Buy outboard or buy better-rowing dinghy?

[brownoarsman]

Very pretty dinghy-too long for my current boat however - where do you put it?
Wrong-if it was a cat, rather than a tri-mutant, I'd understand why it keeps coming back.


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[wingless]

Originally Posted by brownoarsman

Very pretty dinghy-too long for my current boat however - where do you put it?

This image from making the dinghy cover pattern shows the Searay davits I added to my swim platform.

When I deploy or retreive my dinghy, I just lift the bow and pull it up on the starboard side. I tie it down onto the davits for when I'm underway.

Again, the light Walker Bay dinghy might be worth examining for your application

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Naples Sabot or El Toro fiberglass hull. They are under 8 foot, cheap, sailable, rowable and motorable. An inflatable is not a rowing machine. I don't care what size, shape or inflation psi they don't row worth a darn and track badly as well as blow around like a balloon on the water.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

The one I just picked up for free was based on a Naples Sabot and built of 1/8" door skin. Originally it weighed 40 lbs. With the patching it's had over the years it weighs about 45. Easy to handle. On my Mariner 35 I was able to just toss my fibreglass Naples Sabot in the water and pull it up over the life lines when retrieving it. It weighed quite a bit more than this wood version and was set up for sailing and motoring.

[brownoarsman]

A free dinghy?! Now I'm never going to buy one until I find a free one too! Oh no!
It sounds perfect though: short, light, and rows well. I'm off marquesas going to dry Tortugas, so hopefully something will have popped up in the keys by the time I'm back. Things seem to sell quick here though. Most I reached out on were already sold!


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[MarkSF]

I have a Zodiac Compact RIB with 8hp Yamaha 2 stroke. It is reasonably pleasant to row (a bit slow, but tracks well), and cruises at 12-14 kts under power. It really tracks nicely under power.

Sometimes I row it, mostly I use the outboard. If you have the outboard, you have the choice, don't you?

[wingless]

Originally Posted by wingless

Again, the light Walker Bay dinghy might be worth examining for your application.

Here are the Walker Bay rigid dinghy boats.

[Half Moon 36]

Well, I am retiring an old inflatable that was coupled to a 2 hp outboard. We sailed up to Maine last summer and often landed on rough surfaces. Also, the cool morning air typically resulted in soft tubes. Soon, what to do??
Our solution was a hard dink/ plywood-stich and glue, a pram by CLC, the passage maker. It is a hull form that rows easily and can take a small outboard. It also has the sail kit option (main & jib/dagger board and rudder). I am in the process of obtaining the eye bolts and straps for the davits and a hull drain. The pram is sold as a kit. I purchased a completed boat that another built that turned to be too big for his sailboat, but just right for our cat.
The pram should carry my wife and I to shore with our dogs in relative comfort and much drier. We can row when the conditions are nice or use the Honda for distance or strong headwinds. We have not yet tried the sails. Could make for very pleasant afternoon anchorages....
Just a few points; we saw a tv show where a shark bit the side tube of an inflatable dink, my wife supported the replacement to hard dink ASAP, the very efficient 2 hp outboard needed a card rebuild after using ethanol fuel after three years,...I am considering a torquedo electric outboard.
As they say, live and learn.....

[brownoarsman]

I almost picked up a torqued do but just ran out of time. Sounds like the pram will work great!


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[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by brownoarsman

A free dinghy?! Now I'm never going to buy one until I find a free one too! Oh no!
It sounds perfect though: short, light, and rows well. I'm off marquesas going to dry Tortugas, so hopefully something will have popped up in the keys by the time I'm back. Things seem to sell quick here though. Most I reached out on were already sold!


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Well, it's ugly but it was free. So many patches. The previous owner told me he didn't have to lock it up because no one would ever want to steal it looking like it does. Extremely lightweight using 1/8" ply.

[akopac]

Pictures :-)


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[brownoarsman]

I don't think they came through! But thanks!


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[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by brownoarsman

I almost picked up a torqued do but just ran out of time. Sounds like the pram will work great!


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What's a torqued do? Does it power your boat through electrics?

[brownoarsman]

That was a weird autocorrect! Sorry, torqueedo was what I meant. The electric outboard.


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[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by brownoarsman

That was a weird autocorrect! Sorry, torqueedo was what I meant. The electric outboard.


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I knew what it was. I was just pulling your chain a bit

Our club has two that we use on 26 foot Folkboats.

[brownoarsman]

Autocorrect really torqued me off!

I just checked out a very solid little hard dinghy, 6' long and 4' wide that would fit well on my bow. However, when I rowed it, it was quick, but very squirrelly, and loved to spin out in circles. It has about a half inch deep skeg along the centerline, so maybe this is not enough?
Or is it instead a problem of weight distribution? It seemed my weight in the row position forward was lifting the stern clear of the water which is where the majority of the boat's tracking would come from, I believe. Is this common with hard dinghies? Or does this one just row poorly? Or is my technique wrong?! Can't believe it after all those years spent pulling on sticks!
This problem may shortly resolve itself though. In a few days I should be en route to the Bahamas when this north wind dies, and outside of florida's tyranny, I'll hopefully be able to buy a small very low hp 2 stroke. If that's not possible, my first guest will have a few air kayaks in their luggage I wonder if any cruisers are in need of a replacement inflatable in the islands!


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