Aluminum Dinghy

[michaelmrc]

was just wondering about the possibility of towing a little aluminum boat behind as a little runabout or dinghy. any thoughts out there on this. thanks.

[waterworldly]

When I was a kid we had a great 10' alum pram we ran on the river next to our house. I often wondered why you don't see them used as tenders, as they were light, durable, and very stable. I wouldn't know where to buy one today, however, been 32 years since I lived on the river . . .

[stevensc]

I've been thinking about this for a while and may give it a try. I have seen several used as dinghies it seems when they are short say 10'-12' long they are quite narrow and don't have much load capacity or stability compared to an inflatable.
Here along the Gulf Coast the 14 footers seem to be standard issue on tugs and other work boats, I guess if they get squashed they can be easily and cheaply replaced.
Some friends are having an AL dinghy custom built I don't have the specifications but it will surely be $$$
Please post any developments on this I will do the same.
Steve

[Latitude9.5]

i currently have an aluminum dinghy, i throw it in the davits and I tow it, we really like it, so far we've had an inflatable, a plastic, a porta boat and the aluminum that we have now and we like the aluminum the best (we also only paid $200 for it lol )

[speciald@ocens.]

Be wary of some of the early aluminum hulled ribs. The hull would get so hot in the tropics that the inflatable tubes would detach.

[Eventide]

i don't know why you could not use a 10' - 12' jon boat as a dinghy.

they are fairly cheap when new ($500 and up), strong, almost indestructible,
will last forever and for their size will hold quite a lot of stuff (google jon boats).

i am thinking seriously about getting one for my 36' Gulfstar trawler. will probably get the 10' model because of my beam (davits) but if i had a wider boat i would probably get the 12' model.

i am thinking of attaching some taylor made fenders along the sides to add flotation and to keep the jon boat's aluminum sides from scraping the mothership.

jon boats are just ugly enough with their square-ish appearance to discourage thieves and curiosity seekers. my kind of water craft...

[trinescape]

i have a 10ft tinny and i think there great you can drag them up on a stony beach with out worring about scratching the bottom there light and mine tows just great behind the boat when sailing/motoring the only thing we added was some marine carpet to the seats to stop getting a burnt butt on a sunny day i bought mine for $500 aus which seems to be the average price here second hand one other plus is being so light there easy to raise on the davits

[Reefmagnet]

Pool noodles work well on aluminium dinks to help stop them banging and clunking into things.

[waterworldly]

Originally Posted by Latitude9.5

i currently have an aluminum dinghy, i throw it in the davits and I tow it, we really like it, so far we've had an inflatable, a plastic, a porta boat and the aluminum that we have now and we like the aluminum the best (we also only paid $200 for it lol )

I've been curious about them as well, as folded it would be easy to put out of the way on passage. What was your experience with them?

[waterworldly]

Every aluminum boat I see either is way too heavy (200 lbs) or has low max wieght capacity (300 lbs). Am I missing something?

[Eventide]

i am not saying that aluminum / jon boats are perfect (is there even such a thing as a perfect dinghy?), nor am i suggesting that they will carry as much as a rib. but they are way cheaper than high quality rubber boats and they have much going for them in terms of being perfectly acceptable, especially if you dress them up a little bit with fenders or pool noodles (as suggested above, great idea). and they certainly don't weigh any more than rubber/rib boats, for the same size. see below for some jon boat specs just taken off a googled site.

no one solution is going to fit everyone's needs, but having owned ribs and hard fiberglass dinghies, it might be time for me to give a jon boat a try.

as always, your mileage may vary.

[forsailbyowner]

Read book All In One Boat. Author espoused the aluminum boat for a dingy, his was custom built but looked like average jon boat.

[imagine2frolic]

I saw a man in Georgetown, Bahamas. He had an aluminum dink about 12-14 ft. He had a well welded into the center of his boat, and that is how he tranfered water. Emptied the tank with a small water pump, so no lugging jugs for that guy......BRILLIANT!

[donradcliffe]

If you have an aluminum dinghy, nobody is going to invite you to tie up alongside for cocktails. Buy an inflatable.

[jackiepitts]

I love the idea of a aluminum dinghy. We fitted our 10' Lowe with pool noodles then covered with 5" fire hose. We also added one of the corner fender guards on the bow. This makes the dinghy quite kind to the mother ship.