Dinghy Selection

h20ski · #1 (**permalink**) 12-10-2005

Looking for a dinghy for a new boat. Thinking of a 10-11 ft. RIB with a 8hp or 9.9 hp four stroke. Just saw an ad for the new GENESIS dinghy by Walker Bay. It looks very interesting- lots of great features. Supposedly available starting in January. Does anyone know anything about this new dinghy? Thank you.

WHOOSH · #2 (**permalink**) 12-11-2005

Ski, I''m not sure what you hope to learn when the product isn''t yet intro''d. I''m reminded of the wonderful praise the NZ line of aluminum hull/hypalon tube''d RIBs have received, altho'' after some time elapsed it turned out that the ancillary pieces and the stitching were prone to U/V damage. Another example is when Achilles intro''d their new line of inflated floor dinks. It was only after some extended use in the tropics (6+ months) that we discovered the higher pressure of the floor would lift the glue holding down the valve assembly. These discoveries come about thru use; right now I suspect the "info" you''ll be collecting will be heavily influenced by the marketing dept.

Buying new/untried systems & gear is probably one of the most challenging choices in boating. It''s really hard to know when you''re riding the curl and ahead of the curve, or about to be body-slammed with disappointment. Either way, you are to some degree choosing to be part of the company''s extended R&D group.

Jack

h20ski · #3 (**permalink**) 12-11-2005

well put- thanks Jack

Yorksailor · #4 (**permalink**) 11-20-2009

I saw three walker bay genesis inflateables on the dock and all were experiencing separation of the transom which was a serious flaw. Also the long warrenty of walker bay genesis was recently reduced so it may be an indicator that they already know about the flaw.
Buyer beware

mightyhorton · #5 (**permalink**) 11-20-2009

I bought a 10' 6" WB Genesis about three years ago from Alki Boats in Seattle, at the boat show. Two years ago the glue pads holding the transom to the inflatable tubes failed. WB agreed to exchange the boat for a new one, but wanted me to deliver the boat to one of their dealers. Unfortunately I was in Puerto Vallarta and didn't have any way to make the delivery. Finally they agreed to ship a new one to a freight forwarder in San Diego, but still insisted I return mine to them. Again, impossible. Finally, they agreed to let me keep the old one and to deliver the new one to San Diego if I paid to ship it to PV, which I did for $1,100. Bucks, not pesos. I sold the old one, with full disclosure, for enough to cover the shipping. The new owner of my old boat felt he could glue it back together. The whole interaction with WB was contentious and unpleasent, but luckily the WB dealer in Seattle, Chris at Alki Boats, was a wonderful guy and very supportive and he made it happen. Chris told me that they had a lot of problems with their early boats, but had fixed the manufacturing process.

I really like the boat. The HIMC hull doesn't scratch your deck, it deflates into a pretty small package, it has a great ride with my 15HP 2 stroke driving it. I'd buy another one.

agrainofsand · #6 (**permalink**) 11-22-2009

I have a Livingston 8' fiberglass dinghy with a 2.5 Yamaha OB. Easy to handle and not the extreme maintenance of a RIB. The double hull design is stable and dry. Check them out, they make a 10' also.

Joesaila · #7 (**permalink**) 11-22-2009

We had 2 inflatables. They were OK but leaked. Now we have a Portland Pudgy thats really tough, tows easy and holds 4 adults. It also stows a mast and sail inside for fun or for emergencies. It also has several compartments for tools, water, etc. Check out thier website.

sailingdog · #8 (**permalink**) 11-23-2009

But how heavy is it, and can you stow it on deck??

NN10Steve · #9 (**permalink**) 12-01-2009

My wife and I bought our nesting dinghy for several reasons. Most of them are the same reasons that many cruising sailors choose hard shell dinghies over inflatables; durability, rowing pleasure and sailing performance, so that an outboard is not the only choice for propulsion. Also for ease of towing, when appropriate.

The nesting ability adds a couple of more attractive features to the list: the security of on deck stowage with a minimal footprint and blockage of visibility forward and the ease of deploying and recovering the smaller and lighter individual sections compared to a one piece dinghy. The sections can be joined in the water. The designer of our dinghy has even been known to row just the stern section to shore on occasion, to avoid the time needed to deploy and join the sections.

An interesting additional note is that the doubled mating bulkheads at the sectional join can actually increase the strength and rigidity of the boat compared with a one piece design which is essentially open inside with a simple thwart seat. Nestaway Boats in the UK uses this fact to build a 14 ft long 3 section nester which has a slightly shorter and narrower footprint than our 2 section 10 ft long dinghy.

There are several nesting dinghy designs available in plan and kit form for home builders but as far as I am aware at this time, Nestaway and NestingLite are the only two offering production nesting dinghies. Other forum members may correct me on that.

Vasco · #10 (**permalink**) 12-01-2009

The workhorses of cruisers.... AB and Caribe RIBs - most with 15hp Yamaha 2 strokes.