Boston Whaler for dingy?

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

Weighs 64 lbs, due to the air entrapment cat hull, 5 hp makes it haul ass, 15 hp = insane fun, and easy to get into from the water.

LITE SERIES - Takacat.com

Wow, that looks pretty cool.... assuming it has enough depth to sit comfortably without your knees knocking on your chin! $....?

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by RabidRabbit

Pretty quick to condemm this idea. Do we even know what his plans are for it? And has anyone weighed it? What you may feel is unsuitable may be fine with the other 50% of people on this planet. Some here portray the atitude that theres only 1 right way to cruise. And $400 is pennys in a boat budget. Maybe try it for a month or two and make a informed choice. Saying its way too heavy is helping who? Maybe the OP is going to live on the hook for 6 months.

Saw no condemnation, just answers to the OP's question based on personal experience with the BW or similar boats. After all, the OP didn't ask for a bunch of yes men to endorse his idea, he asked if anyone had used the dinghy and was seeking information and opinion. He even specifically expressed concern about the weight and was clearly asking for opinions on that issue.

[Cheechako]

the Takacat seems to be workng VERY well for this guy!

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

the Takacat seems to be workng VERY well for this guy!

If that is part of the standard accessories package I'll take two.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by wunderluster

Has anyone used a Boston Whaler as a dingy? There is one close by that is for sale. It is 8.5 or 9 feet long. The asking price is $650 but I think I can get it for less, maybe $400.

One negative may be the weight, although I don't know how much it weights.

One positive is it is self baleing. Also, it is unsinkable.

Thanks,
David

I've had my 10' BW'r since 1984. Had to do a few patches and the writing has faded out but still going strong and it weighs about 85 lb.


.

[capttman]

I use a 12 foot carolina skiff works like a pick up truck

[minaret]

An 11' alu. bottom AB inflatable lives on my stern davits, but I still sometimes tow our BW 11.5 SS if we're just going to the islands for a week with the kids and I don't anticipate a lot of sailing. It really increases the range of places you can go in a hurry from an anchorage, opens up lots of new beaches and hikes we might not have done otherwise. Our 5 year old twins absolutely love the Whaler, because it's super fast even with a family of four and a dog in it. On sunny summer days when I don't have crew for sailing or theres no wind I take the kids and dog to secluded local beaches in it. It has it's place. It tows real nice. And I wouldn't worry about the low freeboard, just keep going real fast and hang on! Oh, and my wife also loves it because it has console steering and all the bells and whistles, good running lights, etc. etc. Very easy for her. And great for fishing.
I would stay away from the little teeny tender though, it just doesn't make sense to me. It's just not big enough to have any of the advantages of a Whaler in my eyes. Too heavy for what you get as others said. For me the 11.5 SS weighs in at 450 naked, which is actually less than some fancy console steering RIBs which are popular with my neighbors, without worrying about patching sponsons. And it was way cheaper. But the 8.5 BW will probably weigh twice what it's competitors do. So even from a BW convert, I probably wouldn't do it.

[Anjin San]

Hearing A lot of negativity about the ol' Whaler - have to respond. I have a 41 OI, built the davits & the Whaler goes everywhere with me. It's a little over 100 LBS - I have a 2.5 Mariner outboard as well as oars. Great mileage and she's perfect for 2 people.
The Squall is a tank; - swamp her - sure - done it - a bucket or a hand held bilge pump does the trick. Rarely happens and she is dry. Sink her - no. Run her up a beach and worry about deflating her - nope. Bump into a Bahamian dock with a nail or 2 hanging out - easy day.
Wouldn't trade her for the world, and she is definitely easy to launch/recover alone as long as you have davits with teh right pulley system.
Knock the price down to $300 and you'll have a killer deal.
Good Luck.

[deckofficer]

Back to the OP. If you want a boat tender that will plane, (most of us do) and you don't want an outboard that weighs more than 40 lbs, which happens to be the weight of a Mercury 3.5 hp 4 stroke, the Takacat LITE series is the only game in town. You can get other tenders to plane with a 40 lb 2 stroke, but they are hard to find, not allowed in some inland waters, and mixing oil with your gas is a PITA. To my knowledge, Takacat is the only company to address the issues of planing a tender with minimum power such as a 3 hp outboard.

[wunderluster]

Thanks for all the feedback. I didn't know about the taking on water ordeal. I'll check that out. The boat is for sale because it has been used as a dingy for a Hunter 43. The owner has been out of state for a job and is feeling the financial crunch.

I think I would prefer to have a RIB with a 10 or 15 hp outboard but, as someone said, I could use this one for a year or two and decide. I have a CSY33 and I do plan to have davits. But, I will tow locally. I do want a stable boat that I can board after swimming,etc. Rowing, not so muc

Thanks again for the useful info.

Ciao,
David

[Celestialsailor]

I have a Livingston 8. About 90 lbs. I think. At least I can launch it myself over the lifelines or using the jib halyard. I have a Tohatsu 6hp (4 stroke) which I can carry myself. The boat planes scary fast and with Davis wheels, beach's nicely. I like to row and with the cat hull, does a good job.

[Celestialsailor]

Also, I think where UV is concerned a hard dinghy has it hands down. My friends bought a brand new Avon and it's falling apart after 5 years. They want big bucks for a so call quality inflatable.

[ausaviator]

A 3 metre / 10 ft inflatable is around $500-$600 these days in comparison at around 90 pounds.

[continuouswave]

The Boston Whaler SQUALL was a 9-foot rowing or sailing dingy. The SQUALL was in production from 1965 to 1979. It then resumed production in 1983 to 1985. If you find an old SQUALL it could be 45-years-old. If you find a new SQUALL it could be 30-years-old. Keep this in mind when complaining about the condition of the hull.

Boston Whaler boats are made with a Unibond hull. They are double-bottom boats and the interior space is filled with foam. If the hull laminate and deck laminate are free from damage and holes, the foam should be dry. However, it is common to see some old boats which have not been maintained and have soaked up water. They can get rather heavy.

Boston Whaler SQUALL boats that are in good condition and have all the sailing components--mast, centerboard, rudder, sails, etc--are probably rare and could be valuable.

Here is an interesting story about a 9-foot SQUALL:

continuousWave: Whaler: Cetacea: Page 67

Boston Whaler also made a 9-foot boat that was more like a down-sized version of their classic 13-footer. This was called a TENDER model. And there is an 11-foot model, as well. These boats have a hull form more like the classic 13-foot Boston Whaler. They are not intended for sailing, and the don't row particularly well, either.

About 20 years ago I had the same idea: get a Boston Whaler to tow behind the sailboat so we could do a little exploring in the Whaler. I wanted a 13-footer, but I found a beautiful 15-footer. We never did tow it behind the sailboat. We ended up getting out of sailing and trailering the Boston Whaler all over the place. At one point I owned three Boston Whalers: a 15-footer, a 20-footer, and a 24-footer. I mention this as a caution for sailers who are thinking about getting a Boston Whaler as a dingy.

[PEACETIME]

I was in the locale BJ's the other day and saw a 9 ft roll-up with 16in tubes sold under the Coleman name for around $450.00. There was also a 4 stroke 5hp engine next to it with the Coleman name for around $475.00. I don't know if it would work for you or not. It would be a lot lighter to deal with on your 33 ft boat.