The Perfect Tender....???

[rebel heart]

Here's some pricing for the pudgy. The world famous West Wight Potter 15 sloop is one of the best known and oldest sailboats in the cruising fraternity

About $4K for a sail / life raft rig, and under $5K for everything, including a built in electrical system.

[Tnflakbait]

In my eyes, the perfect tender rows well, sails well, and motors well on a plane. It should serve as a decent liferaft as well. It is also lightweight and durable. Inflatables/ribs are good for motoring but not for rowing and sailing. Walkers/ hards are good for sailing and rowing but not for planing. It's always a bit of a compromise. I have seen a few lightweight hard dinghys built by cruisers that could plane with an 8hp, sail, and row. There was a little sacrifice in every category though. These usually work out at about 10 ft long. They need a fairly wide transom. Good luck on the Mythical search!

[rebel heart]

The planing / rowing / sailing combination seems rather impossible, since all three need different things to do it well. I'd ditch planing though if I could out of the three. I had a 2.5 hp for a couple of years and managed well enough with it, so I suppose I got in the habit of having a weak outboard.

One thing I never want to experience (again) is a shotty outboard engine that cuts out halfway across the harbor sitting in the middle of the channel. Ugh.

[cat man do]

I'll probably end up making a foam/nidaplast/kevlar/e-glass/epoxy version of the something like the livingstone, with a replaceable wear strip down the hull centreline.

I need higher freeboard and bows and a bit more beam, this will add weight, which is why the lighter composite contruction.

I also need 11.5 ft with the outboard on a recessed transom so the outboard is flush with the back of the dinghy.

If not that it will be one of these.

Dave

[Kanani]

Originally Posted by cat man do

I'll probably end up making a foam/nidaplast/kevlar/e-glass/epoxy version of the something like the livingstone, with a replaceable wear strip down the hull centreline.

I need higher freeboard and bows and a bit more beam, this will add weight, which is why the lighter composite contruction.

I also need 11.5 ft with the outboard on a recessed transom so the outboard is flush with the back of the dinghy.

If not that it will be one of these.

Dave

The 10' Livingston has a lot of freeboard (12") and a 62" beam. I have had 4 (large) people and all our dive gear on-board.

[Celestialsailor]

Man o man...Looked at that pudgy thing. No offense but I have my doubts it could be adequate as a sailing dink, rowing and especially a life raft. Seems to me if conditions warranted leaving the mothership, I doubt people could be safe in that thing. Who knows, Iv'e been wrong before.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Kanani

The 10' Livingston has a lot of freeboard (12") and a 62" beam. I have had 4 (large) people and all our dive gear on-board.

12'' (300mm) pffhhttt

These dinghys have 24'' (600mm) and its not enough
Stessl boats - Edge Tracker 3.00 UL Specifications

These guys (see pic) show little respect to 12'' topsides and i'd rather they stay OUT of the dinghy thanks.

I also need to be able to punch through a decent chop if required as I will be using the dinghy for long hops between reefs and island's.

Dave

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha All,

I just gotta say what's on my mind. My Naples Sabot came with my Mariner 35 ketch. It did whatever I wanted. It didn't plane. I was ok with that. I've boughten two more since that one and each was about $100. I put a couple more hundred in them to add sails, mast, rigging etc.. But never in my wildest dreams could a dink cost $5000.

I suppose you are on unlimited budgets? Do you drive great big new SUV's?

JohnL

P. S. Livingstons are the best. Too big for my deck, too expensive, but very good.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

I suppose you are on unlimited budgets? Do you drive great big new SUV's?

.

Errmm, no

I don't drive a big new SUV, I drive a 1980 Valiant that cost $1200.

that's why I'll be getting (and be able to afford) a decent dinghy, as it will be my SUV equivelent.

Dave

[Kanani]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Aloha All,

I just gotta say what's on my mind. My Naples Sabot came with my Mariner 35 ketch. It did whatever I wanted. It didn't plane. I was ok with that. I've boughten two more since that one and each was about $100. I put a couple more hundred in them to add sails, mast, rigging etc.. But never in my wildest dreams could a dink cost $5000.

I suppose you are on unlimited budgets? Do you drive great big new SUV's?

JohnL

P. S. Livingstons are the best. Too big for my deck, too expensive, but very good.

I'd never buy a new one. I paid $200 for my 9' and $300 for my 10' (used of course).

I think that the 12" freeboard figure is with capacity loading. I know for a fact that the transom on my 9' was 24" high, sitting on deck. I had to measure it to be sure that it woud fit inder my boom.

[SkiprJohn]

I apologize for the bit of a rant. The cost of dinghies being bantied about gave me quite a bit of sticker shock. I just had a couple egg nogs and have settled down again.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[Ex-Calif]

John,

I'm glad someone piped in. I too am shocked at $5,000 for a dink. I like the $300 number ;-)

I suppose that one must consider it an "auxilliary" or spare boat. Most people in the upper price range use them as harbor runabouts.

Hell, there's an 18 foot bowrider with a mercury 6 in it for sale here for $7,500!

[Tnflakbait]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Aloha All,

I just gotta say what's on my mind. My Naples Sabot came with my Mariner 35 ketch. It did whatever I wanted. It didn't plane. I was ok with that. I've boughten two more since that one and each was about $100. I put a couple more hundred in them to add sails, mast, rigging etc.. But never in my wildest dreams could a dink cost $5000.

I suppose you are on unlimited budgets? Do you drive great big new SUV's?

JohnL

P. S. Livingstons are the best. Too big for my deck, too expensive, but very good.

I love my sabot, I've had it since I was six. But, now that I weight 220 and I'm 6'5" It doesn't go upwind too well. And If there is another person in the boat their job is to bail. I think there are many options for a dinghy that are very cheap. However, I recently splurged on a 11' inflatable with an 8 hp outboard. I don't need this for cruising. I believe it is very usefull in the S.Pac, to have something quick to take you across the lagoon, or to tow the big boat in an emergency. But, it is a luxury!

And it rows like crap!

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Aloha All,

But never in my wildest dreams could a dink cost $5000.

I wouldn't spend $5000 for a dinghy either, but I might for an offshore rated life raft. Here's $5K just for a coastal 6 person:

Switlik 6 Man Coastal Liferaft

In regards to sailing / rowing / motoring the pudgy, it works fairly well. I've tried it out myself, and raced him in my el toro, and have been pretty happy with how it's performed so far.

So if I can get a true multi function dinghy / life raft, I'd be game for it. I'm going to take it sailing a few more times and spend a couple hours really investigating it some more to see if it's something I'm going to buy.

[fastcat435]

We make the perfect tender, a rigid inflatable of 9 or 13 ft in length and a weight of 44 lbs for the 9 and 66 lbs for the 13 ft RIB. Here are the first pictures of testing the prototype with a 6 HP 4 cycle outboard and a total weight of 440 lbs loaded and in the sailing version it can be sailed.
In the first test with this load we did 15 knots