Greetings, I asked this question on Dec 31, but somehow my query disappeared from the system. I would like advice on whether to get a hard shell or inflatable tender. I have had both in the past, and find inflatables tow poorly and are prone to develop air leaks. This would lead me to prefer a hard shell tender, like a Boatex 700 or 800 or a Walker Bay 8. My quandry is that in the near future my wife and I intend to leave inland waters on our Hunter Legend 37.5 and sail South along the Eastern seabord, generally well within 100 miles indeed usually 50 miles) from shore. We know that on these offshore legs we must take the tender aboard. In the latter situation the advantage of an inflatable is obvious. Does anyone have experience getting aboard and tied down hard shell tenders like the Boatex or Walker Bay models on a sialboat the size of the Legend 37.5? So what is my better option, hard or soft?
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Getting the Dink Up...
Why am I always the first to answer these questions?...8^) Anyways, the Boatex 8 at about 70 lbs is going to be a problem to heave over the lines at about 5' of lift. Especially without scratching the heck out of everything. A lifting tackle attached to the end of the boom has been used. You could probably make a lifting sling, of 4 nylon legs and a centred ring to attach the boom tackle to. Once its on the foredeck, turning it over with help will be possible. You could also add some chalks to the deck to wedge in the overturned dink. I tow mine and I have no room on my boat to store it. But I regularly bring it up on to the dock and slide it up onto the roof rack of the car using an old sleeping bag to protect the car finish. Been doing this for years. Where theres a will theres a way. Don
Why am I always the first to answer these questions?...8^) Anyways, the Boatex 8 at about 70 lbs is going to be a problem to heave over the lines at about 5' of lift. Especially without scratching the heck out of everything. A lifting tackle attached to the end of the boom has been used. You could probably make a lifting sling, of 4 nylon legs and a centred ring to attach the boom tackle to. Once its on the foredeck, turning it over with help will be possible. You could also add some chalks to the deck to wedge in the overturned dink. I tow mine and I have no room on my boat to store it. But I regularly bring it up on to the dock and slide it up onto the roof rack of the car using an old sleeping bag to protect the car finish. Been doing this for years. Where theres a will theres a way. Don
hoisting the dink
Jack I have a H30-1977 which has very limited space on the foredeck. Nevertheless, i have found it relatively easy to hoist the dink aboard using a mast halyard attached to the bow eye. I winch it to a height that the dink clears the life lines. Due to the very long distance to the top of the mast it is very easy to swing the dink anywhere you want it. It helps to have a second person on the winch but even alone I have found that by keeping the height just lower than the deckhouse roof I can easily tilt the little boat over the lifelines and then put one end down on the roof. It stays there by itself until I lower the halyard. The bigger problem on my limited size boat is servicing the anchor or jib forestay with the dink in the way. Hope it helps Henry
Jack I have a H30-1977 which has very limited space on the foredeck. Nevertheless, i have found it relatively easy to hoist the dink aboard using a mast halyard attached to the bow eye. I winch it to a height that the dink clears the life lines. Due to the very long distance to the top of the mast it is very easy to swing the dink anywhere you want it. It helps to have a second person on the winch but even alone I have found that by keeping the height just lower than the deckhouse roof I can easily tilt the little boat over the lifelines and then put one end down on the roof. It stays there by itself until I lower the halyard. The bigger problem on my limited size boat is servicing the anchor or jib forestay with the dink in the way. Hope it helps Henry
Tender issue for sure!
Jack: I see no redeeming qualities from a hard dink except for rowing. They are way too tippy if you need to go ashore with much surf. If you are going 100 miles off shore, towing is not in the picture. My suggestion is an inflatable with an inflatable floor. You can store it on the fore deck if you need and deflate it when it really needs to be out of the way. It can be sorted on deck deflated or down below if things get real rough. If you get a hypalon unit they are slightly heavier but will last as long as hard dink (this is exagerating you know). If you hole a hard dink it is not going to be easy to repair at sea or on shore at a remote destination. They typically do not leak much air if you purchase a "quality" unit, but may need to be topped off every couple of weeks if you leave it inflated. Hypalon can be repaired easily. They can be easily launched by basically throwing them over board (hang on to the painter line).
Jack: I see no redeeming qualities from a hard dink except for rowing. They are way too tippy if you need to go ashore with much surf. If you are going 100 miles off shore, towing is not in the picture. My suggestion is an inflatable with an inflatable floor. You can store it on the fore deck if you need and deflate it when it really needs to be out of the way. It can be sorted on deck deflated or down below if things get real rough. If you get a hypalon unit they are slightly heavier but will last as long as hard dink (this is exagerating you know). If you hole a hard dink it is not going to be easy to repair at sea or on shore at a remote destination. They typically do not leak much air if you purchase a "quality" unit, but may need to be topped off every couple of weeks if you leave it inflated. Hypalon can be repaired easily. They can be easily launched by basically throwing them over board (hang on to the painter line).
Coach Roof Storage of Inflatable
Our dingy setup is a little different from typical. We have an Avon 3.15 roll-up which weighs in at around 115 pounds, dry. We chose the Avon because after talking to many world cruisers this is the one that held up over all the rest and that was over 10 years ago. The 3.15 has lots of room and is very stable even in whitecaps, and feels very safe. Once it's in the water I really like it for it's stability. And it rows good. However, at launch and retrival time I pay the price for it's size and weight. Much of our cruising is away from cities and developed areas so something that is reliable is important. For cruising in populated areas a non-hyplon inflatable which is lighter in weight may be preferable, or a smaller hyplon dink. Our outboard is 8hp which is somewhat heavy but gets us up on a plane which is nice; however, a 9.9 would be nicer. On the other hand, a lightweight 3hp would be much easier to handle. We stow our inflatable on the coachroof in front of the dodger. It's stowed deflated with right-side-up with it's bottom on the coach roof. The transom is folded toward the middle and the bow is folded over the transom, and the whole thing is lashed to the coachroof handrails. For bluewater work do not use the handrails but put attach the tiedown lines to something more secure, say pad eyes. Launch and retrival is with the main halyard and the preventer, Shaffers largest (the large line doesn't cut through the skin as much), and a four-part bridal (two lines to each stern pontoon and two more to the bow towing pad-eyes). Carrying it on the coach roof gives a lot of peace-of-mind when it's blowing and the boat goes faster. For a hardshell dink opinion check out what a cruiser from our club wrote who has been in Mexico now for a while: "We do not carry a rubber boat with an outboard motor. We row everywhere in our hard dinghy. Less than 5% of cruisers have a hard dinghy, and fewer than that row them" http://www.worldvoyage.com/letters/visithome/visithome.html We used to have a hard shell and wouldn't go back; however, I might consider a cheap light-weight dingy for ease of frequent launching. The Avon air pump is the acknowledged worlds best pump. If you get an inflatable keep it away from anything sharp! ... or you'll have patches! Good luck in your decision - it's a tough one!
Our dingy setup is a little different from typical. We have an Avon 3.15 roll-up which weighs in at around 115 pounds, dry. We chose the Avon because after talking to many world cruisers this is the one that held up over all the rest and that was over 10 years ago. The 3.15 has lots of room and is very stable even in whitecaps, and feels very safe. Once it's in the water I really like it for it's stability. And it rows good. However, at launch and retrival time I pay the price for it's size and weight. Much of our cruising is away from cities and developed areas so something that is reliable is important. For cruising in populated areas a non-hyplon inflatable which is lighter in weight may be preferable, or a smaller hyplon dink. Our outboard is 8hp which is somewhat heavy but gets us up on a plane which is nice; however, a 9.9 would be nicer. On the other hand, a lightweight 3hp would be much easier to handle. We stow our inflatable on the coachroof in front of the dodger. It's stowed deflated with right-side-up with it's bottom on the coach roof. The transom is folded toward the middle and the bow is folded over the transom, and the whole thing is lashed to the coachroof handrails. For bluewater work do not use the handrails but put attach the tiedown lines to something more secure, say pad eyes. Launch and retrival is with the main halyard and the preventer, Shaffers largest (the large line doesn't cut through the skin as much), and a four-part bridal (two lines to each stern pontoon and two more to the bow towing pad-eyes). Carrying it on the coach roof gives a lot of peace-of-mind when it's blowing and the boat goes faster. For a hardshell dink opinion check out what a cruiser from our club wrote who has been in Mexico now for a while: "We do not carry a rubber boat with an outboard motor. We row everywhere in our hard dinghy. Less than 5% of cruisers have a hard dinghy, and fewer than that row them" http://www.worldvoyage.com/letters/visithome/visithome.html We used to have a hard shell and wouldn't go back; however, I might consider a cheap light-weight dingy for ease of frequent launching. The Avon air pump is the acknowledged worlds best pump. If you get an inflatable keep it away from anything sharp! ... or you'll have patches! Good luck in your decision - it's a tough one!
Portabote
I've heard good things about the quality of Portabotes and they have the added benefit of folding up to nothing. Cost a bit more but the space saved might be worth it. LaDonna
I've heard good things about the quality of Portabotes and they have the added benefit of folding up to nothing. Cost a bit more but the space saved might be worth it. LaDonna
No experience with one, but...
LaDonna's suggestion about the Portabote may be perfect for your needs- They're lightweight, durable, spacious, will row or motor well, and fold down to a package that's only 4" thick. A neighbor of mine at our local sailing club owns one, and he swears by it; He is able to lash it to the lifelines along the side decks of his Cape Dory 25 without causing any interference with the running rigging, and it doesn't hamper his visibility any worse than a weather cloth would. May be worth the extra $$. --Jon Bastien H25 'Adagio'
LaDonna's suggestion about the Portabote may be perfect for your needs- They're lightweight, durable, spacious, will row or motor well, and fold down to a package that's only 4" thick. A neighbor of mine at our local sailing club owns one, and he swears by it; He is able to lash it to the lifelines along the side decks of his Cape Dory 25 without causing any interference with the running rigging, and it doesn't hamper his visibility any worse than a weather cloth would. May be worth the extra $$. --Jon Bastien H25 'Adagio'
Four inches?
I believe that only the hull folds to that size, and that you still have a considerable amount of stuff like seats to deal with. I had some friends who sailed their Pacific Seacraft 25 all over Mexico, and who have since sailed it to Samoa, where they are now. They absolutely loved their Portabote. I also have a friend who bought one to carry around on his boat and his car top. He hated it because of the extra gear and the fact that he had counted on everything being only four inches thick. He almost gave the thing away. So, I guess it depends exactly on what you are looking for!
I believe that only the hull folds to that size, and that you still have a considerable amount of stuff like seats to deal with. I had some friends who sailed their Pacific Seacraft 25 all over Mexico, and who have since sailed it to Samoa, where they are now. They absolutely loved their Portabote. I also have a friend who bought one to carry around on his boat and his car top. He hated it because of the extra gear and the fact that he had counted on everything being only four inches thick. He almost gave the thing away. So, I guess it depends exactly on what you are looking for!
Tender thanks
Thank-you all. Porta-Bote seems like it might give me the best of both worlds, for a bit a more money. I have checked Porta-botes website. They have three models, 8, 10 and 12 feet in length. According to the website all models fold into a flat surfboard shape, 4 inches thick, 24 inches wide and 8, 10 or 12 feet long, depending on the model. A sailkit is available for each model. I have telephoned the company and plan to take a close look at the thing at an upcoming boat show. Thanks again.
Thank-you all. Porta-Bote seems like it might give me the best of both worlds, for a bit a more money. I have checked Porta-botes website. They have three models, 8, 10 and 12 feet in length. According to the website all models fold into a flat surfboard shape, 4 inches thick, 24 inches wide and 8, 10 or 12 feet long, depending on the model. A sailkit is available for each model. I have telephoned the company and plan to take a close look at the thing at an upcoming boat show. Thanks again.
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