10' Walker Bay ( Recommendations )

[Aussie_Sequoia]

Hey all. Been a long time since I posted last - been too busy sailing around the Sea of Cortez!

We live aboard and have an awesome Apex RIB that suits us fine (me, my wife and our 2 year old son) with a 9.8HP OB.

Lately my wife has been getting sailing dinghy envy. We looked at a few used 8' Walker Bays and were told over and over that thy were too tippy to have with our son on board and also that I'm too tall to be comfortable tacking in them.

Now there is a used 10' available with the added inflatable collar and full sailing rig. It looks much sturdier than the 8'. I'm tempted to get it, but have a couple of questions for folks who've had one:

Can I use my 9.8HP OB? It seams a bit big.

Will it plane like with my RIB?

Is it safe enough with the collar so that I'm not constantly worrying about tipping over (and my son falling out)?

Is it wetter than an RIB? (eg: coming back tot he boat with laundry are we going to get soaked with waves splashing in?)

Will I be able to tack with out laying flat on the bottom to get the boom across? I'm 6' 3".

THANKS HEAPS!

[kbudd]

I have a Walker Bay 10 with the inflatable tube and a sail kit. It is very stable with the inflatable tube. You can stand on the gunwale and it will not tip. It sails OK. Doesn't point well but is fun around the harbor. We have a 6hp motor and it is pretty fast. It is big enough for 4 adults. Another advantage is that the tube acts as a fender when tied up to our boat. It also rows quite well.

The disadvantages are that it is pretty heavy compared to an inflatable and it is wide for storing on deck.

[Aussie_Sequoia]

Thanks for the quick reply. We'd store it on davits (I think it will fit!) until we cross back to Australia and then - yes - it looks quite large to lash to the deck.

Glad to hear it's good for up to 4. Do you think the 9.8HP would be too large (and / or powerful) for the plastic transom?

[kbudd]

I think that size motor would be OK. The transom is pretty substantial. I'll attach a pick of mine in davits.