glued-together PVC inflatables in the past. Zodiac heat welds the seams on its PVC boats. My dink is in full sun 365 days per year.

If you really want maximum life-extension for a PVC boat and to prevent 'staining' of the PVC, consider making or having made a set of "Dinghy Chaps". Can be made with a heavy 'dress makers' sewing machine. Example: http://www.sailrite.com/Dinghy-Chaps-Instructions

That 8HP will easily allow a 10 ft. dinghy to plane with 2 full sized adults on board. For small kids operating ... you can have a 'clever' OB mechanic put a 'limiter' on how much the carburetor throttle can be opened to control maximum rpm.

Good idea- I took a look at my tohatsu and could limit the WOT with a couple of wraps with a nylon tie. That way the OP could "let it out" when the boys are bigger or if more speed was needed.

 

[RichH]

Rich,
Thanks for your input on the boat...Also I like your idea about some sort of throttle governor.

You can also put an orfice plate between the carb and the engine proper. The OB manufacturers do this all the time ... no diff between a 4 a 5 or 6 HP, except for that orfice plate.

 

[wetass]

Thanks for the replies everyone...I think the 8hp may be too good a deal to pass up, but I need to check it out. I came across the Zodiac Zoom 310S on Defender for 749$ plus shipping. It's rated for up to a 15hp, manufacturer recommends a 10hp. The 8hp may be a good match for the boat. My boys are 12 & soon to be 16.

You wont be sorry with the 8hp. With boys 12 and 16, you'll want it. The only drawback is the weight compared to a 2hp, but those 2-stroke 8hp Yamahas are relatively light compared to new 4-stroke engines. Its a lot of HP for the weight and very reliable motors.

I have a similiar setup - 10' zodiac air-floor with an 8hp Yamaha 2-stroke. While I dont remember trying it this last summer, I know the previous summer I was able to get it on a plane with me, my wife, and 3 kids (The twins would have been 6 and my oldest 8). I do remember getting it on a plane this summer with 3 adults and then on other occasions with me and the three kids (8 and 10 now, but would have been 7 & 9 last summer) sans wife. I also pulled the kids inner tubing behind it, although I seriously doubt this is good for the dinghy ;-) It went plenty fast to get the tube up on a plane, but it didn't whip them around very much (they still loved it though).

My kids are considerably younger then yours but they already know how to run it safely. Still, I dont let them take it out without an adult yet, but I feel better knowing that if I did fall overboard, they could at least get the dinghy back to me ;-). Heck, when I was 10 or 11, my sister (2.5 years older) and I were running around in a 14' runabout with a 35hp and no adults in sight - Wow, that seems soooo irresponsible now - Different times....