Dingy to get out to mooring????

[saurav16]

Hi,

Just wondering how much it costs to get a dingy to get out to your mooring. Also did you get an inflatable or rigid. If inflatable are they easy to row? Thanks!

PS. Where is the best place to buy the dingy?

[sailingdog]

Saurav16-

It all depends... new or used, hard or inflatable, oars or outboard?

Craigslist.org often has a lot of dinghies at fairly reasonable prices...if you don't mind used. E-bay is another option...though IMHO, you're better off buying local, since the shipping on a 40+ lbs. dinghy can kill ya.

I have both a hard dinghy and an inflatable that I use. I plan on using the hard dinghy when I'm out cruising full-time, as it is far more durable and far larger and versatile than the smaller inflatable. The inflatable is mainly for use around the local area, when I am daysailing or overnighting.

[BarryL]

I got my first dingy for free. The owner had an old fiberglass dingy in poor condition that he was getting rid of. Either someone took it (me) or he was taking it to the dump.

The gunwale on one side was rotten and falling off. I used two soft pine strips to reinforce it. There was a small hole in the bow so I got some fiberglass experience in repaining it. All in all I spent about $50 to make it sea-worthy.

I found out later it was a Sumnter boat (I think). It was short (6'), wide, and stable. It rowed very well. It was easy to climb into and out of. I used it for a year. When I bought a bigger boat it came with a WaterTender 9.9 so I gave away the old dink.

The water tender is longer, made out of plastic, and about the same weight (which is important to me because I need to haul the dink up the beach and store in a rack). The WT isn't as stable, but holds more people and rows just as easily.

I really only use my dingy for getting to / from the boat, so a cheap one is fine for me. If I were cruising and taking a dingy with me I might want something else.

Anyway, new plastic ones are $500, nicer ones go to grand or more. I would check ebay, craigslist, and the local paper for used cheap boats, but that's just me.

Good luck,
Barry

[Sailormann]

Just wondering how much it costs to get a dingy to get out to your mooring. Also did you get an inflatable or rigid. If inflatable are they easy to row? Thanks!

PS. Where is the best place to buy the dingy?

I just happen to have a rigid floored Zodiac that needs a little work and an outbaord that needs NO work, and a pump and set of oars that could be yours for the very, very, low price of $400.00

[GlenDC]

How about to take a water taxi? or is it in Annapolis only? (Sorry, never been in a dock anywhere else).

[sailingdog]

What sailormann means is that he has a dinghy that is mostly all patches and still leaks air, and that the outboard doesn't work...and that he needs $400 in beer money... but can't find a sucker to buy his dinghy locally....

[tenuki]

I got a nice salty lapstrake style fiberglass 8'6" rowing/sailing dinghy in good condition for 600 bucks locally on craigslist. gonna use it to teach my 6 year old sailing this summer. It's slightly heavier than a plastic walker bay, but hey, it's got teak rubrails/seats, all the sailing goodies and brass oar sockets. woot. I've seen just decent rowing dinghys in good condition for 200 bucks.

inflatables annoy me, but that's just me. people who put motors on rowboats also annoy me. I was figuring out if I can add a large sculling oar to my 24' sailboat and just ditch the motor but my wife vetoed that idea. ;^)

[sailingdog]

Tenuki is obviously a disciple of Larry Pardey.

[sailortjk1]

Originally Posted by tenuki

I got a nice salty lapstrake style fiberglass 8'6" rowing/sailing dinghy in good condition for 600 bucks locally on craigslist. gonna use it to teach my 6 year old sailing this summer. It's slightly heavier than a plastic walker bay, but hey, it's got teak rubrails/seats, all the sailing goodies and brass oar sockets. woot. I've seen just decent rowing dinghys in good condition for 200 bucks.

inflatables annoy me, but that's just me. people who put motors on rowboats also annoy me. I was figuring out if I can add a large sculling oar to my 24' sailboat and just ditch the motor but my wife vetoed that idea. ;^)

That a good looking boat T.
It would be perfect for the row out to the OP's mooring.

I would think that if your using the dink to go from shore to the mooring and back, that a hard dinghy would be the way to go. They are cheaper than inflatable, easy to row, and you can usually get most of your gear on them.

Plus, you will be constantly dragging the thing in and out of the water at the dinghy launch. In my area these are usually concrete. Don't think an inflatable will stand up to launching and retrieving too well from a concrete launch.

And, if I understand correctly, you most likely will be leaving the dinghy attached to the mooring when you are out on day sails. In this case the benifits of an inflatable are not important to you.

If I were you, I would look for one just like T's

[tenuki]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Tenuki is obviously a disciple of Larry Pardey.

_Wish_ I could afford a Fatty Knees.