Dingy/tender ideas

[Kiltmadoc]

We have a 32 foot C&C that we are planning on taking for a week or two up to maine or down to Martha's vineyard area. Currently, we have a tow-behind walker bay with a 6hp outboard. I am thinking of finding a dingy that i can stow aboard with a smaller engine (2-3hp?). So far, I have looked at portaboate and 7 foot inflatables with air floors.

Anyone have experience with inflating/deflating a dingy on-board and then mounting an outboard? Do you eventually just give up and tow it, or can you make it work as a stowable dingy?

All answers welcome....

[Gene T]

I am planning to go this route. I currently have a 9' RIB that is kept on the foredeck. But it is heavy, in the way and impossible for just one person to launch or load. Keeping it off the boat is a problem as there is little extra room in the slip for a dink.

I recently got an inflatable kayak. With a power inflator it is pretty simple and quick to get ready for launch and it is lightweight. However I find putting it away to be time consuming as water gets trapped below the air floor. I also wonder what others do about deflating their boats. Water trapped in the rolled up boat will mildew unless the boat is used often.

My plan is to replace the RIB with an air floor inflatable but now I am wondering about how much hassle putting it away will be.

BTW: If you have an inverter there are 110 volt power pumps that will make short work of inflating and deflating the boats. I have a 12 volt pump that works too but takes a longer. These pumps get you to about 3 psi so if you get a HP floor boat you will need to pump the floor up manually to 10 psi.

Gene

[DoctorK]

I have always deflated the dink for long passages. It's safer (your dink won't get swamped) and faster (less resistance). The best place I have found to inflate is on top of the main hatch and it can be stowed on the foredeck by lashing it down.

[Faster]

We have a roll-up zodiac, pumping it up on the foredeck is easy enough.

However the only time we bother is if we have company on board.. the rest of the time we use our two 9.5 foot plastic kayaks. They've proven excellent for all tasks and shore expeditions when it's just the two of us.

As to the outboard I'd suggest you look for a 3.5 hp - you get the added advantage of a neutral gear position rather than have the prop turning the instant you start it. For the roll-ups this is plenty of power since they are unlikely to plane in any event, esp with more than one on board. They are also light enough to lift up onto the rail pad one-handed so you're more likely to do it rather than tow the dinghy with the motor mounted on the transom.

[bljones]

Here's my take:

Product Review: Rubber Duck Inflatable Dinghy

[JohnRPollard]

We sailed all over the Med with an inflatable Avon ("Redcrest" model, I think but won't swear) that we pumped/deflated at each port of call. Almost never towed it, as it had a tendency to go airborne. It rowed pretty poorly, but we also had a removable transom and a British Seagull outboard for longer distances.

That was on a 38 footer with usually 2-4 able bodied guys on board to share the work, and no kids.

When my wife and I started cruising with our 3 kids, I wanted nothing to do with that arrangement. Too much hassle. With young kids aboard, our goal was to simplify/minimize as many tasks as possible. We ended up with a hard Dyer dinghy that we tow behind. No outboard, just oars.

We are on the Chesapeake, and towing has never been an issue. But I can see why you might want to avoid towing in areas with the potential for heavier seas. How has it worked with that Walker Bay? Presumably, you remove the outboard when towing? Is it the outboard that's the hassle? Not sure which WB you have, but 6 hp seems a bit on the large side. Could you downsize the engine and make it easier to heft it up?

An inflatable does offer the ability to shrink the package, with the associated work. Just brainstorming here, but I take it there's no place to store the WB on deck? How about a small, light weight pram, like the Eastport Pram? Davits, maybe?

[sailingdog]

Hoisting the dinghy aboard using a handy-billy makes pretty short work of it. However, for shorter coastal passages, towing the dinghy behind the big boat is a pretty good option.

I have a porta-bote, as well as a hypalon inflatable, and would point out that assembling the portabote on a monohull will be a bit challenging. I don't have that issue, since my boat is 18' wide.

[TQA]

Spare halyard and a winch and even a heavier dink can be lifte aboard.

If you have a lecky horizontal anchor winch it becomes a sweat free operation.

This one is popular amongst the cruisers with smaller boats Bombard AX 2

[Omatako]

Originally Posted by Gene T

I am planning to go this route. I currently have a 9' RIB that is kept on the foredeck. But it is heavy, in the way and impossible for just one person to launch or load. Gene

How do you launch and load?

The reason for the question is that I have such a dink (mine may even be slightly bigger) and I routinely launch and load mine un-aided (unless there is a lot of wind around).

[cruisingdream]

another idea for transporting your dingy (dinghy sling)

Pictures