Big enough boat to carry a hard dink or RIB?

[Benz]

After having a 6-foot pram on the foredeck of our 27' boat, when we moved up to 31' to fit the family, one of my non-negociables was a hard dinghy stowed aft of the mast. Foredeck space is too precious on a small boat to allow it to be cluttered by a dinghy.

I ended up building a 9' rowing and sailing dinghy that sits upside down in chocks on the cabintop, and gets hauled and launched with the peak halyard. It's doable with one, easy with two. After a few years and hundreds of beaches, plus a knee surgery for my wife, I built an identical one with carbon/kevlar/epoxy. Weighs far less than the vinyester/fiberglass one, and is of course far, far easier to haul, launch, and carry up beaches.
If you're sailing solo (or with one other), a 7-foot pram is more than enough; an 8-foot hard dink is luxurious (we are a family of fine in a 9' which is getting snugger as the children grow).

[Fore and Aft]

I am thinking of building a John Welshford 9’ Sherpa pram dinghy out of foam and glass.
Our 8’ dinghy is getting smaller as the kids get older.
Cheers

[billknny]

Doesn't anyone know there are FOLDING ribs?

We have had one for several years. It's awesome. A 10.5 foot rib that folds in half and stores in our aft locker.

No davits, easy to put away, clear decks and RIB performance. We'd have nothing else. If ours died an unexpected death tomorrow, we'd replace it in kind without a second thought.

F-RIB | Revolutionary new Foldable RIBs (F-RIBs)

We never travel with our dinghy towed or inflated on deck because we don't have to.

[roverhi]

Have an 8' Montgomery sailing dinghy upside down on the foredeck of our Pearson 35. It's a plus under sail as I find myself leaning against it moving about forward. Enough room left over to work the windlass. when anchoring and deanchoring. Do have to be aware of the sheets when tacking as the lazy shoet will occasionally get hooked on the spring clip that keeps the dinghy rudder from lifting when it's sailed. Not a big thing just have to keep slack out of the lazy sheet or get rid of the spring clip hold down on the dinghy. Have sailed to Hawaii with it so it's a very small concern.

On our W32 kept the Avon Redcrest half inflated aft of the mast. Wife would use as an air bed in light air sailing and made reinflating quick and easy cause when we needed to convert the hid a bed, Can only do that with a dinghy that has fore and aft inflation chambers as I found it when we bought a rigid transom inflatable. We also had a hard rowing dinghy on the foredeck. I rescued it from a dumpster with a big hole in the bottom. It had two virtues. It was virtually free and fit between the mast and the staysail stay. When you have two or more people on a boat it's really nice to have two dinghies so no one gets stranded on board when the other takes the only dinghy.

Don't know how small the rib was but a 36' cruising boat passing through easily fit his rib deflated on the foredeck. Couldn't have been a big one as it took me awhile to figure out what it was because the hard part was so small.

Currently figuring out how to carry an 8' Sabot on the foredeck of our Sabre 28. It will fit but haven't worked out how to make the chocks. Don't think it will be a big thing, just haven't gotten a sabot victim to borrow to put there before I buy one. A reasonably good 8' sailing Pram will fit in a very small space.

[Cap Bill Des]

We carry a Trinka 8 on the foredeck of our Ericson 33. Fits between the mast and the anchor locker and takes up less room than the fat tubes of our previous inflatable. Love being able to sail, row, and motor the dinghy!