History of dinghys and a deep think on why we like RIBs

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by mqbenedict

Fun thread. Thanks to everyone.

I had an inflatable, gave it away and am building a Chesapeake Nesting Pram. Can't say yet which I'll like better but I'd like to add one consideration into the mix; aesthetics.



Does anyone but me care what a tender looks like?

Mark B.

Yes, I'm with you. And has to be able to row so a nesting hard dinghy for me.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Cpt Mark

Don't care about sinks looks or lack thereof. It is a transportation device, nothing more . I did buy a Walker Bay 10, used, and am adding their Hypalon Tube kit which provides a ton of stability and still. keep the plastic boat which can be dragged on rocks, sand and coral without issue. There are makers of generic PVC tubes. Might consider seeing if you can add those to your design?

Yep, my dinghy is just a work boat that I use daily. It gets tied to rough solid piers, dragged onto rocky shores and abused by the sun.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by mqbenedict

Does anyone but me care what a tender looks like?

Yes.


There are many reasons to be on the water. One of them is that it is a form of performance art. A beautiful boat is an echo of the relationship between humankind and the water that has been going on for centuries, reflected in graceful design, materials of natural origin that develop a patina rather than merely aging, and craftsmanship in construction.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Yes.


There are many reasons to be on the water. One of them is that it is a form of performance art. A beautiful boat is an echo of the relationship between humankind and the water that has been going on for centuries, reflected in graceful design, materials of natural origin that develop a patina rather than merely aging, and craftsmanship in construction.

That describes an artful, probably wood boat nicely. Its not the dinghy that gets used everyday by a fulltime cruiser in a host of dinghy unfriendly conditions. Different beasts.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Paul L

That describes an artful, probably wood boat nicely. Its not the dinghy that gets used everyday by a fulltime cruiser in a host of dinghy unfriendly conditions. Different beasts.

They are not mutually exclusive. Things do not have to be delicate to be pretty.


But I think it's a minor thing. Having a dinghy that I can row is not a minor thing. Then again I do understand the reasoning of people who like inflatables.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Jammer

They are not mutually exclusive. Things do not have to be delicate to be pretty.


But I think it's a minor thing. Having a dinghy that I can row is not a minor thing. Then again I do understand the reasoning of people who like inflatables.

Yea, I know I'm married

On a more serious note, a dinghy's life on a long distance, long term cruising boat is pretty brutal. So building for long life with low maintaince would be way up there if I was going to build my own. If you want a good rower, then that's part of your criteria. Lightweight, easy launching and for me easy use during reef snorkeling would be a criteria.

As far as aesthetics goes, for me its Form follows function

[Jim Cate]

Some years ago, whilst on a cruise in California's Channel Islands, we espied a truly beautiful timber dinghy, finished bright, flawless varnish... just the sort of thing you guys are extolling. We marveled, and wondered how on earth folks kept it up so well. Later we happened to be shoreward bound at the same time as that dink. We were quite astonished when the middle aged couple in it shipped their oars and leapt overboard in waist deep water, well off the beach and picked up the dinghy and carried it ashore and up the beach. Not a scratch on the varnish! But they sure had a different idea about what a dinghy was intended to do than I did.

I suspect they would be unwilling to drop an anchor and muddy chain into it, or come ashore where there is no soft sand cradle for their toy... things that are common usage for a cruiser's dinghy.

It was surely a work of art, but I wouldn't have traded it for our rather antique zodiac, ugly as it was.

Jim

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Ironman162

.

Just have a look at any marine, inflatables everywhere you look, there must be a reason for it

People are sheep?

I have had people use exactly the same argument for plough anchors.
Must be good, most popular anchor in a marina.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

People are sheep?

I have had people use exactly the same argument for plough anchors.
Must be good, most popular anchor in a marina.

Or they just happen to be the best dinghy for full time cruising, proven over and over again by the majority of cruisers.
I'm seeing less and less ploughs for good reason, but aren't seeing less Ribs.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Or they just happen to be the best dinghy for full time cruising, proven over and over again by the majority of cruisers.
.

Most probably.

For the rest of us who aren't the majority we demand something that in our eyes and reasoning is better.
Deflateables have never ticked our box be it on small to mid size catamarans or larger powered cruisers.
With the abuse we give our tenders an inflatable would be a near constant source of repair.

Saying that we do have a 2.4 meter fiberglass (floats, hull) undeflateable sitting at the dirt house that will eventually be plonked on the foredeck.
I don't believe one dinghy can tick all boxes.

[lituya1617]

I grew up running around on the dangerous waters of southeast Alaska in small aluminum boats like the Lund 12 with a 15 HP outboard on it. If you know how to handle one of these boats (big if), they are fast, economical, safe, and light enough to pull aboard with little strain. To keep the aluminum rail from scraping the paint on the main boat, we put a piece of fire hose around the rail. One of these boats easily last for decades and can be repaired easily. I can see no improvements over this old standby in all the recent designs of dinks. The addition of a couple of blocks of foam plastic make them impossible to sink even if you flip one - something I have never done. Just my prejudice, but a 12 foot Lund hanging from the stern davits assures me that I can get to shore should the main boat sink. With a couple extra cans of gas, this little rig will cruise at 20 knots for three hundred miles. And it can be sailed and rowed easily. Great lifeboat, great runabout, seaworthy as heck.

[hpeer]

Aluminum boat:

In highschool I had a 12’ Starcraft for a few years with an 18hp Johnson 2 stroke. I was what we call “clamming” or “treading” out of it. You jump in the water with some sewn canvas shoes, feel the clams, pick them, put them in a wire basket inside an inner tube. Empty when full. Lost art. All the waters are now polluted.

The boat was very fast when light but would load down easily. I’ve had as many as 3,300 clams in it, and they were big ones. Gotta be 800-900 pounds of load. Got rough coming in that day, the only time ever my Dad came down to the landing to see if I was gonna make it. He had no clue of the load I had on. 3’ waves at times. One hand in tiller one hand bailing.

Good boats. But a bitch to do that kind of work out of. Round bottom and relatively high freeboard made picking up the baskets a real buster.

I do think about davits and having one of them at times. Would not work onnour deck. It then they would screw with the wind vane it on davits.

[Boater Brad]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I live in a curious place. As I've noted in other threads, anchorages, mooring fields, and dinghy docks are simply not part of the culture here.

Late to the discussion but interesting thread. After owning a Zodiac 310 RIB, I reevaluated a variety of dinghy options and came full-circle back to an inflatable RIB--an Avon this time.

Jammer, I too am in the Minneapolis area with a houseboat on the St.Croix River in Stillwater. I'm not sure where you are, but inflatables are everywhere here, and very few have hard dinghies--even among us houseboaters. That seems to be true in virtually all the marinas I've been in on the upper St. Croix and Mississippi down to Redwing. As for the longevity of inflatables, they last a looong time up here compared to down south. My original 310 has changed owners 2 or 3 times and is 18 years old this year and the tubes are still in great shape.

Perhaps you're on one of our 10,000+ lakes? I don't know the lake culture, but since you also referenced barges, you must be referring in part to the Mississippi. Anyway, to each his own, but the inflatable culture is alive and well on the river!

[Jammer]

I'm downstream of you, on Lake Pepin.


Not many houseboats here. The "culture" is not a singular thing, of course, and I guess we have a boat dealer in Bloomington who sells nothing but inflatables, so someone must use them.


The houseboats and large power boats I've seen with inflatables are using the comparatively large ones, often with a console, 14' and up.

[Boater Brad]

Yep, Great American Marine. Bought my Zodiac there. The Avon I got on Craigslist a couple years ago and there were a lot of listings at the time. Inflatables have gotten a lot bigger. My Avon is a 12' with a 20HP--which is plenty for us. That extra 2' makes a world of difference in planing performance. When you own a Houseboat (slow) and want to beach it or dock it somewhere (Redwing is a favorite stop for us), the dinghy gives us the mobility to go exploring in ways the big boat can't. The problem with anything bigger is that it's too big for a davit on most boats around here, and towing can be a drag.