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Dinghy - Do you reeeally need one?

10K views 45 replies 31 participants last post by  RetsinaB 
#1 ·
This is kind of a location specific question (For the Chesapeake Bay)...

All my time spent on the bay so far has been spent as a racer, not as a cruiser. So I know where all the common windward and leeward mark setting locations are. But I know almost nothing about anchorage options between Havre De Grace and Newport News.

I've got a C&C 30 with a 5' draft, 10' beam, and 45' mast clearance.

Is it typical to be able to find open slips during the summer months at most anchorages, (e.g. St Michaels, Oxford, Cambridge, Solomons, and further south)? Do you normally have to call ahead to reserve slip space? And how often do you run into situations where your only option to get ashore is via dinghy?

I'm just wondering if dropping the $$$ on a dinghy and hauling one around is reeeally necessary to visit and enjoy most anchorages on the bay?
 
#30 ·
Look into building a nesting dinghy. It will fold, and fit on the foredeck. Can be sailed, rowed, and motored. Not to mention it will be cheap to build, and give you a great learning experience.

Start out rowing, and then move up to sails, or an engine. This way the cost is over a period of time......i2f
 
#33 ·
I need a dingy also, but since my real boat is not much bigger, I only need it to get out to the mooring. I was looking at the Walker Bays because it seems as if they might not get as messed up dragging across sand and gravel beaches as a FG model would.....I looked at used stuff on craigslist and they want decent money for it...seems like an 8ft WB at about 640 or so is a decent deal.....don't really want to inflate anything.....
does that sound right?
 
#34 ·
craig the fiberglass digny's will hold up better than a pvc one will being dragged over the sand. also you can get stern mounted wheels for hard dingys that make em a breeze to move around. in your situation you might want to get a 75 amp deep cycle and a trolling motor for the dingy. a small solar panel will make it easy to keep charged and will make a great second/back up battery for the boat
 
#35 ·
The last boat I had was only 25' so I didn't want to get or did it really make sense for me to get a good real dink so I bought a $30 Coleman raft that one would use in a pool. The area I had the boat, the Great South Bay in Long Island - it wasn't neccessary to have a real dink so all I needed the Coleman for was to get me and buddy into the outdoor bar from our little anchorage 50 yards away. Will never forget the looks on a few hundred people's faces as they see me and buddy rowing up to the bar (when most people walk from the land entrance) in our little Coleman raft!

Now with my current boat I have a 10' Zodiac with a 5hp ob. I absolutely love it! Every year we make a trip to Block Island and there is always at least a hundred cruising boats anchored out in the great salt pond and all the dingys are like cars ferrying families,kids, pets to and from shore. Its so fun to hop in the dink and do a sunset cruise around the harbor admiring all the amazing yachts, then cruise over to our friends boats and then to shore and eventually back to the boat. You will not regret it
 
#36 ·
Yeah, I can pretty much swim to my mooring and it is in a cove on an inlet - well, they didn't assign my spot yet, but it will definitely be somewhat close to shore. I was considering rowing only since there is very little current in the cove. The other thing is that I can store the dinghy locked to a ground stake back in the weeds...instead of driving it there (I live 1/4 mile away)...these are private moorings, not a marina or real harbor.

Interesting to hear that FG will hold up on gravel and sand as well as molded plastic. I thought that was the whole idea of those WBs.....but, yes, I have seen soft plastics that can scratch deeply.

Maybe I'll look at those craigslists $250 FG models again....
 
#40 ·
Interesting to hear that FG will hold up on gravel and sand as well as molded plastic. I thought that was the whole idea of those WBs.....but, yes, I have seen soft plastics that can scratch deeply.

Maybe I'll look at those craigslists $250 FG models again....
i did not under stand, the walker bays sold where i live in craigslist are inflatables. yes the molded plastic ones will hold up well too. the only molded plastic dingy i was in was kind of flimsy, it twisted with each little wake and wave. i dont know if it was a walker bay thou, so make sure you check out what ever you buy.
also look in to the stern wheel kits
 
#38 ·
If you're going to get a fiberglass dinghy... I would highly recommend adding a layer of kevlar cloth to the bottom and putting a light layer of fiberglass cloth over it... that will give the hull of the dinghy far more abrasion resistance than fiberglass alone would have... Also, the kevlar cloth would increase the puncture resistance of the dinghy. :)
 
#41 ·
The walker bay hard dingy do not twist and are stiff. I bought mind off of craigslist with oars and a trolling motor for $300.00. The guy also delivered it.
 
#42 ·
Great to hear...great deal......
Yeah, I was talking about those hard plastic ones......which also have a nice sailing kit you can add to them...
But my neighbor (a real sailor) told me if I buy the dinghy with the sailing kit I might use my actual sailboat less, so I'm gonna take his advice for now.
 
#44 ·
I'm looking to get a dinghy myself. There are places that you just don't get to explore without a dinghy. Unless you always have a dock to tie up to, it's just something you can only live without until you have your own. Sort of like high speed internet. I can't imagine going back to a 56K modem.
 
#45 ·
Dingy

To: backcreeksailor

We sail out of Southall Landings on Salt Ponds just north of Hampton. I've found my dingy quite useful, even in the marina - I can use it as a cleaning platform for working on the hull. I looked a good bit at brands/prices before I purchased.
Check out Sea Eagle. They have a large variety of inflatables. My dingy is a 4 man (SE 8, I think), very reasonably priced. I added a motor mount and seat assembly about a month ago, for an electric trolling motor. Looking forward to trying it out in the next month or so. I got the motor with battery & a solar panel from Float Green. (You may be able to get some discounting at both locations, if you mention my name as a referral.
We've yet to do much 'exploring' outside the lower Bay - but I know there are numerous places to put the hook down. Marinas can be pricey for overnight - the lowest I've seen advertized has been about 1.50 a foot.
Suggestion - think about joining a yacht club that's a member of Yachting Clubs of America. You can then get reciprocity (space available) at other clubs at no/low cost. I'm a member of the Old Point Yacht Club at Fort Monroe (opyc.org), just $40.00 a year.
Check them out as an example.

Bob Dutton
s/v Ruach
Richmond, VA
 
#46 ·
After 10+ years on the bay, no dink *needed*...

Guess I'll add my 2 pennies. I've been cruising on the The Bay for over 10 years, and still don't believe I *need* a dinghy. Granted, I estimate I've split nights 40/60 between anchoring and docking, so there's been less need. I've never had too much trouble finding dockage - even day of - unless sailing on a big holiday. Then be sure to call way in advance. Also can get water taxi service at some the "bigger" towns.

That being said, I've actually wanted a dinghy for some time now as I've been leaning more and more toward anchoring and would love the freedom that a dink gives in ability to explore the surroundings and gunkholes otherwise inaccessible. Also, now that I've just moved from a 32' to a 40', slips fees (and everything else!!) are a bit more pricey :(

I'll be sure to read all the prior dinghy recommendations. Thanks!
-RB
 
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