The Great Dinghy Dilemma

[Bad Obsession]

I have a Hunter 22. I want to get a descent dinghy but I don't want to pay a fortune. I think that I want a hard dinghy. I have an inflateable (a cheap one) and I know that it is a huge drag if I tow it. Storage on a 22 foot boat stinks when trying to store an inflateable also so that seems out of the question. I am thinking about a hard dinghy but that means that the hard dinghy will be in the way when I dock (I try to get into a slip every other night or sometimes more to charge my batteries). It will also bang into my boat and I have to tow it everywhere I go. I think that I need a light hard dinghy that will plane easy (to reduce drag) and yet it is a hard thing to find. The $700 for the walker bay 8 seems steep also.If anyone has any suggestions they would greatly be appreciated!

 

[David W]

We had a 6 ft little tubby dinghy and upgraded

to an 8 ft Walker Bay. We keep our boat in a slip, but combine when cruising about 2/3 anchor, 1/3 on a dock.We don't find the dinghy an issue at all when at our home slip or out cruising. We bring it up to the front of the slip and tie it bow and stern so it can't swing around and whack the mother ship. At anchor, I drop two fenders over the stern and use the painter and the stern tie line to snug it up against the fenders so it doesn't bump into us during the night.It tows very well, has reasonable capacity for an 8 ft'er and appears to be very durable. It planes at any speed over about 4 kts and with the painter at the correct length for the speed, it becomes a really easy tow because the dinghy will sit on the front of a stern wave and just surf along. I actually like looking back and seeing it there, like a faithful dog, always following its master....

 

[John Nantz]

What You Have Sounds Good

You're going to get a million replies on this because everybody has an idea of what is the ideal dingy.Actually, I think what you have already is probably the best compromise. However, if it is "cheap" then it's "non-Hypalon", and in which case it's probably fairly light-weight, an actual advantage in your case.Consider the option of deflating it and stowing it on deck. It shouldn't be too large of a bundle. When not out cruising then keep a cover over it to protect it from the sun.Towing a dingy causes drag and then there are the added problems when the seas and weather turn bad. And, like you mention, when you go into a marina someone always has to maneuver the dink out of the way - another pain. Then there is the potential theft problem. Keeping it on deck avoids all these problems. The tradeoff is inflating, deflating, launching, and retrival.The good part about this option is there is no cost because you already own it.I don't know how "cheap" of a cheap one you have but if it's a Surveylor (or how ever you spell it) then that's too cheap so you can go spend some money after all and get a better cheap one. Hope this helps.

 

[Ron]

Dinghy

Bought a Seaeagle 8.6 inflatable last year for my H22 worked great. I am selling it now, just bought a C30 and it came with a 10ft. price was reasonable to me

 

[a poor old sailor]

Just beach it!

I would guess that your boat would have a swing keel with less than a two foot draft. If this is the case, just run it up on the beach and you may be able to jump off the bow without even getting your tootsies wet.A boat that small is its own dinghy, is it not?

 

[Wanderer138]

Try a D4 or D5 dinghy

These are simple inexpensive hard dinghies that can be built from a few sheets of 1/4 inch and 3/8 inch plywood, some fiberglass cloth and epoxy. The D4 is just under 8 ft long and the D5 is about 10 ft. See bateau.com (link below) for more information or Google for "D4 dinghy bateau".As shown in the picture, these boats are quite stable and can be rowed, sailed or fitted with an electric trolling motor. Full size plans are available and if you've never built a boat before, I'd recommend buying a set. On the other hand, you can be adventurous like me (doesn't that sound better than "cheap"?) and download free plans for the D4. Be advised, the free D4 plans are TINY, so some things aren't real clear.Kits are also available with all the materials you need, which would certainly speed the process and help ensure your success. You also have a lot of choices in terms of finish. I've seen a few very nicely varnished examples, but personally I'm leaning more towards the exterior latex house paint at Home Depot. I hope this helps.PeterH23 "Raven"

 

[Wanderer138]

Another option

My H23 draws just over 2 feet, so sometimes I'll set the anchor in deep water and back in to shore with the rudder up. When the keel grounds, I climb over the stern (I have a deep, transom-hung swim ladder) and wade ashore with a 100 ft long nylon towline tied to the stern. To leave I just bring the line back to the boat, climb aboard and haul myself back to deep water using the anchor rode.PeterH23 "Raven"

 

[p323ms]

Why a Dinghy???

When we had our Mac 26 there was no need for a dinghy!!! We would just put the nose on the bank and climb over the pulpit to get on shore. Same thing with our Helsen 22. I am assuming that you have a swing keel. With the Mac we usually put an anchor off the stern put the nose on shore near a tree. If we were going to shore for very long we'd rig the anchor so that we could just pull hard on the bow line to get the boat close enough to board but when we released the tension the boat would move off shore a few feet. Of course this is lake sailing but with a little modification should work with tides.Tom

 

[JohnS12875]

Pennysaver

My dad was looking in the local Pennysaver (want-ads), and saw someone advertising a paddleboat for $100. He calls, and the seller mentions they have a pontoon boat they'd like to sell as well. He goes to look at the paddleboat, and decides to buy it. He asks about the pontoon boat. Turns out, it's an achilles inflatable, and they only wanted $150. He bought them both.Be patient, and keep your eyes open.

 

[Rob]

Must Correct Peter ...

Peter is correct. The bateau.com boats are great. I have the D5 pram and its teriffic. However it is not 10 ft long. It 8 ft and 4.5 ft wide.

 

[Don s/v Tellico]

Beaching isn't an option

on much (most?) of the bay. Shores are either wooded, often with high banks, or private property. The drill here is to anchor out and dinghy to shore to the various towns, etc. Unless you want to pay dockage ($$$, assuming availablity) or swim to shore (reducing dining options significantly ), a dinghy is essential here.

 

[p323ms]

We have a walker bay 8

It is a pain to get aboard our pearson 323. It only holds 2 people we've had 3 aboard but there was very little freeboard and we all expected to swim. It moves OK with a little 1.2 hp outboard and rows OK. We have enough deck space to tie it down in front of the mast. We get it on and off the boat with a halyard and the winch on the mast. It would be very difficult on a 22' boat. It was very interesting to row it out to the boat one day when the wind came up and there were breaking waves. It is almost impossible for me to row it against much wind say above about 15kts. Then I usually walk it along the shore until we are well upwind of the boat and we basically drift downwind to the boat. Large wakes from stinkpotters scare me!!! But so far turning into the wave has worked.Tom

 

[rsn48]

IF you get a WB 8, I'd recommend

If you get the Walker Bay 8 foot boat, I'd recommend the tube that goes around it. This moves the passenger capacity up from 2 to 3, and you can add up to a 4 hp motor, mine has a Merc 3.3If money is tight, get the WB 8 this year and the tube next year. The tube also adds stability.

 

[Rodney Sheaffer]

dink

I use a portaboat 8' with 3.3hp It will get up on plain. I keep it up on deck when in slip or you can fold it up. Cost at boat show is about $1200.00. Rod Oday28

 

[Bil sv Makai]

water tender 9.4

We used a Water tender 9.4 from the Bay to Venezuela. it is a lite, hard plastic, unsinkable dinghy with a cathedral hull. It will carry up to a 5 hp engine and was very dry and stable. It was also easy to row.We bought ours new from West Marine for $350US. We found it to be a great bargin and only traded it out to go larger to carry higher loads and a bigger engine.

 

[George]

Dingy Delemma

We have a Walker 8 that is light, easy to row/tow, but tippy. However, for exploring an anchorage or getting ashore, we prefer a kayak. Any kayak will do, but the Sterns 500 inflatable kayaks we picked up at West Marine for $180 each work great. They fold into in a small suitcase and are easy to inflate. Check this link for more info:http://kobernus.com/hunter260_web/inflatables/index.html