Steel jon boat for dinghy?

[sammy999]

Does anyone use a steel jon boat for a dinghy or have any thoughts on using one as a dinghy? We are looking to buy a 45' trawler and are trying to decide on a what type of dinghy is the most practical and would not get stolen. We would be cruising Florida and the Bahamas, and the dinghy would be stored on the dinghy deck. I know the jon boat has a square bow but am considering getting one with the Coast Guard type bow. Any comments will be appreciated.
Thanks!!

[Jim Cate]

Steel?? That would be pretty heavy, and with typical dinghy usage would get scratched up and then rusty. Sounds like a very bad idea to me. Are you sure that you don't mean aluminium instead of steel? Lots of folks use what are called "tinnies" here in Oz for tenders... and "tinnies" are made of aluminium!

Jim

[sammy999]

I should have checked my facts before posting this. The jon boats I am thinking of are made of aluminum, not steel. Sorry for the confusion. Do the tinnies you refer to have the side inflatable tubes? The one I was thinking of does not have the tubes. Thanks!

[Suijin]

Jon boats are pretty much just for protected waters, and flat protected water at that. Run one in any sort of chop and you'll have to either crawl along or wear a mouthguard. Also, they have pretty low freeboard for their size. They are wet if the wind is up, and while relatively stable, if they dip a gunwale they tend to swamp pretty fast.

I can understand the attraction of one...relatively inexpensive, large load carrying capacity, low profile for storage on deck, but I don't think they are entirely practical for your intended purpose and destinations.

99% of your neighbors are going to have RIBs for the simple fact that they are the best solution given their stability, seaworthiness, relative lightness and stowability, and cost.

[a64pilot]

They are unstable as hell too, stability is one big reason I like a RIB.
If you want a hard tender, look at a little Boston Whaler, they are hard to beat, and a boat the size your looking at ought to carry one easy

[onestepcsy37]

Another negative on jon boats. They're pretty much for protected waters on nice days. There will be some not so nice days you'll want to go ashore. They can also get really hot in the tropical sun, as in sitting on one of those metal seats. They will swamp easily in the kinds of conditions you will want to use them.

A liveaboard here in the ICW had one. Bought it used on craiglist. Fortunately he didnt have far to row and he could pick the days he came ashore. He may still have it. Being cheap myself I considered getting one but he pretty much talked me out of it.

[r.bideaux]

I too would agree that a jon boat is a very bad choice for a dingy. We use a Boston Whaler and an Inflatable. You can't go wrong with either.

[onestepcsy37]

Just remembered another jon boat here. One guy lives ashore but keeps his boat anchored off. In a bad storm his boat started dragging and he had to go out to it in his dinghy - an 11 foot jon boat. Yes, he swamped on the way out. Fortunately its full of flotation so he was able to bail it somewhat and get out to his boat.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by sammy999

I should have checked my facts before posting this. The jon boats I am thinking of are made of aluminum, not steel. Sorry for the confusion. Do the tinnies you refer to have the side inflatable tubes? The one I was thinking of does not have the tubes. Thanks!

Sammy, that's sorta what I thought. Anyhow, from the other responses, I gather that "Jon boat" refers to a specific design of small craft... one that I'm not really familiar with. Guess I've been gone from the States too long.

Anyhow, "tinnies" come in all sorts of shapes and sizes here in Oz. It is a generic term for small aluminium boat. Most of the folks who use them as tenders have motor vessels rather than yachts, and carry them in big davits or on the coach roof, lifting with a crane. The advantages are relatively inexpensive to buy, durable as hell, can be seaworthy, depending on design and size, and available everywhere in Oz from lots of different vendors. Disadvantages are: Ugly, noisy, heavy for size, hard to put on deck on most yachts, cause damage to folks topsides when alongside. The latter can be minimized by use of a floatation collar (inflatable tube-like things wrapped around the gunnels) or good fendering with fire hose or suchlike coverings. The combinations that one sees are quite varied!

As others have said, the majority of long term cruisers end up with some sort of inflatable, often a RIB on larger boats. They are relatively expensive, but offer the best combination of abilities for the cruising life.

Cheers,

Jim

[a64pilot]

Jon boat

http://img.nauticexpo.com/images_ne/...021-197705.jpg

[Reefmagnet]

We call small aluminium boats "tinnies" over here and they are quite popular. I have a 10 ft one myself that I use this more than my 9 foot RIB. I have to confess that I have sunk it (but it stayed afloat thanks to inbuilt flotation) and that I have towed it in pretty rough seas.

They are great for dragging up rocky beaches/over coral and can take a real pounding. Not as stable as an inflatable, but IMO stable enough for general use. And contrary to some opinions, they can actually handle fairly rough water but I guess this boils down to the design of particular models.

The cons are that they aren't kind to paintwork and will damage stuff if they start swinging around and bumping into things. My dinghy has 1 inch hose running around it's gunwales to protect the (fibreglass) mothership and I wont store it on deck whereas I store the RIB on deck without issue.

Having observed many different styles of dinghy, I really like the polyethylene molded types that are heavy, but combine many of the same advantages as inflatables and hard dinghys

[Cotemar]

If you get a hard dinghy you will want to have or add a good rub rail.
Some real pluses to a hard dinghy are:
1) Easy to row
2) No air pump required
3) Drier ride
4) Less maintenance
5) Much longer lifespan

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

They are unstable as hell too, stability is one big reason I like a RIB.
If you want a hard tender, look at a little Boston Whaler, they are hard to beat, and a boat the size your looking at ought to carry one easy

Great suggestion. There are many used small Whalers here (Great Lakes) with center console. Positive flotation is a plus & known for stability. I see 3 to 4 per year around town for sale. Usually very affordable.

I have a Sea Ark welded aluminum modified (pointed) bow option. 14 feet X 52 inches wide. It is extremely stable on sheltered water. Conditions over 2 feet require a lot of skill & caution and you will get very wet.

[Cuttyhunk]

One season, I used our jon boat as a dinghy to get out to our fishing boat on a mooring. It was big for the dinghy dock and it had a lot of surface area for rain to collect in. But the biggest drawback was it BANGED against the side of the bigger boat and marked it up and I was afraid of real damage, so I got out an old roll up inflatable and sent the jon boat back home for its proper use as a freshwater fishing boat.