Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

[alansmith]

Dingy landings on the shore can be very interesting situations. Keep that in mind. Dingies always bring out a lot of skippers comments. I have two dingies. I bought a used porta-bote for about 400 bucks. It collapses to the thickness of a surfboard you stand on with a paddle. It weighs about 60 lbs. It is puncture proof and can take the suns worst year in and year out. It rows well. I haven’t put a small outboard on it yet. You don’t have to worry about putting a hook in it. They are tough as he!! You could lash it to your safety lines.

There are also Oru kayaks that fold up to a suitcase size and they are plastic and pretty damn clever. Of course you would need to get a two seater if you are carrying supplies. Expensive and no motor setup available.

Australia produces an inflatable I think it is called Tak-a-cat that I have reviewed and seen YT channel sailors use ( Lucky Fish). Roll up dingies ... terrible rowers. But honestly, many many small boat sailors have to use them due to storage on small boats. I have a 30 foot trimaran with nets and amas. I tie my two seater kayak made of plastic on top of the ama and away I go.

[Puget Dan]

Look for a used Walker Bay 8’ or 10’. They are light and we love ours for the last 7 years.

[Dave22q]

Consider a cheap ABS Chinese made dinghy. You might get a few years use out of it. Yes hypolon dinghys are superior but I do not think their prices justified. Reality is that you can pump it up as needed before each use and go for years with no issues. When dinghy's fail, it is slow leaks not instant sinking.

[boatman61]

Your best bet is a 2.4m Plastimo Inflatable Dinghy with slats.. reasonably priced and rolls up when deflated and you can lash it down on the foredeck or under the boom.
A 12v electric pump make light work of inflating and deflating.
Have used these on 22ftrs upwards.
will take up to a 5hp outboard.
They also do a 2.2 and a 2m.. but these use 2.5hp engines.

[Mike Banks]

You need a dinghy about three metres or so if the sea gets choppy and you have groceries or fuel to carry. This is a storage problem, so I suggest a folding boat rather than an inflatable. Inflatables are heavy and develop leaks. If they are big enough to be useful they need an outboard motor of more power because they stick to the surface like glue unless they have a hard floor.

I use a solid plastic dinghy myself because I like to fish and it has a shade bimini on it, is powered by three horsepower but could take up to fifteen, two people can carry it easily, it rows easily and tracks well while being rowed, and it is foam filled so it will not sink even if damaged.

But in your boat--a folding dinghy would be my choice.

.

[hamburking]

Avon Redcrest. With oars.

[carlosproa]

Build a foldeable dinghy or build a nesting dinghy

https://youtu.be/fhEdd8fDfm


https://nestawayboats.com/shop/8ft-nesting-pram-dinghy/

[Don C L]

My boat is only a little bigger than yours and I have tried various dinghies. I wouldn't consider a hard dinghy for such a small boat. A rowing version is nice, like a Redcrest, until there's wind. The one I have settled on seems the best for us. It's an inflatable whitewater kayak with large tubes and a pretty rigid drop stitch inflatable floor. I got the big one, 14' and it holds 850 lbs. it says, though I think more. The major advantage is it is considerably faster than a rowing version and you make good headway in a headwind, even with only one person! Once rolled up it is as mentioned earlier, about the size of a large sail bag. And they are pretty tough these days too. And it can be self-bailing when you open the floor valves. Ours is made by Sea Eagle but there are others. We've had ours for 7 years but it only comes out for our summer trips and playing in the harbor. I do drag it over beach rocks though. No problems yet. Mine, at 14', is barely manageable on the foredeck of my boat for inflation, I'd recommend the 12.5' for yours. I see they are going for around $900. Even my bigger one is $1000 which is less than when I first bought it. I'd definitely by one again. Mine lives lashed on the foredeck while sailing. Here's a shot of the whole family in the 14'.

[Chotu]

Yeah the kayaks are pretty good. I had to use one for about 8 weeks waiting for an outboard after mine was stolen in Florida.

The kayak was surprisingly fast and only cost a couple hundred used.

You could really move the narrow hull along and transport most anything with ease. I had a mile trip every time. If you pace yourself and go at a steady rate, it’s not even tiring since the hull slips so easily through the water.

I’d probably still use the kayak frequently if they didn’t steal that in Florida too.

[Philipcataproa]

I had a Didi26 I built a D$ dingy by Maartins free plans it is sailing, rowing and motoring dingy that fitted behind the mast and in front of the hatch, If you build yourself you can make it fit. This is a two person dingy, Instead of making the middle seat crosswise make it lengthwise as it is easy to move to get the right balance. This is very handy as a recreational dingy.

[Philipcataproa]

Sorry D4 dingy

[akopac]

Originally Posted by Captn_Black

If you're cruising rather than daysailing, I fully recommend a solid tender, rather than inflatable. There are plenty of designs online for you to build yourself, and tutorials on YouTube. You will regret an inflatable in 3 or 4 years time.

Totally agree. Nesting if possible.

[nortonscove]

Originally Posted by dadster3

8 ft. Walker Bay dinghy in excellent shape. $250.





https://charlottesville.craigslist.o...132915240.html

I have one of these. Bought it for my 27 footer. They are great for one person but unable to carry me and another adult safely in anything but flat calm water. I now use mine for relaxing rows around my mooring. We got a Mercury solid floor and 2.5 hp for the bigger boat and it has served us well for the past seven seasons. The engine is small enough to manhandle onto the boat with ease.
I would advise against electric outboards for that mothership because of limited range and charging demands. Some of the greatest joys come from exploring small coves in the dinghy at various locations. Ours can carry my wife and son as well as our 85 lb Labrador without issue and with capacity to spare. All told it cost about 2400 cdn. You could go rollup and used outboard for somewhat less.

[YourMomma]

Has anyone ever used on of these davits on a sailboat?

https://keys.craigslist.org/bpo/d/br...096303854.html

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by YourMomma

Has anyone ever used on of these davits on a sailboat?

https://keys.craigslist.org/bpo/d/br...096303854.html

Doesn't work on a mono hulled yacht unless you can really lift the lower tube up high because when you are going to windward the corner of the lower tube will catch every wave. We were able to lift the dinghy high up which also provided some protection from the elements, but when replaced with a slightly larger dinghy it was a problem so we resorted to storing deflated in front of the mast.

We tried an Avon Redcrest with floor boards for a year, bloody thing is so unstable compared to a small transom dinghy we sold the Avon.

I think Boatman61's suggestion is about the best because I just don't see how you are going to secure a hard dinghy on a 26ft yacht