RIB or inflatable keel tender?

[Sea-Jay]

I have the option of davits but im not the biggest fan so the ability for the tender to be kept for'd is a bonus.

[Sea-Jay]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

15hp engine? That will be stolen.

Mark

Unfortunately, the reason im going for a tender which is capable of taking one is that ive already got a brand spanking new Honda 15hp sitting in the garage which was bought with the intention of being used for a small fishing tinny- now i see it as my new tender/SUV/water-Ferrari engine.

[bstreep]

If you have davits, go for the RIB.

We are happy with our new airdeck Mercury w/ 9.8 on it. Defender has some leftovers for a steal. The newer models have a modified stern tube, that supposedly corrects some performance problems? If you have to haul it up on deck, you will be much happier with the lower weight of the airdeck.

[fastcat435]

Why not combine low weight with a hard bottom , we make extremely light weigth Rigid inflatables with a carbon basalt bottom Hypalon tubes and a weight below 30 kilo for the 11 ft and below 25 for the 9 ft 6 inches

Greetings

Gideon

[Jim Cate]

Some other considerations for you:

The one HP air floor dink we had (a Zodiac 3.5 metre Futura) worked ok, but the thickness of the floorand its rather high mounting in the futura hull meant that there was very little "freeboard" inside the hull. You sat with your knees above your bum, and any "cargo" tended to be up in the spray. The light weight was good,tho'.

Secondly, the air floors have a bad track record for longevity. Avon (who used to make indestructable inflatables) limit the waranty on the air floor itself to one year, but either five or ten years on the hulls. OUr Zodiac floor developed an anuryism (sp?) and was not repairable. Replacement costs about 1200AUD...

The other option not discussed is RIBs with aluminum hulls. We have had a Gemini 3.4 metre RIB for several years now and are quite happy with the hull, but are finding the Hypalon to be a bit too flimsy. The weight for this model is 47 kg empty, which is quite a bit less than the GRP hull boats we looked at.

A lot depends on how you will be using the boat. If you are a long term live-at-anchor cruiser, you will put a lot of hard miles on your dink. You'll drag it over nasty surfaces, moor her next to oyster covered rocks, get friendly with lots of barnacles, and probably not follow the owners' manual instruction to carefully fold and powder it after each use!! So, don't be tempted to buy something that looks more like a pool toy -- you'll end up hating it!

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Gladstone Qld Oz

[Ram]

I also bought a Merc 11'2 (Avon hyplion) H.P. floor from Defender new for $1100 and felt like I stole it -a great deal- I put a new 15hp 2 stroke Yamaha on it and it flys at over 30 knots and feels stable to me at that speed
light enough to handle by myself

[Cheechako]

well.... they've been trying to build durable IM hulls for years and they dont seem to last long. reportedly they have improved them, but only time will tell. In the past they have been subject to UV damage becoming brittle and crack prone. There is no fiber running in the plastic for strength. Are they really that much lighter? WHy not go with a proven product....

[bene505]

Originally Posted by Ram

I also bought a Merc 11'2 (Avon hyplion) H.P. floor from Defender new for $1100 and felt like I stole it -a great deal- I put a new 15hp 2 stroke Yamaha on it and it flys at over 30 knots and feels stable to me at that speed
light enough to handle by myself

Can you send a link to what you bought? That sounds good.

[Ram]

Sorry - but you can do a search for Defender Marine and look up what they have to offer-, Mine was sold out about a week after I bought it, but there seems to be good deals from time to time, just keep looking!
Im VERY happy with it!

[zeehag]

i have been prepping for cruising for decades it seems---i used to have a caribe RIB with a 9.8 nissan----was a gas for playing around...i watched as my friends and naybores went out ointo the real world of the pacific---just to catlina and other fun little jaunts and came back sans dink and sans davits resulting from having been pooped by a large and unexpected swell or wave----i choose to retain my transom and dink by changing to a roll uop with a smaller engine for cruising----i can fit the roll up into my formosa --on deck or in the lazarette---but the rib wasnt stowable at all, unless i used my deck and cabinhouse roof space for it upside down or upright in a cradle---the convenience and the storability factors ar eall important in you rdecision----it comes down to what YOU want to deal with----do you wanna lift a 250 pound mess onto a pair of metal poles coming out of your transom and risk loss under some unforeseen sea condition?? or be safer with a well stowed tender .....is like playing poker---never bet more than you can afford to lose----davits and towing are high risk.....stowing on board and in board are less risky but more inconvenient.........have fun!!!!!!

[Ram]

I would rather have the hard bottom - but I wanted to ship it from FL to Greece so it was a lot cheaper and lighter also
wheight is 119lbs with the ors

[bene505]

Darn. Next time. If anyone sees a good deal on an inflatable over 11', please let me know via PM.

[PaulB]

Originally Posted by fastcat435

Why not combine low weight with a hard bottom , we make extremely light weigth Rigid inflatables with a carbon basalt bottom Hypalon tubes and a weight below 30 kilo for the 11 ft and below 25 for the 9 ft 6 inches

Greetings

Gideon

Ok, I'm interested.... any Australian distributor? how much? cheers pb

[s/v Jedi]

The original question doesn't have a single answer. The following points are important:

- will it be used in the tropics? if so, hypalon material is a must. I would select that even outside the tropics.

- will you be mostly at anchor or in the marina/harbor when both options are available? more at anchor means more wish for RIB and big engine. It will be your car, you will spent more time driving the dinghy than the big boat.

- is it windy where you will use it? if so, RIB + big engine + really big tube diameters become a need for dry rides. Cruisers without that tend to skip gatherings that involve an upwind trip through the choppy bay or bring a change of clothes. Nice for holiday sailing adventures, not for full time liveaboards!

- do you scuba dive or snorkel? It'll become your dive-boat so again, RIB + engine. The further you go from the big boat, the more important safety becomes. Do you dare to take it through 6-8' seas? You should...

- will you live aboard full time? rib is the only choice.

A RIB is always the right choice for all conditions for liveaboards. But you must have a garage!!! Davits mean a risk of loosing the dinghy in heavy conditions but you might want to take that risk. We opted for an arch on the stern with a moving lifting arm so that the dinghy is high up against the pushpit. A spot on deck is another option, it would go either on the foredeck (cutter stay trouble) or under the boom (boomvang and/or sheet trouble).

The best dinghies I've seen are RIBs from Caribe and AB. Our Avon RIB 310 was very nice until it developed cracks in the bottom (inner floor, no leak but always water between the floors.) after taking it out into the big seas. I tried the aluminium bottom AB and like it for everything except single person in choppy waters at high speed: too light and taking off too much. You really need to take dingies into plane for comfort and to be able to do distances.

cheers,
Nick.

[Cheechako]

ditto what Nick said. except.... I'll take the davits for sure... worth the risk...:>)