Final Dinghy Choice - does this make sense?

[JonEisberg]

Originally Posted by GrahamO

So - crunch time. We need a dink pretty soon and we are still not completely clear. The Bristol is tricky for on-deck storage. There is only 5' 6" between the mast and the traveller and storing foreward of the mast will cover the V berth hatch which is the only fire escape. This makes a hard dink problematic. We tried a Porta-bote but were not thrilled with stability or build quality. Where we are now is a SMALL aluminum RIB. Probably the AB8. This only needs a small OB. For Maine sailing we would either leave it on the mooring or tow it. Once we head south it would be davits for island hopping or deflated on deck for passage making.
Does this approach make sense? Amy i missing anything obvious? There really are no perfect solutions are there?

Thanks

Closest thing to a perfect solution to me is an Avon Lite, which is a hard bottom inflatable with a folding transom... That feature makes all the difference, my tender stows in a fairly low-profile package up forward on my 30-footer... I've tried just about every variety of tender over the years, and have found the hardbottom with the folding transom to be the best solution, by far...



Hard dinks involve way too much drama, IMHO, and only really work for coastal/local cruising where you'll be towing them all the time... I took a beautiful nesting Spindrift south one winter, and came to quickly detest the damn thing. Minimum payload, very wet ride, incredible PITA to bring back aboard and stow, and even nested, represented a gigantic ugly box on my foredeck which could have spelled real trouble with with a boarding sea sweeping the deck... Hell, it probably would have been better just to cruise with the bow section, alone... (grin)



I'm of a different mind than most regarding power, I'd suggest going smaller and slower, as opposed to larger and faster... My little 2 Hp Honda can be lifted aboard with one hand, and stows easily in the lazarette of even a boat as small as mine. That all translates to less Crap on the Back, no need for engine hoisting davits and all the other gear related to SUV dinghies... I think "range" is one of the most overrated features in a tender anyway, and once you get out in the boonies, lots of folks appear to disregard the notion that you really shouldn't be venturing too much further away from the mother ship than you'd care to row back, anyway... But, these days, that's probably just me...

Originally Posted by Stumble874171

Finally carry the biggest boat you possibly can.

Uhhh, within reason, of course... (grin)

[JonEisberg]

Originally Posted by MedSailor

We had a lot of conflicting needs, but we ended up with the best compromise we could find. We wanted stable (for small kids), rowable, sailable, able to mount a small OB and most of all abusable. We also were attracted to the "proactive liferaft" component of our choice, the Portland Pudgy.

Portland Pudgy safety dinghy, inflatable boat, or fiberglass dinghy?



MedSailor

Damn, a hard dinghy weighing 130 lbs empty, you're a far braver (not to mention stronger) man than I... (grin)

Just curious, how do you stow that thing aboard?

[blowinstink]

Hi Graham -
The Bristol is a beautiful boat. You're a lucky guy! I largely share the views expressed by CD and CCrider, both of whom have more experience than me, but my budget might be more in line with yours so I thought I'd chime in. Over the past year I have used a couple of different dinks with my Cape Dory 330 in a range of waters from the Chesapeake Bay to the ICW to the Bahamas and a few multi-day offshore trips. The 8'6" Mercury RIB (PVC because it was cheap at $900) which I have now has been, by far, the best solution. It was inexpensive, it planes with 2 people and an 8hp 2 stroke, tows well, rows better than expected, takes much more of a beating than any soft bottom (and the beating is inevitable). It is not perfect - I have lousy storage options with a windvane on the stern I can't use davits and since I have a staysail boom on the foredeck it can't go there either. So, by default, it stores between the mast and the traveller. Raising, lowering (via halyard) and storing or inflating it is not fun, but I have managed it myself in winds up to 20knots. In the bahamas, I would have been miserable without a planing dink and the ability to cover distances and also power through chop. This very affordable RIB did the job. Nothing is perfect: If I was sailing different waters, perhaps a nesting strip plank would work and be fun to row. If I had a bigger boat and could fit it, a fat high-end RIB with a deeper V and bigger tubes sure would be a nice luxury. But this was a good compromise for us at a price point which was managable. Most importantly, it fit on the boat!
Good luck! be sure to tell us what you decide on and how it works out.
Matt

[Wappoo]

Hum...my 2 cents...over the last 10 years we have cruised the east coast Maine to Acklins in the Bahamas and have met a lot of first time cruisers. Almost everyone has said they wished they had a bigger dink...imagine you and your wife riding with the freshly washed laundry across GT harbor in a 3' chop with 20 kts on the nose...get the biggest one you can afford, used or new...and you may save your marriage....we are on our 2nd AB rib. Good luck and stay dry.

[Paddyd]

What is the material ?
thickness?
MDA sheets ?
the process FEMA for production?
actual production at ? and not placard placement ?
glue and stick or ?
glue manufacturer ?
curing process?
state side repair facility?
all uv PVC test data ?
define the warrenty ?
material used ?
componet content ?

tks paddy

[GrahamO]

AB 8 UL Rigid Hull Inflatable (RIB) 8' 4", Gray Hypalon, 2012

Originally Posted by Paddyd

What is the material ?
thickness?
MDA sheets ?
the process FEMA for production?
actual production at ? and not placard placement ?
glue and stick or ?
glue manufacturer ?
curing process?
state side repair facility?
all uv PVC test data ?
define the warrenty ?
material used ?
componet content ?



tks paddy

[Stumble]

Graham,

That looks like a nice one. But as I said before go bigger if you can. For the $250 I would probably go up to the 9', and if I could swing it I'd go for the 10'. But boating is all about trade-offs not ideals.

[GrahamO]

The issue is not cost. It is haul weight, space on deck, outboard size and weight, all that practical stuff. It feels at the moment that, given that 90% of the time there will be just the two of us, the clear benefits of increased dinghy size don't outweigh the downsides. We could well be wrong.....

[Stumble]

Happen to have any friends with dinghys you could borrow for a couple of weekends? Before heading to the islands, try living with one for a few weeks, and use it at least once to load food, water, and fuel for the boat. If possible try and borrow a bigger one and do the same thing. Also take a nice day and go head out into some chop on the different sized ones.

[Wappoo]

Here is a suggestion for the weight ting....get a Milwaukee right angle drill with a winch bit....we call ours the 'teenager'...can send any average size man to the top of the mast, immediately 'electrophizes' (sp?) every winch on your boat...check e-Bay and be sure to get the newest model..the older ones came with NiCads but could be changed over to NiMH...as we get older we need every bit of help we can find...