Dinghy Discussion (Help me learn what i'm missing please)

[carstenb]

wow, lots of different answers. I would say - How much are you going to cruise? If a lot and if your dinghy is going to be in the sun - buy Hypalon, not PVC. Hypalon can take the sun. If you get PVC then you will need chaps sewn for it.

We had a Zodiac inflatable. Nice boat but the bottom was also Hypalon and you really don't want to drag a boat like this up on a beach nor do you want it anywhere a piece of coral since coral will cut it like a hot knife going through butter.

We sold the Zodiac when we headed out in the pacific and bought a 2.8 meter Highfield Hypalon Rib. The first engine was a 6hp Evinrude 4 stroke - don't get me started on how bad a choice a that was.

We now have a Tohatsu 9.8 2 stroke - starts every time runs great - virtually zero service and will take the Highfield on a plane with both of us and some supplies in it.

The rib will easily hold 2 people and lots of supplies, laundry or whatever. Do you need to be able to plane?

Perhaps - we generally don't but if you are dinghying t o a snorkeling ground a nm or two away - getting on a plane means you can spend your time snorkeling - not riding the dinghy

[teneicm]

There's good reason that probably 80% of all the dinghys you see being used by cruising liveaboards fall into the range of 10-11 feet RIBs with a 9.9-18hp engine (with most of those engines being 15hp). This sort of boat/engine combo meets your requirements.

[Tonali99]

Lot of good answers here, but get down to basics. You, your girl and a months worth of supplies? You'll need more than a dink for those supplies.

Define your use. I had a 12 footer with 15 hp on it. Fished from it. Used it as a dive boat. On a few occaisions even as a tug to push a disabeled trawler into a slip.
I don't do that anymore so ... 8' with a 2.5 hp motor. It's only 100 metres to the beach. Less to a dock. And I can pick up both and put them on deck.
(covered of course)

[Happ]

When you plane you may get a bit wet. People I know purchase ribs around the 10-11’ range with 9.9 to 15hp motors. Keep one thing in mind. The bigger the motor the heavier it is. Assuming you are cruising you will want to have a way of getting the motor off the dinghy and secured on board. Same as the dinghy. David’s and a outboard crane will do it.

[BlackHeron]

We are in the Porta Bote club too. Lots more room than any inflatable anywhere close to its size range. Rows really easily, or you can get away with a tiny motor if you aren't in a big hurry like so many cruisers seem to be in today.

99% of the time on the East Coast of the US we are within sight of the place to go to shore. Sometimes a good push will get you there like in places like Oriental or Georgetown.

You can explore slow too. Exploring isn't about being in a speedboat to us. You can explore while rowing slow too -way up into the mangrove creeks where you night need to drag the boat over brush and rocks to get to the next bit. Try that with an inflatable.

I don't find it "unstable" compared to an inflatable any more than I would say a monohull is unstable compared to a cat. No you can't sit on the sides, but neither do you need to. Tons of space to sit everyone on their own thwart seat like a real boat.

I'd never want to go back to having a wet ash nearly every time we went to shore in the old inflatable. But cruising folks have all different opinions of what they like.

[SV__Grace]

As with most things, there is no "right" answer for everyone.

We are full time cruisers who chose a Portland Pudgy because we wanted a hard, unsinkable dink that will last for decades. We chose a Torqeedo electric motor because we like the quiet, the free energy, the easy maintenance, and we LIKE to take our time and go 4-6 knots.

I can understand wanting to go fast and plane, and doing so extends your range so that you can efficiently dinghy 5 miles to the market or an island instead of raising anchor to relocate the mother ship.

Different strokes...

[DeValency]

Originally Posted by Happ

When you plane you may get a bit wet. People I know purchase ribs around the 10-11’ range with 9.9 to 15hp motors. Keep one thing in mind. The bigger the motor the heavier it is. Assuming you are cruising you will want to have a way of getting the motor off the dinghy and secured on board. Same as the dinghy. David’s and a outboard crane will do it.

Used to think in this way. However, cruising also requires to easily lift the dinghy on the foredeck and potentially single handed quick hoist the outboard.

I have super strong davies built to carry the 12’ fiberglass double floor RIB and the 15HP (thanks god, only two stroke Yamaha for the years in the West Indies). It was great for the islands social life, where two boats crews could ride a single dinghy with cargo, but a bad setup while cruising, so looking into a downgrade to something like 8-9’ aluminum RIB with the lightest reasonable outboard. Now back in the US, so will be forced to go for a heavier four stroke.

[Cynara]

A month of supplies in one trip. First that is a lot of weight, Second all of that plus 2 people would not fit. I'm pretty sure

[mikedefieslife]

My narrow 2.6m dinghy regularly had two adults and 2 weeks worth of provisions in one trip. Adding another 2 worth would have been fine dinghy wise, just person wise in terms of carrying them to the dinghy. This includes packs of beers, wine, and rum during lockdown in St Maarten

[Group9]

Our dinghies just keep getting bigger and bigger. Our current dinghy is a 13.5 Del Quay Dory with a 9.8 Nissan. It tops out at 23 mph with just me in it. But, it can haul a lot.

[sv Stella Maris]

...post...hehe

My friend has a Walker Bay w/ 2.5hp. I have a big RIB w/ 15hp. We do all the same things everyday together while buddy boating...

Oh, and I hate 4 strokes under 40hp...I've tuned enough of them for a lifetime. My Yamaha Enduro on the other hand refuses to die...so stubborn, almost annoying. Someone remind me please: is an engine that outlives 1, 2, or 3 of it's counterparts better for the environment ? (the answer is yes)

Buy a dingy and find out !!!

Still reading ? Who has a tunnel-hulled racing dinghy ? Those seems cool, and wet, but cool. I'll get one next just for fun ;-)

[BlackHeron]

Originally Posted by SV__Grace

I can understand wanting to go fast and plane, and doing so extends your range so that you can efficiently dinghy 5 miles to the market or an island instead of raising anchor to relocate the mother ship.

OMG the prospect of having to go on a distasteful boat ride that takes a WHOLE HOUR. Oh, the humanity! How do people stand this torture? And having to pull up a laboriously placed anchor and actually move your floating palace and actually SAIL it??? What an inconvenient bother!

[DeValency]

Still around the subject:
Anyone with experience with Newport Vessels dinks? https://newportvessels.com/

I’m looking for a second (to a 12’ RIB/15HP) on board that will be more compact to pack inside and occasionally in a car to go places etc. also with a lighter 3-4HP outboard.

[teneicm]

Originally Posted by BlackHeron

OMG the prospect of having to go on a distasteful boat ride that takes a WHOLE HOUR. Oh, the humanity! How do people stand this torture? And having to pull up a laboriously placed anchor and actually move your floating palace and actually SAIL it??? What an inconvenient bother!

Oh, please. Either you've not had experience cruising in remote locations or you're just turning a blind eye to reality for comedic effect. We've been to plenty of spots where there simply is no good anchorage off of a town that contains the only market for miles on any direction. Or we want to scuba dive or explore someplace that also can't be safely anchored off of. Having a fast dinghy vastly extends your capabilities.

[BlackHeron]

Everything is a trade-off. If you have a fast dinghy you need to deal with a bigger outboard all of the time, or carry two outboards and store both on deck. You'll need a hoist because unless you ate He-Man ypy won't be carrying that over the lifelines in one hamd luke I do our little 2hp.

Then tou need a dinghy that will carry the bigger outboard which is maybe heavier or doesn't pack or fold as small. You'll probably need davits, especially if you have a rib, which may make having a windvane self-steering system difficult or ineffective, especially if you have a smaller cruising boat. So you'll probably need a bigger boat than us to haul all of this.

So, for those rare occasions where having a faster speedboat for a dinghy would be handy, you had to make a lot of sacrifices and other things that make the costs of cruising go up dramatically like bigger boats and sometimes dinghies that cost more than what we paid for our whole sailboat.

But going fast is important...