Dinghy: Rollup or Slat?

[SailRedemption]

We just sold our not-compatible-with-our-boat RIB. That said, we're in the market for a new dinghy, this time it will be inflatable with a hard aluminum floor(sorry we're not interested in a inflatable floor). What we don't know is which is a better for us because we don't know much about either. We are looking for a 9-11' in hypalon and we have a 8hp two stroke to put it on. We would like to bring it inside when on passage. Hang on the side of the hull with a halyard or on deck when at anchor.

Do the rollup floors stay on the dinghy when deflated, as in, does the whole boat roll up with the aluminum floor? Can the come out and rollup separate? Does the slat aluminum floor come in and out easily? Are rollup rigid or as rigid as a slat floor?

Among those questions, What do you prefer?

Again, please no RIB or inflatable bottom boats please.

Also, I have searched this and other sites, but most are comparisons of inflatable to hard floors or RIB...

[Sailmonkey]

The Alu floor roll ups I’ve seen were rolled with the floor in place. Neat and easy.

The floors are removable for the occasional Sand removal/etc, but requires a bit of calm deliberate movement

[SailRedemption]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

The Alu floor roll ups I’ve seen were rolled with the floor in place. Neat and easy.

The floors are removable for the occasional Sand removal/etc, but requires a bit of calm deliberate movement

Oh alright, well that's good then. Was this yours? And is the floor as stiff/rigid as slat floors, if you have experience with both?

[NahanniV]

I have had a slat floor, removable plywood floor, and High pressure Inflatable floor.

The slat floor was easiest to stow/deploy, but really not good for anything other than flat calm. All the ones I have seen have no keel, just a flat bottom. Also, not sure if you would find one rated for 8Hp.

The Plywood floor had a keel tube that gave the bottom some shape, and it was more rigid than the slat floor, but a pain to assemble and stow.

The HP inflatable floor (Achilles) has been great.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by SailRedemption

Do the rollup floors stay on the dinghy when deflated, as in, does the whole boat roll up with the aluminum floor? Can the come out and rollup separate? Does the slat aluminum floor come in and out easily? Are rollup rigid or as rigid as a slat floor?

We had a West Marine RU-285 roll-up, with fancy teak-and-holly (look) wood, made by Zodiac. We got our money's worth out of it.

The floor stayed in when rolled. Rolling wasn't a snap; had to pay attention to it, get it just right, before it would fit back into its storage bag. It was possible to get it mostly out of the way to clean underneath, but not easy.

The roll-up was heavier than we wanted; an air floor would have been better for our purposes... we could have gotten the next size longer for less weight. We had big dogs at the time, air floors had just been introduced not long before, I thought dog toenails would be too hard on air floor. Turns out, that wouldn't have been an issue.

The RU-285 had an inflatable "keel" section, but it didn't track all that great. I doubt any different from an air floor version with similar inflatable keel.

-Chris

[rgleason]

We have a smaller Avon rollup with stiff interlocked floor with inflatible tubular inside keel that locks the floor in place and creates a better shaped bottom. The hard plywood transom folds down too. The floor will stay in place when inflated and when deflated. When deflated you can unscrew a stern floor cleat and work the floor out of between the tubes for cleaning or repair. It can be hung or laid on deck and rolled up into a smaller package.

[rgleason]

We have another hard bottom fiberglass rib 310 hypalon with fold down stern. This tows better but takes more room on deck when deflated because it does not roll up. We use it all the time.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by SailRedemption

Oh alright, well that's good then. Was this yours? And is the floor as stiff/rigid as slat floors, if you have experience with both?

It wasn’t mine, but I spent a considerable amount of time with it.

The aluminum floor with inflatable keel was stiffer than the slat floor by a large margin. Under the floor was an inflate-able keel that made the performance more “rib like” compared to having the keel deflated.

The boat I spent time with was an Avon.

[robert sailor]

I owned an Achilles aluminum roll up floor dink many years ago with an 8hp. It would plane with 2 people but no more. It was easy to roll up. When planing the floor would sort of have little rolls or movements in choppy water. It was not as stiff or as light as an airfloor but more dependable in the long run.

[thinwater]

47 feet?

Davits. Once you've had them you would never do without. when you want to go some wherer in the dinghy, it's just like getting in the car.

[Telesail]

I just bought an F-RIB and it folds small enough to stow below while being light enough to carry by one person. Have you looked at one? F-RIB | Revolutionary new Foldable RIBs (F-RIBs)

Might be best of both worlds for you. I know it solved my problem.

[SailRedemption]

Originally Posted by NahanniV

I have had a slat floor, removable plywood floor, and High pressure Inflatable floor.

The slat floor was easiest to stow/deploy, but really not good for anything other than flat calm. All the ones I have seen have no keel, just a flat bottom. Also, not sure if you would find one rated for 8Hp.

The Plywood floor had a keel tube that gave the bottom some shape, and it was more rigid than the slat floor, but a pain to assemble and stow.

The HP inflatable floor (Achilles) has been great.

Thanks for the information on your experiences with each! The one I'm looking at right now is a Achilles 310 rollup. It has the inflatable keel and is rated for an 8hp,i believe 10max. What happens when it's not flat calm?

[SailRedemption]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

We had a West Marine RU-285 roll-up, with fancy teak-and-holly (look) wood, made by Zodiac. We got our money's worth out of it.

The floor stayed in when rolled. Rolling wasn't a snap; had to pay attention to it, get it just right, before it would fit back into its storage bag. It was possible to get it mostly out of the way to clean underneath, but not easy.

The roll-up was heavier than we wanted; an air floor would have been better for our purposes... we could have gotten the next size longer for less weight. We had big dogs at the time, air floors had just been introduced not long before, I thought dog toenails would be too hard on air floor. Turns out, that wouldn't have been an issue.

The RU-285 had an inflatable "keel" section, but it didn't track all that great. I doubt any different from an air floor version with similar inflatable keel.

-Chris

Thanks for the information. The Achilles 310 rollup we're looking at has an inflatable keel as well. I know I won't find tracking ability no where near the AL AB rib we had.

[SailRedemption]

Originally Posted by rgleason

We have a smaller Avon rollup with stiff interlocked floor with inflatible tubular inside keel that locks the floor in place and creates a better shaped bottom. The hard plywood transom folds down too. The floor will stay in place when inflated and when deflated. When deflated you can unscrew a stern floor cleat and work the floor out of between the tubes for cleaning or repair. It can be hung or laid on deck and rolled up into a smaller package.

Good info, glad the floor can be taken out and rolled up on its own if need be. The Achilles 310 sounds similar to your Avon with the inflatable keel. Did the floor flex much when under power?

[SailRedemption]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

It wasn’t mine, but I spent a considerable amount of time with it.

The aluminum floor with inflatable keel was stiffer than the slat floor by a large margin. Under the floor was an inflate-able keel that made the performance more “rib like” compared to having the keel deflated.

The boat I spent time with was an Avon.

Great stuff, thanks for that.