We cruised the
Bahamas and the Keys and the length of the
ICW with our WB8 with the inflatable tubes, powered by that little 2-horse
Honda aircooled OB. The WB was fine as a dink for our previous boat, a Tartan 34, and for the 37-foot
Gulfstar we did the
cruise on, but we finally decided we were underdinghied in
Georgetown Exumas. Crossing the harbor was slow, and often wet. Big waves would break over the bow and it just wasn't enough for lengthy commutes. But it was a great boat, within its design limits. The
hull is tough, nearly unbreakable, and still doesn't leak, and the boat is 14 years old. The tubes are 10 years old, now have a patch or two, but with the patches it holds air for weeks at a go.
We bought a 4-horse Yamaha 2-stroke in Georgetownr and that gave us better speed, but with its
displacement hull it will never plane. We sold the
Honda to another cruiser. Nice little motor but too much of it was made of
steel and rust was a serious problem. Had to replace the carb and
fuel system every two years, regardless of preventive
maintenance.
Upon our return we bought an 11-foot folding hull inflatable at WMarine, and it's nice to have the extra room and it now will plane with one person aboard, using the 4-horse we bought in
Georgetown.
The WB is a nice, sturdy, useful dink, with its own unique advantages. Rugged as a rock, rows nice, light, no
maintenance, but not for long dinghy rides or
extended cruising with long rides to and from the boat. The 4 horse was right at the limit for
engine size, very nearly too heavy. The 2-horse fit fine, never looked like ti was going to be swamped by the stern wave, but against a tide and
wind it was very slow.
walker Bay 8
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