Any thoughts on a DRY inflatable?

[travellerw]

Yup.. Our Highfield is pretty dry.. However, not sure anything would be completely dry in 2ft swells and wind in the face..

[downunder]

Cotemar at one stage designed and built a foam catamaran dingy for his Mahle. Wondered how that performed.

I note the links for it have dissappeared. ???

[Dulcesuenos]

Boatguy30 built a catamaran dinghy. I saw it in GT last year, fast with half the HP. I don't believe the bows throw up wafer like a Rib would ,
I do know the livingston 10' is a very dry dinghy. Some love it
Some hate it. But its fast and stable and dry

Sent from my STUDIO 5.5 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[knockabout]

coming up past tasman island last time we were down that end of Australia we past a very dry looking inflatable travelling at about 20kts with a load of tourists on it / I asked about it at Orford public wharf and even though we didn't see it that giant inflatable boat has also been known to disappear in a huge cloud of heavy water spray and continue on a bit soggier / perhaps there is no such thing as a dry inflatable tender / our large hypalon tube sevy marine roll up with 3hp Yamaha can get quite damp / perhaps you may have to design a tender with inflatable fully enclosed dodger / there are some videos on a different thread on this email of the queen mary taking heavy water over the bridge so bigger doesn't make much difference / they would need to be very large tubes to keep your bum dry in all conditions

[edmundsteele]

My wife uses an umbrella in the dink. Works for spray - also works for rain

[LTDsailing]

I have to second the comment about getting on plane as quick as possible. We have a 12' AB w/ fiberglass bottom. I have driven the same model a lot with a Tohatsu 9.8 and gotten quite wet in the conditions you describe. On my personal one, we opted for a Yamaha 25 hp Enduro and find it to be as dry as could be in those conditions. I love the fact that it gets up on plane quickly when fully loaded.

[wannacat]

Love my Walker Bay 310H with a 15 hp 2 stroke Merc on it. Planes quick enough for me with 3 adults. Had a chance to get an AB with the aluminum hull, but thought about all the times I've been on coral with that plastic hull of mine and all it does is gouge it a bit, I'd be worried with the aluminum hull doing that. Also no problems running on top of conch shells when beaching.
Whatever you get, make sure you max the HP as others mentioned!!!

[thruska]

If you must go fast, remember one thing, if you go fast enough , your dink can and will fly in the chop and wind you tend to describe.
Your in a boat, it's on water, water is wet, conditions change quickly.
I carry a robust military poncho for use when temps are low. No seats in 84 Avon which allows any position for the milk crate cushioned seat. Bow skirt helps keep lots of water off the bow , not in boat. Really a little splash is invigorating, unless it's a dirty marina bath, then slow down I guess.
Avon came with a '72 4hp Johnson 2stroke, sips fuel. 11.5 I think,
Inflatable keel allows for control. Now have 10hp Johnson and 35#thrust Gide electric for fishing in anchorages or river.

[Big Macca]

Have a look at the Swift line from Australia (HOME). We've been using a 3.4m RIB from them with an 18hp Tohatsu. It has larger-than-normal tubes and planes easily and well. Plus it has clever canvas covers for the tubes that can be easily replaced after a few years in the sun.

[Dirk Williams]

hard bottom, bigger tubes. Our dingy is 11.0 with a vee hard bottom hull, and 21 inch tubes. We switch between a 9.9 Merc and a 6 Johnson.


The down side is the boat lacks any sort of thwarts " air seats" I've opted to use an ice chest, strapped in with raft straps. The ice chest does double duty, as an ice chest, or most often a dry box.

We have a bunch of high end whitewater rafts," WING and SOTARS", all with aluminum dry boxes affixed to the rowing frames. We're considering having a custom made aluminum dry box made for the specific width of our dingy.

i wonder if a cat raft, with a high frame would work.

Interesting info here.

Dirk

[David Mark]

I know you are talking about spray when you are moving , I have always had another problem that was a pain . And that's the bilge water and beer cans in our R I B . I made a removable plywood floor . Now you are not standing in slippery dirty water ! Your bags stay dry , the dog doesn't slide around ,your shoes stay dry ! makes a big difference in being comfortable , also that spray is under the floor board !. .I made a simple cardboard pattern , transferd it to a 1/2 inch piece of exterior plywood , made sure it fit , then sanded and varnished it ! Looks great ! works great ! and only cost about 30 bucks !

[SteveSadler]

All good ideas. Larger the tubes, the drier. Hard bottoms raise the tubes even higher than inflated ones. On a plane you will be even higher, drier but have to drive around the potholes or a bumpy, wetter ride than a skilled dingy commander can do. A valuable add on is the foil which gets you on a plane at slower speeds. Coupled with standing in the dink holding the painter and a tiller extension, a 12' rib can drive upwind in 20+ kts and be dry and relatively comfortable. Center consoles are nice but take up all the central space and you can't set it inverted on the foredeck for a passage. (we store ours right side up with engine and fuel on in case we need it in a hurry)
Summary...12' rib 15hp planes 3, 20hp planes 4, 25hp planes 5.

[downunder]

Not an inflatable but dry.

3.6m Ripple tender

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seTJ...are_video_user

[SteveSadler]

Downunder
While this tender looks good in a lake, the bows lack buoyancy to rise over ocean swells. I love cats. owned a 22' power cat, but in 12' size the load capacity is not there. Waves would break over the bow, freeboard would diminish drastically when loaded with 6 adults. Also are there any fenders built in so not to beat up the mother? This would not be a good tender for my boat.
Steve