Thoughts on this boat as a dinghy

[Leaving Idaho]

Hello everyone. Just curious as to if any of you have seen this boat. Seems very light weight. Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are as a dinghy/tender. Thank you Patrick


2016 Pirate Dinghy, Oriental North Carolina - boats.com

[roverhi]

Looks like a really stable boat. Wide trimaranish design carried all the way to the bow should make standing and boarding to/from the boat easy. Question what 'composite' materials are??? If it's fiberglass, repairs should be easy to do. FRP construction could also make it light without sacrificing reliability. See no evidence of oar locks so better have a RELIABLE motor or add them. Personally, If I was going hard dinghy would want something that could also be sailed. Nice to be able to use sails in out of the way places where gasoline might be at a premium and just to mess around in an anchorage or marina without the noise and stink of an outboard.

[JCJ 1970]

Hi Patrick
To my mind it depends what you are going to load in it - how many people, what distances from shore you plan to use it for. I realise you will probably want to stow it on deck when on passage and therefore the smaller the size the more ideal for this it will be, but I always look at a dinghy as something you may need to lay an anchor off with, and transport crew and provisions with and, to my mind, I would need something bigger, more workmanlike and robust than what you have in mind. How about an inflatable rib type dinghy for use as a tender, you could leave it semi inflated on deck or tow it astern, without too much drag. The dinghy you have in mind I am sorry to say does not inspire any confidence for me. Sorry but I think it is a bit of a 'soap dish'!

[motion30]

Actually it looks okay to me, yes looks like a soap dish but that will add to the stability. 8 foot seem small but certainly more room inside then your typical 10 foot inflatable. I wonder if it's possible to get a larger rub rail fitted

[SV.Maverick]

Looks kinda like the west marine 9.4 water tender I had once. Although I liked it, hanging on davits wasn't a good idea because boats like these don't have drain plugs so they just fill with 100's of lbs of water etc. having said that I think it's more about the mother ship if it's small and you have decided your a hard dingy guy and it's just going up on deck sure why not. One thing about my old 9.4 water tender it was rated for a 5 hp outboard and with a 3.5 it moved through the water very well.

[stevec195]

Consider also the port-a-bote which has most of the advantages of a rigid hull but folds up.


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[four winds]

I know a couple with a dog who have one and like it well. Have seen them use it many times and it does look to be stable and serve their needs well.

Also, when asked they confirm this and say they are well satisfied.

[deblen]

Composite is Divynicell I believe.

DIAB Marine

[svHannabel]

A few random thoughts:

- It would be nice to know the weight/passenger/hp capacities.
- Is the outboard plate made out of wood? Metal would be my preference.
- Looks like the middle seat is molded in. I'd prefer a removable seat.
- Is there a drain plug? I don't see one.
- It would be nice if there was storage in either/both of the bow and stern bench areas.

The hull form looks very similar to 8'-10' RIBs, with the inflatable tubes on a RIB acting much like the outside tri-hulls on this dinghy for stability.

I once had a composite (plastic) Sandpiper 8 dinghy and the material wasn't all that durable. It seemed to degraded in the sun (UV) and scratch/crack easier than fiberglass. I'd want to know more about the specific composite used in this particular boat.

[deltaten]

miniature "Carolina Skiff"??
looks to bone same const/fit and finish.
pics of locks, so it is rowable.
may be a CS and a Whaler mated and this is the resulting "baby"??

[Scout 30]

It really depends on the hp rating which is nowhere to be found. If it's 2.5 hp then this won't plane out & you'll be pushing a wave in front of you. At 5hp I bet it would scoot. Don't expect it to row well but a lot a cruisers don't really care about that. With one person on board you'll need to sit in the center seat so you'll need a tiller extension which is no big deal. I'd want to see one in person before I bought it.

[sparrowhawk1]

the advantages are it's very stable. if it can handle a five horsepower like said earlier it will scoot and it looks very durable. Disadvantages are hard to store, it won't row very well and it will be wet when there's waves. and definitely add a drain plug if it doesn't have one. Edit I just took a look at it again and putting a drain plug in it will be very hard so I wouldn't buy it if you want to put it in davits but with having lots of flotation in both ends it will be easier to bale

[seasick]

Personally not a great fan of the tri-hull configuration as was common with early Boston Whaler designs. It was as if the designers took great pains to conceive of a hull form that scientifically captured all the power of the waves and transferred this directly to your spine going into the chop.

Motoring into a stiff breeze with anything over a 2.5 HP outboard, the tendency of this hull form will be to do a backflip. Coming off a plane, this design turns into an eight foot seawater scoop over the bow.

Many well proven, eight foot dinghy designs are rated for three or more persons as opposed to the two person rating of this skiff. Many better designs lend themselves well for sailing, rowing, sculling and surfing even in very adverse conditions. I suspect rowing this puppy against a stiff headwind will be only slightly better than rowing an Avon Redcrest, i.e. full steam ahead and still going astern.

To fit a drain plug through the aft thwart and transom will require a tunnel or tube be fitted, neither a great option as they will leak over time or get plugged up.

My personal preference in a hard dinghy is the fiberglass faux-clinker built designs that incorporate a skeg aft of 4 to 6 inches deep and running full length. These tend to row, skull and surf in a straight line rather than fish tail all over the bay with every stroke.

Can't have enough internal flotation especially if you're going to have an outboard on it. I like at least enough flotation to be able to bale out the skiff while treading water beside it with the ability to board the skiff (half full of water) from the water, as this seems inevitable when returning late night from the bar.

When laying out another anchor, naked, in the dark, in a gale, a dinghy of substance is a Godsend. I see this one doing backward somersaults all the way to the beach.

When tethered astern at night, the racket this skiff will make as every little wave crashes into the bow will drive you and those anchored around you, bonkers.

All that said, this skiff will beat the crap out of swimming home which the guy whose fancy inflatable that just was stolen off the beach will be doing.

[Rustic Charm]

30kg makes it the lightest of rigit tenders I think. Big positive.

But as others have said, next question is what size OB it will take because it will need at least a 5 to plane with just one adult.

[tvbond]

I've used a very similar dink for years and found it to be a wet ride in any oncoming wave or wind...even the slightest. It was stable and easy to manage, easy to row and moved and tracked well with my 2hp Honda.
I recently replaced it with a similar sized sailing dinghy that has a conventional shaped bow. We found it much drier and easier to squeeze in at a crowded dinghy dock. Tom