Best and worst inflatable dinghy brands?

[Peregrine1983]

Originally Posted by DragonflyBob

These boats look to be pretty heavy. The smallest one is 119 lbs which could be a chore to store or move around.

We just bought a Takacat for our Dragonfly 32 trimaran and weight and compactness (when deflated) were important since we will stow the deflated boat in our float compartments when underway. The Takacat we purchased is half the weight. Takacat’s get pretty good reviews and ours is new so the jury is out on durability but first uses with it have been good.

I had a Takakat for a few years. I loved the idea and yes they're light, but there's no protection from waves when motoring into chop, so you get soaked. Also, the center inflatable section is flimsy and soft, so there's basically no stability when you're standing in the dinghy loading things onto the boat. We ended up going with an Inflatable Sport 9.8 with an aluminum floor and it's been perfect for us.

[DragonflyBob]

Originally Posted by Peregrine1983

I had a Takakat for a few years. I loved the idea and yes they're light, but there's no protection from waves when motoring into chop, so you get soaked. Also, the center inflatable section is flimsy and soft, so there's basically no stability when you're standing in the dinghy loading things onto the boat. We ended up going with an Inflatable Sport 9.8 with an aluminum floor and it's been perfect for us.

There is an open and closed bow version for each Takacat model and we have the closed bow and find it deflects chop pretty well (we first tried the boat in Lake Pontchartrain, no shortage of chop).

Stability seems very good to me. Not only stepping and standing on the inflatable floor but also stepping from our boat to one of the floats of the dinghy. Ours is new so perhaps Takacat made some design changes since Peregrine had theirs.

We need an inflatable floor to be able to deflate the dinghy and store it in our boat’s floats (two bags, one per float). It takes about 15-20 minutes to assemble/disassemble/inflate/deflate and the trampolines of our Dragonfly provide plenty of space for that purpose.

[Peregrine1983]

Originally Posted by DragonflyBob

There is an open and closed bow version for each Takacat model and we have the closed bow and find it deflects chop pretty well (we first tried the boat in Lake Pontchartrain, no shortage of chop).

Stability seems very good to me. Not only stepping and standing on the inflatable floor but also stepping from our boat to one of the floats of the dinghy. Ours is new so perhaps Takacat made some design changes since Peregrine had theirs.

We need an inflatable floor to be able to deflate the dinghy and store it in our boat’s floats (two bags, one per float). It takes about 15-20 minutes to assemble/disassemble/inflate/deflate and the trampolines of our Dragonfly provide plenty of space for that purpose.

Ah, didn't realize they had a closed-bow model now. That definitely sounds like an improvement.

Our dog used to insist on standing on the bow when we'd take her in it and it turned the boat into a big water scoop.

[Marathon1150]

We had a Southern Pacific 9' PVC and aluminum RIB that lasted for 15 years, 6 of which were in Baja, Mexico. When I bought it the vendor told me if I treated the PVC with 303 UV protectant twice a year, the dinghy would last at least 10 years. It turned out to be even better than that. It was relatively light and simple. With a 8HP Yamaha 2 stroke it would easily plane with two people on board. Eventually, the inner baffles failed.

We replaced that dinghy with an AB 9' hypalon/aluminum RIB. It was eye wateringingly expensive, partially because we bought it in Mexico where import taxes are high. It is almost 25lbs heavier than the Southern Pacific and will not plane with the same engine on the back. Getting it on and off the foredeck is a chore. But, it is very heavy duty and very well built.

For the money in terms of dollars per year of use, I would buy a Southern Pacific even though it may not be as well built as the AB.