On-the-Hook Cruisers . . . What Kind of Dinghy Do You Use ?

[wildbillca]

I have a 11.5' Avon with a 15 hp.4 stroke.Hard body.I find that with 6 people aboard it is fine and very quick.I have a 10' motor cycle cable with a Criptonite lock But I don't have it marked with a name But I think I will paint it and put my Wildbillca on it and the boat also.This should do the trick but if they want it they will get it...How about boat insurance ?....

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by virginia boy

I have an eight foot porta-bote that rows quite well, and had 3.5 horsepower outboard (stolen while ashore) which I chose not to use for the first two months.

Where are you cruising Eric? I ask b/c our dingy is also a porta-bote (10' in this case). I've been planning to get a 3.5 hp Tohashu, or perhaps a Torqueedo 1003, but I constantly hear people saying you "gotta have a big outboard if you want to cruise the Caribbean." By big, they mean 8hp+. I'm sure it's nice to have lots of power, but is it a must?

We cruise the Great Lakes these days (mostly Lake Superior). The people who tell me I gotta go big also tend to be the ones who already use large outboard up here. We get along just fine rowing most of the time, or using an electric trolling motor when we want to go far. Neither method moves us fast, but I've never failed to go where I wanted to with this arrangement.

Yes, this demands a slightly higher level of attention to the weather, and I could envision any number of scenarios where bigger would be better (back up for mothership's engine, kedging in nasty weather, running out of beer and needing to make a long-distance run to town). There are always compromises with every boat choice. Is a small outboard just another one, or am I truly missing something?

[sailorchic34]

I use an inflatable two person kayak to get around in. Partly Its a weight thing, because I don't have the strength to girl handle an outboard down to a dink, and partly because I'm cheep...er furgal... It does limit me as to how far I can row to shore, but I stay healthier too....

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

I use an inflatable two person kayak to get around in. Partly Its a weight thing, because I don't have the strength to girl handle an outboard down to a dink, and partly because I'm cheep...er furgal... It does limit me as to how far I can row to shore, but I stay healthier too....

I have a Garhauer Lifting Davit. My transom is very high and lifting a motor up and down, especially if there was any motion was not fun. The davit cost less then $400, wa easy to install and makes short work of raising and lowering the motor.

Now if only there was a davit for keeping a motor in decent shape. My is held together with binder twine. I row when the distance is reasonable and a ribby is a marginal rowboat, though better then the inflatables I've seen, but a motor is nice for distances.

[svWindfall]

A word of caution about putting your boat's name (or "Tender to ..." ) written on your dinghy....when your dinghy is ashore then the thieves know YOU"RE not aboard!
We secure our dinghy each, and every, night lifting and locking onto the davits (with the 15hp motor), mostly it's the "easy prey" that gets stolen during the night by cutting a rope painter and quitely drifting off into the darkness. If it's not secured, bolted, chained, or cabled you can be sure someday you'll end up missing items. We use a STAZO locking system for our outboard (from Lats & Atts about $75)...and it works great. Lock it or Lose it!

[shipofools]

one more vote for colemj post. spot on

[bene505]

We have an 11'6" Achilles RIB with a 20 hp 4 stroke Tohatsu. I did a lot of research before buying it because of the requirements I had.

It's big enough to carry 6 people + cooler and beach charis up on plane. (OK, so we have to lean forward sometimes to get her going.) And it's light enough to man-handle up onto a beach.

She'll do 25 mph with 2 people on board. That's flying.

The Tohatsu has a lifting ring under the cowling, I use one of the dinghy davits to get it up onto the swim platform. Then I lift it the remaining 8-12 inches by hand, onto the pushpit. It's 141 pounds, so it's not that bad. Hug it and straighten your legs.

As a test, I once tied the dinghy to the mother ship and used it to move the big boat around. It works just fine for this, although it was done in protected waters.

Regards,
Brad

[barboak]

We have cruised full time for 10 years and most anchorages in the tropics are too windy to row. Maybe if you have shoal draft and can anchor off the beach but most of the time the bigger dinghy and motor that you can carry is what you want. Almost everyone with tiny dinks and 2 horse motors lament not having a larger dink. 10 ft AB with 15hp for us. We are in Georgetown, Bahamas right now and it has been honking for days, we have been getting things for friends when we go to town as their dinks are too small to make it across the harbor

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by highseas

The problem with name on dinghy,when left ashore,is the thieves know who's boat to rob.

That thought crossed my mind too.

If the fact it has a name is the theft deterent, any name would do.
"Ugly lil Bastard" would be distinctive

[Jim Cate]

HEre's another vote for colemj's opinion. We've been "on the hook" cruisers for 25 years now, have always had biggish inflatables or RIBs and consider them a cruising essential.

There are indeed folks who get along with rowing small hard dinks everywhere, but they miss out on some of the best parts of cruising IMO... getting into the dink and having a good look around that new anchorage you've just entered. This can mean many miles of exploration, and hours of amusement, or diving, or provisioning, or watering, or parts chasing, or...

Our current dink is a 3.5 M Gemini, alloy hull RIB. Empty weight is 47 kg. Motor is 15 hp Yamaha (the standard of the Pacific!). We use the main halyard to lift the engine off and on, and the spinny halyard to get the dink onto the foredeck. All fairly easy, even for a couple of old farts.

Finally, the belief that having your boat name on the dinghy is a calling card for thieves is common, but unproven IMO. In some areas it is mandatory if one wishes to have the dinghy covered under the ships rego. At any rate, in the areas we've cruised (SF to Oz), boat breakins have been very few... better things to worry about!

Cheers,

Jim and Ann

[44'cruisingcat]

3.5m RIB with 18hp Tohatsu. We use it a lot, fishing crabbing, snorkelling and just being tourists. We use more fuel in the dinghy than the big boat.

We also carry a couple of kayaks.

Instead of the boats name, you can have TT and the boat's registration number. Bit harder for the crims to remember.

[Mike OReilly]

This is getting interesting. Looking at the responses so far, there is a strong correlation between mothership size and tender/motor size. Big sailboat, big tender. The reverse also seems true; small yacht, small tender/motor.

If this relationship holds, I wonder what it is due to:

• Cruising ground?
• Experience (wisdom)?
• Age of crew?
• Size of crew?
• Affluence?
• Philosophy?
• Other?

[44'cruisingcat]

Other. Easier to fit a big tender on a big boat.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Other. Easier to fit a big tender on a big boat.

Of course by that logic, a smaller tender would be even easier on a big boat. So it can't be just that . Maybe people get a big yacht b/c they want a big tender. Hmmmm...

[wildbillca]

I've been cruising over 50 years.And if it's one thing I've learned your dink is the most important peace of equipment when in port or on the hook.I've had two soft botton dinks one time and both lost bottoms.I now have a 11' hard bottom with a 15 hp.4 stroke Honda.This is the best peace of equipment to have for my boat.I have a 60' William Garden pilothouse ketch.My transom is very high up but added extra boom on stern hooked to my aft sail boom works very well.Hard bottom is the way to go.