What Type Dinghy / Tender ?

[seashine]

Ours is the usual Australian cruising catamaran tender setup of an aluminium "tinnie" with flotation under the seats, room for 4 and it used to plane easily even with a load thanks to the 15HP Yamaha outboard. I say used to plane, because some lowlife stole our motor only a few weeks ago, as the tinnie sat on the lawn at the slipway.... New motor (thanks to our wonderful insurance company) will be lighter but I wouldn't change anything else about the setup, even though there is a potential for swamping with dinghies carried on davits. I guess we'll be inside the reef for the next couple of years and the gunwales of the dinghy do ride over 2m above the wet stuff... between our sterns, so we have more stern flotation to counter the dinghy-on-davits than an equivalent length monohull. The gunwales have holes for bolts that go through their support chocks on the davits, so it's fixed solid with no pendulum motion to increase the loading in a seaway.
As for fun: maybe one day (when we're not so busy cruising) we'll build a cold-moulded sailing dinghy. Meanwhile kayaks are a lot of fun in non-crocodile areas!
Interesting that the Americans tend to have inflatables/RIBs - we have to dodge coral and crocodiles here in Oz so solid tenders seem to be the preferred way to go. Ours has wheels which help as long as the sand and mud isn't too soft.
As for anchoring in a tide range - continuous rode from bow to stern with an anchor and a couple of metres of chain which slides along the rode thanks to a ring at the rode end of the chain. If the tide is coming in just anchor near shore and take the loop of rode to a post or rock to secure it, if it's going out then anchor deep and row in, pull it out to the anchor and tie off the loop. So simple yet so few people seem to use this method. When I lived on the Hawkesbury River, e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e did it this way and it helped the commuters avoid getting their work clothes muddy :-)

[sctpc]

Originally Posted by seashine

As for anchoring in a tide range - continuous rode from bow to stern with an anchor and a couple of metres of chain which slides along the rode thanks to a ring at the rode end of the chain. If the tide is coming in just anchor near shore and take the loop of rode to a post or rock to secure it, if it's going out then anchor deep and row in, pull it out to the anchor and tie off the loop. So simple yet so few people seem to use this method. When I lived on the Hawkesbury River, e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e did it this way and it helped the commuters avoid getting their work clothes muddy :-)

Whats the length of rode 100ft ? Very interesting

[Extemporaneous]

Originally Posted by seashine

As for anchoring in a tide range - continuous rode from bow to stern with an anchor and a couple of metres of chain which slides along the rode thanks to a ring at the rode end of the chain. If the tide is coming in just anchor near shore and take the loop of rode to a post or rock to secure it, if it's going out then anchor deep and row in, pull it out to the anchor and tie off the loop. So simple yet so few people seem to use this method. When I lived on the Hawkesbury River, e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e did it this way and it helped the commuters avoid getting their work clothes muddy :-)

Can you try to explain this another way (Apparently I'm not too quick )?

Thanks,
Extemp.

[zeehag]

i use a walker bay 8ft and a rigid kayak 8 1/2 ft-- both are easy to pack and use. i row the walker bay and i paddle the kayak, hence 2 different manipulations/power types.
mebbe i will save for another avon , with a small engine, but i dunno yet....

[Kapena]

Really great results with the porta-bote. It will plane with a 5hp motor, rows very easily, stows to the size of a surfboard and never leaks. No air pumps or patch kits. Very light weight and one person can pull it up the beach, even with the small outboard attached. Indestructible. Very stable, dry, maneuverable and fast.

Down side is it isn't a good swim platform. Almost impossible to get back into it from the water. Still the best dinghy type I've owned (for my needs).

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Kapena

Really great results with the porta-bote. It will plane with a 5hp motor, rows very easily, stows to the size of a surfboard and never leaks. No air pumps or patch kits. Very light weight and one person can pull it up the beach, even with the small outboard attached. Indestructible. Very stable, dry, maneuverable and fast.

Down side is it isn't a good swim platform. Almost impossible to get back into it from the water. Still the best dinghy type I've owned (for my needs).

Does it scoop water like a canoe?

[sctpc]

Originally Posted by Extemporaneous

Can you try to explain this another way (Apparently I'm not too quick )?

Thanks,
Extemp.

Me neither I think he means tie on end rode to bow have anchor ring run though rode have say 50m tie other end to stern, so say 10m from shore anchor, then run rode through till you land on shore, get out pull rode so dink goes back out to anchor tie off rode and berry under sand so only you know where you can bring you dink back in after work.

Never ending loop type of thing?

but I maybe wrong but thats why I ask how much he uses.

[Kapena]

Therapy...Do you mean that if you try to get back into it does the rail go under water? Absolutely. Porta-bote has a video showing divers climbing in but this is way optimistic. You enter from the bow with a diver sitting in the stern. Doesn't show how he got in. Does show the 2nd diver nearly swamping the boat.

I always buddy boat if needing a swim platform.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Kapena

Therapy...Do you mean that if you try to get back into it does the rail go under water? Absolutely. Porta-bote has a video showing divers climbing in but this is way optimistic. You enter from the bow with a diver sitting in the stern. Doesn't show how he got in. Does show the 2nd diver nearly swamping the boat.

I always buddy boat if needing a swim platform.

I see.

Kinda figgered that.

Thanks.

[Geoduck]

I just picked up an old fiberglass classic Montgomery sailing dink for a $100! Great shape, lots of teak trim & fits perfect between the main mast & cabin hatch over the sky light.
Good little row boat. Havent sailed it yet though, after I get dumped in the drink, I might want to sell it - stay tuned!
Geoduck

[capttman]

I use a 13 foot Carolina Skiff with a 25 HP 4 stroke gets me wherever I need or want to go and when I want to slow it down just a kayak