Walker Bay Rigid 8' Dinghy - Experiences ?

[zeehag]

cover is superfluous unless you want pristine.
sit on top kayak is hard to carry supplies inside of..i use a sit inside kayak..packs nice for provisioning.kayak weighs 38 pounds.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Regarding the UV, have you had yours out a lot? I'm keeping mine upside down on the cabin top and was worried about the UV; was planning on getting a cover for it. Overkill?

I've never had it inside/covered. I have noticed the daggerboard seems to have weathered some. But nothing on the hull.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Minggat

I've never had it inside/covered. I have noticed the daggerboard seems to have weathered some. But nothing on the hull.

Good to know then. I won't stress the cover and I'll put it on the bottom of things to worry about.

[Gruntled]

I've had the 8' WB for 3 years now and it's performed well. The grandkids are now learning to sail it (finally!). I would add only that you should buy replacement oar locks in stainless from WB; as mentioned, the plastic ones provided are crap, as is the plastic fitting in the hull. That is, replace both the fitting and the oar locks. The only other negative is the space underneath the gunwale is open and will collect water when the boat is stored upside down on deck. If not flushed regularly, it can get very dirty.
Another positive: virtually nothing sticks to the hull. I've left it in the water in my slip for months at a time during the summer, and the slime and grass clean off with a little effort.
Richard

[moonlightmesa]

We had an 8' that traveled the world with us. It was tough and durable. It finally died because of tropical sun beating it to death. In fact, we're going to buy another for our Cape Dory 25.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by Gruntled

Another positive: virtually nothing sticks to the hull.
Richard

I wish that were true. Got a little hard growth on mine when I had it in the water for a few weeks while painting the mother ship.- So Cal

"It finally died because of tropical sun beating it to death."

Now that surprises me. Everything you read says it's not supposed to happen. Mine is upside down on my forpeak in the intense desert sun of Baja, while I'm languishing away on the other side of the world. I wonder if it will be crispy when I see it again.

Pretty tough, but so is the sun.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Minggat

I wish that were true. Got a little hard growth on mine when I had it in the water for a few weeks while painting the mother ship.- So Cal

"It finally died because of tropical sun beating it to death."

Now that surprises me. Everything you read says it's not supposed to happen. Mine is upside down on my forpeak in the intense desert sun of Baja, while I'm languishing away on the other side of the world. I wonder if it will be crispy when I see it again.

Pretty tough, but so is the sun.

your sun is a lot like ours, when we have it--didnt have much of it this yr--but the walker bay will be fine in sun. mine sat for 6 yrs..not too bad as we had sun like crazy before this year....

[cavelamb]

I've only had my WB8 for a few weeks but I'm satisfied with it so far. I'm over 6' tall and 200 pounds. No problems rowing, but I did take care to seat the oarlocks deep as possible. Regarding added external floats, I found this on the web. Home NON-inflated - might be a winner - if he gets them into production. The price is right anyway... Richard s/v Temptress

[nico105]

I love my walker bay dingy. I usually row her as the dog and the outboard don't get along. I've had it for going on 5yrs. It is very tough! As said up the thread, they are very 'tippy'- a tender little boat she is. Remeber what you are getting into when you board. Also very light. It is no problem to drag onto a dock to scrape the bottom or onboard to stowe on the fordeck. w/ one guy and a dog it is an easy row.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by cavelamb

Regarding added external floats, I found this on the web. Home NON-inflated - might be a winner - if he gets them into production. The price is right anyway... Richard s/v Temptress

That is a good price, but I've been down the PE foam road as flotation for my WB. It breaks down in heat.

What I did.

2) 9 ft long X 8" diameter 90% Phifertex (blocks 90% sun) tubes with zippers running the full length. (My friend owns a yacht canvas shop, so I could pull this off)

!st generation- filled with "pool noodles" (PE foam) Lashed to the gunnels (yep-drilled some holes, not so painful).

2nd generation-dumped the PR foam and filled with Stowaway fenders. Pump them up partially, stick them in and zip, leaving access to fully inflate the fenders. Now I have drum tight tubes that I lash to the boat.

What makes them so great is that I can completely remove them quite easily when it's time to lash the hull to my forpeak while I leave the boat for long term storage. My mistake is that I chose black Phifertex. Next generation will be gray, but it will take a long time before the black is in bad enough shape to justify replacing.

[rebel heart]

I was thinking about just securely mounting some horizontal fenders, the kinds with line that can be run through the middle of them. A ring of fenders if you will. ?

[RSMacG]

What I'm about to do on my WB10 is attach a rope braid I've made from some retired jib sheets that had seen better days to the gunwale. I've triple-braided it, whipped the ends, and will attach it via industrial zip-ties through small holes I've drilled. I can run the zip-ties so that the little nub/lock on the tie stays securely behind the braid and, from my initial test, having it affixed about every 8 inches should be plenty sturdy.

Doesn't help the stability, obviously, but a $5 fix given the lines were otherwise shot and useless, and no potential noise and damage if (when) the dinghy kisses her big sister.

Looks quite shippy, too.

[svnatasha]

I bought a Walker Bay 10 w/ sail rig, inflatable bag, oars, raised floor, and inflatable tubes for $800. Have to say it's a great ride, but be wary of the plastic oarlocks. Two months of daily rowing and 3 of 4 were broken. Not sure why they cracked, maybe UV from being stored outside? If so it was only the oarlocks because the rest of the boat is in fantastic condition. Replaced the oarlocks with bronze and haven't had a single problem since. FWIW - if you're using daily, I'd definitely get the longer oars. my new set is 10' and she moves along even better.

[mforest]

Hello,

I highly recommend getting the RD275 or the Inflatable Kit for the WB 8' dinghy as it's very tipsy for anyone weighing more than 80lbs. I weigh under 200 lbs and with a 37 lb outboard, I had about 8" of freeboard at the transom and if you shift your weight to close to the gunwale, you just might take on some water and that's not good, right? Something to think about, anyway...

mforest

[zeehag]

i love mine--it came with my formosa when i bought her. i have used a 3 1/2 hp nissan ob on her without problems, and i row often. is a good dink and stows well on my bow.