Dinghy, most popular size and type

[OldManMirage]

I completely agree with the point that a planing dinghy opens up more range - or at least it gets you there faster.

But most of the time I find bouncing through waves on small planing boats to be very uncomfortable. I can put along - or row or sail - in my Walker Bay and it's much more relaxing. And that's what I'm really looking for.

The fact that I can drag it up on any beach, rocky or not, bang it into dock or other obstructions (by accident of course), and just generally abuse the poor thing - all that is just icing on the cake.

And I'll never spend time airing it up. Or God forbid - trying to repair an air leak.

I bet you could drop it out of an airplane and it would still be usable !

[BenBowSirocco]

Originally Posted by OldManMirage

I completely agree with the point that a planing dinghy opens up more range - or at least it gets you there faster.

But most of the time I find bouncing through waves on small planing boats to be very uncomfortable. I can put along - or row or sail - in my Walker Bay and it's much more relaxing. And that's what I'm really looking for.

The fact that I can drag it up on any beach, rocky or not, bang it into dock or other obstructions (by accident of course), and just generally abuse the poor thing - all that is just icing on the cake.

And I'll never spend time airing it up. Or God forbid - trying to repair an air leak.

I bet you could drop it out of an airplane and it would still be usable !

This is exactly why we have been coveting the GoDu 10.5... Same reasons- just in a planing boat.

We saw them at the St. Pete boat show and they looked completely indestructible.

[rslifkin]

The biggest challenge with any hard dinghy is weight capacity relative to its size. Usually it's far lower than an inflatable. Our 12 footer is only rated to carry 600 lbs / 3 people, and some of that weight is eaten up by the outboard, fuel, etc.

The other challenge with planing hard dinghies is overall weight. Many of the options out there are pretty heavy, including the Mantus dinghy and the GoDu. The lightweight options (like the OCTender, ASTender, etc.) are very expensive.

[MicHughV]

For me the clincher is that I like to do a lot of spear fishing.
So getting in and out of the dink from the water rates right up there.
I always go diving with at least one other person if not two, plus gear.
Reefs are often quite distant from the anchorage, so a bit of zippity do is important.
At the end of the day, it's tough to beat a 12' RIB with a 15 hp on the back, despite it's weight, etc.
Though it's not available locally anymore, my favorite engine of all time is a 8 hp Yamaha 2 stroke. I've owned one for years. You can pick it up with one hand and it never fails to start on the first pull.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

The biggest challenge with any hard dinghy is weight capacity relative to its size. Usually it's far lower than an inflatable. Our 12 footer is only rated to carry 600 lbs / 3 people, and some of that weight is eaten up by the outboard, fuel, etc.

Inflatable boats are exempt from the USCG capacity plate and level flotation requirements. When the manufacturer provides a capacity plate for an inflatable boat, they may put anything on it that they please.


The rated load for boats required to have a USCG capacity plate are given a capacity limit that is 20% of the weight required to sink the boat.

The other challenge with planing hard dinghies is overall weight. Many of the options out there are pretty heavy, including the Mantus dinghy and the GoDu. The lightweight options (like the OCTender, ASTender, etc.) are very expensive.

One of these days, I'd like to build a GV-10. You can get a kit for them with everything except paint, oars, gunwale guard, and motor for under $2000. If you purchase plywood locally and cut it out yourself, you can save around $700.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Inflatable boats are exempt from the USCG capacity plate and level flotation requirements. When the manufacturer provides a capacity plate for an inflatable boat, they may put anything on it that they please.

The rated load for boats required to have a USCG capacity plate are given a capacity limit that is 20% of the weight required to sink the boat.

One of these days, I'd like to build a GV-10. You can get a kit for them with everything except paint, oars, gunwale guard, and motor for under $2000. If you purchase plywood locally and cut it out yourself, you can save around $700.

I've thought about building something like the GV-10 or GV-11. Or maybe something kinda like the ASTender design, but as a DIY in foam / fiberglass with a target weight of no more than the 150 lbs our current aluminum skiff weighs and designed for a total length of 11.5 - 12 feet including the outboard. For now the aluminum skiff is doing the job though. The goal would be to get a bit more weight capacity, a few inches less length and hopefully a better riding hull shape, maybe with some speed / efficiency gain in there.

[sv_isara]

We've been cruising around Mexico now for 3 months with a kaboat style dinghy. We love it. I wonder if the people complaining about inflatable floors have used a high pressure floor. The floor of ours feels like standing on a stand-up board which is pretty stiff. It planes with two adults and a 3.5hp motor (10kn in calm so not a speed demon but not slow). So we have usually the smallest motor in the marina yet we are faster than many of the dinghys out there. What i see at marinas are 10 foot dinghies with huge motors. ours is 14 ft and skinny. It also rows really well unlike a normal dingy where it's like rowing a bathtub. Costs almost nothing.
Easy to launch and pull up tye side of the boat with no special tools or lifts

https://www.amazon.com/Inflatable-Bo...%2C176&sr=8-15

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Jammer

...
The rated load for boats required to have a USCG capacity plate are given a capacity limit that is 20% of the weight* required to sink the boat...

Source?
I've seen a 'Rule of Thumb' [approximation] calculation, for:
Maximum Persons Capacity = [vessel length (ft.) x vessel width (ft.)] ÷ 15

But, in fact, it's more complicated, than that:
➥ https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...-sec183-43.pdf

* The Maximum Gross Load is the total weight your boat can handle, including people, equipment, stores, fuel, engine assembly and steering controls.

[BenBowSirocco]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

The biggest challenge with any hard dinghy is weight capacity relative to its size. Usually it's far lower than an inflatable. Our 12 footer is only rated to carry 600 lbs / 3 people, and some of that weight is eaten up by the outboard, fuel, etc.

The other challenge with planing hard dinghies is overall weight. Many of the options out there are pretty heavy, including the Mantus dinghy and the GoDu. The lightweight options (like the OCTender, ASTender, etc.) are very expensive.

To me the 166lbs for the GoDu seems reasonable considering it's 10'-6" size, 1,250# cap, and you can step right onto the tube.
Makes getting into the boat from the water seem pretty straightforward.
Also seems very easy to mount a removable ladder for diving.

It's never any smaller though. That's the compromise for us.
But our old plywood pram was over 100#'s.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by BenBowSirocco

To me the 166lbs for the GoDu seems reasonable considering it's 10'-6" size, 1,250# cap, and you can step right onto the tube.
Makes getting into the boat from the water seem pretty straightforward.
Also seems very easy to mount a removable ladder for diving.

It's never any smaller though. That's the compromise for us.
But our old plywood pram was over 100#'s.

The GoDu isn't horribly heavy, especially for the high weight capacity. But it's far from light either. But it's still heavier than our sub-$500 aluminum skiff bought from Craigslist (150 lbs for a 12 footer). And compared to something like the OC Tender it's heavy. The OC330 (10.8 feet) is 105 lbs for comparison (or 86 lbs if you pay extra to have it built in carbon fiber). Most similar size RIBs will be lighter than 166 lbs as well unless it's a fiberglass double floor or other heavy configuration.

[BenBowSirocco]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

The GoDu isn't horribly heavy, especially for the high weight capacity. But it's far from light either. But it's still heavier than our sub-$500 aluminum skiff bought from Craigslist (150 lbs for a 12 footer). And compared to something like the OC Tender it's heavy. The OC330 (10.8 feet) is 105 lbs for comparison (or 86 lbs if you pay extra to have it built in carbon fiber). Most similar size RIBs will be lighter than 166 lbs as well unless it's a fiberglass double floor or other heavy configuration.

Absolutely true!
But for the 20-30lbs I would choose an aluminum boat over a RIB any day!

The thing with Jon Boats that turns me off is you cannot step on the edge- you must climb into the boat. So that's a challenge loading and swimming.

I don't really even consider the OC Tender Carbon an option: $20,000+ dollars on dinghy is not an option in my world. I understand the labor and materials involved- I'm not trashing the price. It's just not on my radar.
And again: cannot side load comfortably. Have to step down into the boat. So swimming and loading from the mothership can be a challenge.

I really like the idea of standing on the solid flat toon.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by BenBowSirocco

Absolutely true!
But for the 20-30lbs I would choose an aluminum boat over a RIB any day!

The thing with Jon Boats that turns me off is you cannot step on the edge- you must climb into the boat. So that's a challenge loading and swimming.

I don't really even consider the OC Tender Carbon an option: $20,000+ dollars on dinghy is not an option in my world. I understand the labor and materials involved- I'm not trashing the price. It's just not on my radar.
And again: cannot side load comfortably. Have to step down into the boat. So swimming and loading from the mothership can be a challenge.

I really like the idea of standing on the solid flat toon.

Yeah, the OC Tenders are crazy expensive which certainly limits their appeal. I'd build my own if I wanted something similar primarily due to cost.

For our skiff, you do have to step down into it (although you can step onto one of the seats if step height is a concern, I've done that at tall-ish docks). Stepping on the edge is an issue unless there's someone in it to counter-balance, but you don't have to step all the way into the center. I haven't actually tried boarding it from the water. Not sure if climbing over the side is possible without flipping the thing unless you're a rather lightweight person. But climbing over the transom should work.

Realistically, the stepping in and out of the skiff concern has been less of an issue than we feared it might be. The dog has never had trouble hopping in or out of it either.

[Ryban]

Originally Posted by BenBowSirocco

Absolutely true!
The thing with Jon Boats that turns me off is you cannot step on the edge- you must climb into the boat. So that's a challenge loading and swimming.

This was one of the reasons I was getting turned off from building a hard dinghy, especially since we'll be diving. But with 2 people it's straight forward. You just have one person old the other side of the boat while you get in, and then once you're in you can sit on the rail while the other person gets in.

If you're by yourself, you can get in over the transom.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Source?

33 CFR § 183.35, a couple pages before the PDF pages you posted.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by BenBowSirocco

Absolutely true!
The thing with Jon Boats that turns me off is you cannot step on the edge- you must climb into the boat. So that's a challenge loading and swimming.

Here's solo scuba diving from a canoe. There's a stirrup at the end of the orange strap. Photos were taken at a lake that has a carry-in access but no public access for trailered boats (nor any means of access from adjoining bodies of water).