Looking for a good dinghy for a 33 ft yacht

[williamkiester]

I'm looking for advice on on buying a dinghy for my Allied Luders 33. I'm debating between a Dyer Dhow Midget 8 1/2 ft and an inflatable of similar size. Also looking for advice on where to get a good deal on a new inflatable if I go that route. I'm expecting the dinghy to be towable but be nested on deck for long hauls with stowage either before or abaft the mast on deck. I have two Tohatsu 3.5hp outboards (in both the long shaft and short shaft versions) one of which I hope will work with the dinghy we buy. Eventually I'd like to go up in horse power if possible. Also, I have a small inflatable that came with the boat that I will probably be selling if anyone is looking for one.

[Yorksailor]

We never tow our dinghy further than we can swim or in weather the we can't swim in.

Get something that is easily lifted.

Phil

[Siamese]

I'm upgrading my boat to shore transportation, too. We have two kayaks we use, but we're adding a dinghy with a motor.

I just bought the motor, a new Suzuki 2.5 horse.

I'm been going back and forth, like everyone does, on whether I want a hard dinghy or an inflatable. Finally decided on inflatable. I won't go into the trade-off between the two, as it's been done to death.

Having decided to go the inflatable route, Hypalon or the equivalent is my choice over PVC. Holds up to UV. For a reasonably priced Hypalon inflatable, I'm not finding a better value than Achilles. Check out Defender.com, as they have the Achilles with all the stats and pricing, along with Avon, Bombardier, etc.

We're keeping a close eye on the weight. I already have a 10 foot Avon that I got for free in great shape, but even without its very heavy plastic floor it weighs a little over 95 pounds. Rolled up, that's an ungainly 95 pounds for one person to wrestle. An Achilles, 8'8" weighs, if memory serves, about 66 pounds including the rollup floor. I'm thinking about going small and getting the 7'6" at only 57 pounds.

My motor's 40 pounds. 6, 8, or 10 horse engines weigh plenty more. You get to go faster, but at a greater cost in weight than I'm willing to pay. Not so bad lugging a 6+ horse on land, but transferring from where you store the motor on your boat to the dinghy is where it gets fun. Sploooosh

[Kiltmadoc]

defenderDOTcom has some good deal on hypalon inflatables in the spring sale. We just bought a 7'11" mercury hypalon (80 pounds) from them for cheap money. We already had a tohatsu 3.5hp motor to put on it. My plan is to get one of those rope-type dingy slings and build a bracket for the railing to hold the motor. I also got a motor handle from salty john's website to be able to more easily lift the motor from the dinghy etc.

BTW: we have the same sized boat (ours is a 32ft C&C)

[williamkiester]

Thank you for your posts. They are all helpful. I'm interested in the engine handle for the Tohatsu and the rope sling for the dinghy. Do you by chance have links to either of those so I can check them out? I have the outboard bracket. We are now thinking we want a four person inflatable so about 9 1/2 ft if we can afford it and stow it.

[Kiltmadoc]

Salty John: Salty John: Tiller-Hand and other fine boat and yacht chandlery products.
..best price on the handle, I have looked elsewhere and he's the cheapest (his prices include shipping).

dinghy sling: Product List

[williamkiester]

Another related question. Should I be looking for a hard bottom dinghy or one with an inflatable floor?

[Kiltmadoc]

As they used to say when i was an active pilot: "what's your mission requirement?"
For us, the choice was easy: we wanted a portable inflatable that could be stowed inside the boat, was easy to inflate, lightweight, could hold 3-4 people from a mooring to a dock (or an anchorage to a beach), and was easy to transfer from the dinghy to the boat (16 inch or greater tubes being the smallest size that could achieve this last goal).

A RIB planes easier, goes faster, is more durable as far a beach landings are concerned, and is hard to stow on board (unless you have John Kerry's boat)

[williamkiester]

The dinghy sling looks interesting. You know anyone who as used one? It would be nice and convenient if the thing worked well. Hoping someday to have davits.

[Kiltmadoc]

I met a guy at the NewEngland boat show who knew someone that used the dinghy sling and they told him that they liked it. So, third-hand knowledge, but I am thinking of getting one myself since the sling is lots cheaper than a full davit system and a lot more compact.