Inflatable Dinghies

R

RicksAmigo1

New member
Does anyone have any experience with the best kind of inflatable dinghies on the market to use with the CD? We have been surfing the Internet and came across some reasonably priced Mercury dinghies. Anyone have one of these?
 
We tried several inflatables during our sailboat days and the only acceptable ones have to be large enough to mount an outboard motor. Inflatables row like a leaf on the water in high winds: no control at all. Something at least 8 feet long and maybe 10 is about the minimum useful length.

We used to tow our inflatable behind the San Juan 28, but one will stow on the cabin roof with some brackets and imagination. There are sure to be photos here of some mounted like this. Engine storage is the main hassle.

-- Chuck
 
We bought a Mercury Valiant 250 (8 foot RIB). the boat appears to be well made and certainly worth the price. With the rigid hull, it will probably tow better than a roll-up, but makes it damn near impossible to load on the cabin top! (A little too bulky and heavy to be easily loaded up on the cabin, so we'll probably experiment towing it.) See my companion message in this section.

Casey
http://www.mercurymarine.com/mercury_250_valiant
 
A couple of years ago Power Boats Reports had a good article on inflatables. It provided length, weight, HP & capacity data for many models. Based on that I chose a West Marine, RU 260. It's 8'6" long, weighs 42 lbs, rated for 4 HP, but tested sat with a 5 HP.

I use a 5 HP kicker on my C-Dory, so I can use it on the dingy.

The dingy fits the 22' C-dory well. Either folded in it's valise in the fwd berth, or inflated on the roof. With my radar dome mounted fwd of the anchor/nav lite, the inflated dink fits on the roof.

At 42 #, it's easy for me to put it on or off the roof. It does add significant windage, so if I were maneuvering in tight quarters, I'd take it off & tow.

It inflates with a foot pump. It takes me about 10 minutes to get it from the fwd berth, to inflate and launch it from an anchorage. There are some photos of it in El & Bill's site on the Maine stories.
 
I think there are several aspects to this and it depends a lot on what you think your dinghy's duties are going to be and where you typically moor. For instance, given the shallow draft capability of the CD22 I don't think I'm going to be the farthest boat out from shore so the distances covered should be pretty short. Since I tend to anchor in protected coves I don't typically need the ability to take a kedge anchor out. Also because the CD22 has shallow draft and is easy to get underway I also don't tend to use the dinghy for 'exploring'; except rubber-necking around the marina maybe. So that limits its duties to short distance trips ship-to-shore and not much more.

The CD22 is an interesting boat to get a dinghy aboard under some circumstances. I try to go for the lightest dink I can so that I have some hope of handling it by myself. With camper canvas on the back the only way up is really onto the foredeck and then onto the cabin top.

For my needs the Sevylor Tender series dinghies work well; cheap and light. They don't row worth a darn (most inflatables don't) but well enough for me to do the short distances usually involved. If I had to go any further I'd install the optional motor bracket and carry a Honda BF2 with me.

The Bombard AX-2 (I hope that's the right model) seems to be a good choice; it very light and has a traditional inflatable shape. It's a bit heavier than the Sevylor but still only about 30 pounds.

A good friend uses an 8' Avon successfully on his CD22 but usually both he and his wife handle the launching and retrieving since it's a bit much for one person. He carries a Honda BF2 to get around with on a board we installed in the cockpit corner.
 
Hi C-Brats,
I have the same Zodiac/West Marine 8'-6" roll-up inflatable dinghy as Rick, and I have been very pleased with it. I can single-handedly pick it up and place it on the cabin roof of my boat. I also have a Honda BF2 that works well with this boat. This dinghy also accompanies us on camping trips when we are travelling with our tent trailer. The theoretical capacity is 4 people. We found it was tight with 2 adults and 2 kids. 3 persons would be a more realistic expectation of the space available on this dinghy.
Best Regards, Leo.
 
Les has made some good points I didn't consider. One of which is our San Juan 28 drew at least 5 feet of water and there's seldom deep water close to shore where we sailed, so we were anchored quite a ways out most times.

One thing we found very useful about the dingy here was at distant dockages. The available docks are all a looooooong walk from any of the facilities and the road into town. Using the dingy as a ferry was beneficial. Got us a quiet dock or mooring yet made other areas handy.

-- Chuck
 
We have a 10' 2" Zodiac that weighs about 60#. A smaller one might have been preferrable (weight wise) but we've owned this one for years. We use it with a Honda BF 2. The dingy stows on the roof and the engine is small, light and can be stowed easily. We do alot of exploring on the Lower Columbia and when anchored in backwater sloughs use the dingy to explore as well as take the dog to shore for breaks. As previously stated, oars/paddles are pretty useless on an inflatable except to check water depth as as fend-off tools.
 
It's nice to see all the comments on the various dinghies in use; I've been wanting to compile this type of information for quite awhile and just haven't had the time.

I'd love to get some more data so if you're carrying/towing a dinghy on/with your C-Dory please post your experiences and thoughts here.

Thanks!
 
Kayaks, a pair of 40# kayaks and you have it made. Old Town Loon 111 has a wide cockpit opening and is very stable (you can stand up in it), no small engine to store.....food for thought, a shallow draft versitile dingy for a shallow draft versitile boat
 
B~C":3j8un4em said:
Kayaks, a pair of 40# kayaks and you have it made. Old Town Loon 111 has a wide cockpit opening and is very stable (you can stand up in it)
Click to expand...


YO! B-C.........I stood up in a canoe...............ONCE! :crook
 
Very intriguing, Ken. I was planning on an inflatable dinghy, but I like the "no motor, no leak" features of a pair of kayaks.

How much room is in the Old Town Loon 111? Think it would be possible to transport a dog (50-60 lbs.) to shore, assuming the pooch was well behaved? I did a little research on this model (manufacturer link here), and the capacity would work - just can't get a feel for how much storage space there is in one of these things.

Compared to an inflatable dinghy, what are the cons of a kayak? The obvious ones that jump to mind are single-user and lack of outboard, anything else?
 
Bill, I don't think the kayak thing would work to good with a dog,getting in and out of a kayak from another boat would be a delicate maneuver without the canine help...aren't those wirebrushhiennies hunting dogs? they should float
 
I originally thought that we would carry our 21' double kayak on our boat. It weighs almost 100 lbs and I wasn't able to get it easily on and off of the roof by myself, so I started looking for an inflatable. The best deal that I found was on a Mercury 7' 11" roll up. It is 41 lbs and has a hard transom that will take up to a 4 hp motor. I wish it was a little longer, but I can easily get it on top of the boat or stow it rolled up. The best prices I found were on EBay. There's a guy there that sells lots of new Mercury inflatables. He was great to deal with, no problems. His name is Dave (718) 945-4377. He says he sells more Mercury inflatables than anyone in the country. I'm not sure who makes the inflatables for Mercury, but they seem like a good deal for the price. You can see a picture of Bess-C with the inflatable on top in our album.
Lyle
 
I will add that one plus for the inflatable is that it is very easy for an uncoordinated person to pull it up alongside the mother boat and get in or load cargo in. You can step on the side tubes without fear of capsizing (you don't have to step into the exact middle for stability). And the load capacity is quite a bit larger than a regular boat of a similar length. Our 10' Zodiac and Honda BF 2 will fit in the trunk of our Honda Accord along with luggage and a cooler. I guess a dingy, like any boat , is a compromise.
 
I use a Bombard AX3, which I like. It's 8'6" and weighs about 35 lbs. There are two models available, one with a slated plywood floor, and the other (which I have) is called the "aerotech" floor, which is a high pressure inflatable floor. I think it's a lighter, more compact package with the inflatable floor, and the high pressure really gives a firm, stable platform. It fits well up on top, and comes with oars, or can take a 2-3 hp kicker. It also comes in longer lengths, if you have more than 3 people to ferry around (the AX4 is 9'6"). Jim
 
We started with the Costco Intex, about $69 or $79 if I recall correctly (still have it, it could be yours at the SBS! Also bought the 12 volt air dealie and the outboard bracket), and it was great UNTIL we got the camperback. Then it was too long. Here is a picture of it:

Daydream_on_the_Beach_2_Patos_6_28_03.sized.jpg

Then we got the Mercury RU-260 (8'6" roll up) from Busters Marine via the Internet - a WHOLE lot cheaper than the same boat at West Marine. Sorry, no pictures of it. Have a Mercury 2.5 outboard for it. This fits on top with the camperback up just fine, but frankly it is NOT that easy for me to get on board and up on top alone, especially if there is any wind or wave action. Still, I can do it. Outboard storage is a PITA, and if anybody has figured out a really satisfactory solution to this, I would like see/hear it...






RicksAmigo1":gop8cnt0 said:
Does anyone have any experience with the best kind of inflatable dinghies on the market to use with the CD? We have been surfing the Internet and came across some reasonably priced Mercury dinghies. Anyone have one of these?
Click to expand...
 
Back
Top