What dinghy with a Torqeedo ?

[Abima]

Hello,

(Sorry for my english).


Our plan is to start from Europe and go in the Mediterran sea then Canarie Islands, Cap Verde, crosse the Atlantic to the Antillas and then come back via the Acores.

We are a couple and baby 2yo (age at the departure).

I would like to use a Torqeedo (noise, no gas, easy maintenance, 100% sure start etc...).

I wonder what type of Dinghy we should get for this trip.

1/ 100% inflatable with the floor like a paddle (like Rollup from Highfield)

2/ Solid floor (like Ultralite from Highfield)

I dont see the difference (apart from the fact that you can deflate and store the first one).

Regarding the torqeedo, they are the same weight approx.

Am lost

Thanks for your help.

[ranger58sb]

Much will depend on how you intend to carry it onboard, deploy it, recover it... plus how much weight you can lift, and/or whether you can use lifting equipment for it... plus how you intend to use it at various destinations (sightseeing? resupply only? etc.).

Start with info about that, and the dinghy itself will become clearer over time.

-Chris

[Abima]

Hey thanks, well we have a "brigde with solar pannels" on the back of the boat to lift / move the dinghy to the water and tighten it on top when cruising.
Carry us (2+1) from boat to land only, no exploring i think, so re supply only.
Highfield 260 can be full inflatable or rigid (lite).

I hope this help you to help me

[Muaddib1116]

As long as you don't need the dinghy to go too far, like taking you out to dive/snorkel reefs or anchoring a couple miles away from town, then I think you would be fine with either the ultralite or rollup with the torqueedo. At that point, it's more of a preference for the other features/benefits, ie. solid floor, sturdy bottom for pulling up onto rocky beaches, roll-up storage convenience, etc.

Your davit arch will make using the ultralite rib pretty convenient, and reduce how much you need to store the dinghy on your deck.

I have a Highfield CL310, which obviously is heavier than the ultralite, but my epropulsion spirit is great for when I'm in a mooring field or anchorage to take my dog ashore, or popping to the town dock to go shopping, or just poking around to get a look at other boats. I don't think that you'll ever get the torqueedo to put you on plane, even if you have the flat bottom rollup, and with my epropulsion I found that I liked to run it around 60% output to optimize battery life and still have decent speed. The battery does take a while to charge from my housebank, I'm tempted to get a second battery, but they are pretty expensive.

All that being said, I'm really glad that I also have a 20hp gas outboard for when I want to explore or anchor further from town. But I definitely don't regret getting the epropulsion either.

[Abima]

Wow 310CL, you might not have a great range

Thanks a lot for the explanation, indeed it comes down to be able to rollup the dinghy or not or go to rocky beach. Great simplification !

[Muaddib1116]

There are other reasons, but I think those are the two big distinctions. It's possible that in most of the places you plan to go that a roll up with a cloth bottom will be fine, even pulling up onto beaches, but up in Maine I was glad to have the aluminum bottom on a number of rocky beaches. How big is your boat? Can she accommodate a RIB lashed to the foredeck?

As far as range, I'm guessing that the size and weight of my CL310 hinders it more than a smaller dinghy might, but I'm not sure how much of a difference it would be. On paper, my CL310 is supposed to weigh something like 65lbs more than the smallest ultralite, the UL240. That is not insignificant, but when you put a couple adults and gear/supplies in there, I'm not sure it's that different, especially since you won't be on plane. The flatter bottom of a air-floor roll-up may create a more noticeable difference. When I decided to buy my electric outboard, I went into it with the expectation that I would only be using it for short trips to shore in protected waters, but I also knew that I had my large gas engine as backup/alternative. If I was making that choice as my only outboard engine, I would either need to be very very sure that that's all I would need to do with it, or I think I would go for a gas outboard.