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Old 31-05-2020, 04:48   #1
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Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

We have an Etap26 and need a good dinghy for it before we put it in the water. Does anyone know where we can get a good one for a fairly cheap price? We have been thinking about getting an inflatable dinghy with a motor and seen a few for $2,500+
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Old 31-05-2020, 05:40   #2
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

They’re all very expensive. There’s no way around it. This is the one place you should spend your money, because a broken outboard or leaking, problematic dinghy can ruin the entire boating experience.

To save a little on the dinghy, maybe look at extremely high quality, but used ones on Craigslist. Look for “inflatable” and “RIB.”

I’d say buy your outboard new so you’ll start with something reliable and can keep it that way.
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Old 31-05-2020, 06:02   #3
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

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.
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Old 31-05-2020, 06:11   #4
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

Where are you located and how will you be using the dinghy? If you’re somewhere that gets a lot of sun and the boat stays in the water year round, you’ll want a hypalon dinghy, which tends to be significantly more expensive (but properly made can last for decades); definitely scour Craigslist for one, and if you can find an old Avon or Mercury from 20 years ago it could still be perfectly good. If you’re somewhere more seasonal and the dinghy will be in and out of the water, then PVC should be fine; you can get a new PVC inflatable from several different companies that will suit your needs for only $1000 or so, and be out the door with a new Merc 2HP for under $2k. We bought an air floor PVC inflatable from North Atlantic Inflatables in Portland, ME last year (our dinghy is only in the water for a month or so a year, as the rest of the time our boat is just used for day sails) and it works great for us, plus it came with a 5-year warranty.
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Old 31-05-2020, 08:54   #5
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

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Originally Posted by YourMomma View Post
............need a good dinghy for it before we put it in the water. Does anyone know where we can get a good one for a fairly cheap price? We have been thinking about getting an inflatable dinghy with a motor and seen a few for $2,500+
I bought a PRU-3 Performance Roll-Up Inflatable dinghy from West Marine for $630 and a Torqeedo Travel 503 CS Electric Outboard Motor - 915 Wh Battery from Defender for $1700 (Defender has an exclusive to sell the Torqeedo 503 with a long range 915 wh battery).

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-...boat--14272488

https://www.defender.com/product.jsp...310&id=4386372
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Old 31-05-2020, 09:07   #6
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

First of all- where you gonna put it on a 26 footer? I assume no davits. I assume very limited deck space for either a RIB or hard dink. Either tow it- OK for local, but not for long trips, or store it below, in which case a roll-up or donut are choices. That may greatly restrict your choices.
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Old 31-05-2020, 09:08   #7
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

For a 26 foot boat not cruising every day for months: Roll up with inflatable floor $1050. and Honda 2.3 $1050.
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Old 31-05-2020, 09:10   #8
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

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





https://charlottesville.craigslist.o...132915240.html
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Old 31-05-2020, 09:11   #9
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

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Originally Posted by sanibel sailor View Post
First of all- where you gonna put it on a 26 footer? I assume no davits. I assume very limited deck space for either a RIB or hard dink. Either tow it- OK for local, but not for long trips, or store it below, in which case a roll-up or donut are choices. That may greatly restrict your choices.
Good points, our inflatable dinghy died and we're currently living with a Sevylor 2 person kayak until I can build a solid tender. We got it for $100 in good condition, but they're only about $350 new. Pretty happy with it, fits into a 100ltr size bag, and is a good work-out for the arms
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Old 31-05-2020, 09:15   #10
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

West has a roll up for $420 on sale today
I picked both a 5 Nissan 2 stroke (craigslist) and a essentially new 2 Honda (car swap meet) less than $300 each.
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Old 31-05-2020, 09:33   #11
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

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Originally Posted by dadster3 View Post
8 ft. Walker Bay dinghy in excellent shape. $250.

https://charlottesville.craigslist.o...132915240.html
How would he store this on a 26 foot yacht?

We will buy a 2.5m Honda inflatable next time, if we can't find a really good small Avon with a transom.

These are interesting, very light at 14kgs so easy to launch or retrieve, but just not sure about the colour, black which does get hot.

https://www.tcschandlery.co.uk/aquaf...e-tender/c1025
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Old 31-05-2020, 09:37   #12
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

Quote:
Originally Posted by YourMomma View Post
We have an Etap26 and need a good dinghy for it before we put it in the water. Does anyone know where we can get a good one for a fairly cheap price? We have been thinking about getting an inflatable dinghy with a motor and seen a few for $2,500+
Go onto craigslist and buy a used one. I bought a Walker Bay 8' hard dinghy for only $300.

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Old 31-05-2020, 09:37   #13
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

We went with two person inflatable kayak for tender and liferaft. On sale 4 years ago for one boat buck.
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Old 31-05-2020, 09:40   #14
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

Previously we used a foldaboat which worked pretty well but I had to modify the interior of my then Columbia 29 to fit her down below in the quarter berths.
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Old 31-05-2020, 10:03   #15
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Re: Affordable dinghy for small sailboat

Some good ideas and alternatives here, but all depends upon your budget and use of your boat.

I've seen many smaller boats do well with just a kayak, inflatable or rigid. I've seen many smaller boats with a sizable dinghy that they tow all the time, fine for inshore but not offshore.

Fully inflatable dinghys, even the better ones, are not great under way without a rigid floor, which increases the cost and complexity in assembly and stowage.

Personally, I spent big bucks on a West Marine RIB w/folding transom on a previous boat (Catalina 27) and it worked well but was expensive and took up the entire foredeck when not towed.

Portabotes are great, but not cheap.

So... more info about your budget, boat and cruising plans?
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