What Type Dinghy / Tender ?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by feelsgood

Sorry I cant remember where I put it but we expalined why we use an inflatable dinghy with airfloor towed behind at all times. We tow the dinghy as we regard it as our first port of call in an emergency.

I towed my dinghy in a Biscay crossing.... a) It was to big to fit the foredeck of the 22ftr... b) It was my emergency escape vessel....
Unfortunately a 10 day gale sprang up and while I was hove to the dinghy was swamped and the combination of wind, wave and weight tore her loose... nothing I could do to prevent it in 40/50kt winds and 9 metre seas... I was pretty nervous till I made port..

[capcook]

From reading this thread sounds like a 900# dink would be too heavy for say an FP Orana to handle eh... was looking for something that would be a lot of fun to zip around in, possibly be able to pull one of the Ks on skis.. something like this..

[witzgall]

We just bought a 1 year old Dux Catamaran Dingy. Our is like the Duxling, but a foot longer. It is rate for a 25hp engine. We took a ride in one, it planed easily with four adults and a 15hp two-stroke, so that is the engine size we are going to get. I'll report more when we get it going, but the guy we bought it from actually did not have a financial interest in it (long story) and praised them - this was his fourth. They were long term cruisers on a Cat.

DUX® Boats Official Website

Chris

[AnchorageGuy]

Wow, This thread started in 2005. That is longevity. We have been inflatable people, not literally, for many years. With our changes on boating and changes in cruising grounds, we now have a hard dinghy. We posted some of our conclusion on our blog,
http://tinyurl.com/25hec9m . Chuck

[witzgall]

Good threads never die...

[AnchorageGuy]

Originally Posted by witzgall

Good threads never die...

Amen

[RodeTrip]

It has been going a lot longer than I've been on the forum! We use an 8 foot avon inflatable with a roll-up style floor. We don't have an outboard so that we don't have to register it in NH. When we go to the boat we pull it out of the trunk, inflate and walk it down the beach!

[billyehh]

My old Apex finally died. I tried patching it but a new leak would show up next to the patch on the seam. Just got a brand new 9 1/2 foot AB alunimum bottom RIB. It only weighs 95 pounds and even with the motor on is easy to store on the back deck of my catamaran.

I have a 15 HP 2 stroke Yamaha Enduro and it will plane easily with a 600 lb. load. With just me it is a bit scitish but by reducing the speed to just being on plane it becomes much more manageable.

In St. Martin the distances from the Dutch side to the French side are measured in miles so reliable transportation is a must. Dingy is the best way to get around Simpson Bay Lagoon.

[rocma]

I am seriously thinking about a BIC Sportyak 245. It is a catamaran-ish like hull, very stable, indestructable (more or less), it has wheels at the back, so you just pull it up a beach or ramp....but it is rigid. Although on a catamaran with davits, that wouldn´t be an issue.

Does anyone have experiences with the BIC Sportyak 245?

Thanks

[Kay Koudele]

So many choices! We have an inside steering station that we relish, so we chose the Porta-Bote, which folds flat (looking like a surf board in that state.) We can store it flat on our foredeck without obstructing our view from the cabin. We can set it up/dismantle it (10-15 minutes) on the same deck, lower it in water with the spinnaker halyard. It is a durable plastic, so we can pull it over rocks without any worry. We use a 5 hp engine. Not the fastest around, but is a good compromise for us.
www.kaykoudele.blogspot.com

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I towed my dinghy in a Biscay crossing.... a) It was to big to fit the foredeck of the 22ftr... b) It was my emergency escape vessel....
Unfortunately a 10 day gale sprang up and while I was hove to the dinghy was swamped and the combination of wind, wave and weight tore her loose... nothing I could do to prevent it in 40/50kt winds and 9 metre seas... I was pretty nervous till I made port..

Boatman:

I feel your pain. I had a wonderful lapstraked fiberglass dingy that I lost in a gale after towing it 40 miles and just three miles from my destination. Bow fitting pulled out after it got swamped. I tried to rescue it and almost broached in the attempt. Stopped that plan of action right quick. I was hoping I would get a call from Europe that it had drifted across the Atlantic. But, never happened. That was 10 years ago bought an 8 foot Porta boat and never looked back. Mostly because I carry it on deck most of the time and don't have to worry about it:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: REPORT FROM ANNAPOLIS: PART 5: A PORTA-BOTE IMPROVEMENT
The marina here charges $400 a season for use of the dingy dock (they don't even need a gun). Five minute setup and I'm rowing out to the mooring. The boat paid for it's self in two years.

[rocma]

Lesson no. 1 : never tow your dinghy.... always store it on deck or in Davits (if you have them).

If you don´t have a larger vessel: when we sailed our 33ft monohull, we always had our Avon dinghy half inflated upside down over the cabin hatch garage, tied to the handrails. So at least it formed some form of safety feature if needed. We had a bag with a pump, the paddles and some water bottles under it and tied to the dinghy.
Just as a suggestion.

But, as I will be going on a catamaran next, I will have davits, so I am looking for pref. something rigid that doesn´t spring a leak as soon as I hit or scratch something. Hence my question about the Sportyak 245.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by mbianka

Boatman:

I feel your pain. I had a wonderful lapstraked fiberglass dingy that I lost in a gale after towing it 40 miles and just three miles from my destination. Bow fitting pulled out after it got swamped. I tried to rescue it and almost broached in the attempt. Stopped that plan of action right quick. I was hoping I would get a call from Europe that it had drifted across the Atlantic. But, never happened. That was 10 years ago bought an 8 foot Porta boat and never looked back. Mostly because I carry it on deck most of the time and don't have to worry about it:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: REPORT FROM ANNAPOLIS: PART 5: A PORTA-BOTE IMPROVEMENT
The marina here charges $400 a season for use of the dingy dock (they don't even need a gun). Five minute setup and I'm rowing out to the mooring. The boat paid for it's self in two years.

Oh I never tow normally and would not have then except the weather sites all forecast steady N/NW winds max F4 for 6 days across the Bay... it lasted 36hrs.
Now its 1/3rd inflated and folded front of the mast with pump/ditchbag/oars strapped inside... worst case senario I use it as a raft to hang onto till it quietens enough for me to climb in and pump up... if I last that long...
But thats another thread....lmao

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Oh I never tow normally and would not have then except the weather sites all forecast steady N/NW winds max F4 for 6 days across the Bay... it lasted 36hrs.
Now its 1/3rd inflated and folded front of the mast with pump/ditchbag/oars strapped inside... worst case senario I use it as a raft to hang onto till it quietens enough for me to climb in and pump up... if I last that long...
But thats another thread....lmao

Sounds like a plan!

[Extemporaneous]

Originally Posted by Kay Koudele

So many choices! We have an inside steering station that we relish, so we chose the Porta-Bote, which folds flat (looking like a surf board in that state.) We can store it flat on our foredeck without obstructing our view from the cabin. We can set it up/dismantle it (10-15 minutes) on the same deck, lower it in water with the spinnaker halyard. It is a durable plastic, so we can pull it over rocks without any worry. We use a 5 hp engine. Not the fastest around, but is a good compromise for us.
www.kaykoudele.blogspot.com

Sounds like we have a similar setup (PH Corbin 39). My Porta-Bote actually comes inside (once folded) the Pilothouse and fit under the Pilothouse Settee. Not to be seen anywhere. Also different, I have an 8 hp. It's really too much, but meant to be a backup for my main diesel.

Cheers,
Extemp.