Ordering a dingy in the morning.

[Alyssa Jean]

I am ordering a dingy in the morning and am giving all you out there the opportunity to put your two cent worth in about my choice. I need something that will be easily brought on board over the bow area and put on the 25 roof.

I don't mean this to be an ad, but anyone seeing something negative here let me know.

About $750 and $50 bucks for shipping.



Mercury RU 240 ROLL UP


Weight: 41 lbs
Length (in/mm): 7ft 11 in
Beam: 4' 5"
Tube Diameter: 14"
Load Capacity: 690 lbs
Maximum HP: 5
Number of Air Chambers: 2
Bagged Dimensions: 3'3 x 1'10" x 15"
Max Persons: 3


6 -Reasons to purchase a Mercury inflatable:
1)The only full warranty on the market. Get 5 full years of 100% with a mercury, backed by the biggest name
in the marine industry at any mercury dealer. All others are Prorated which means that you get 100% the
first year and than 80% than 60% and so on.
2)The end cone design, its flat endcone in the 2003 and newer models. When you see a typical inflatable
accelerate it does a pop-a-wheeley. Well with the flat end cone when the front of the boat lifts up it pushes
the cone into the water and causes instant plaining off.
3)The front of the mercury bows up to give a dryer ride as opposed to a flat boat that gets very wet when it
is choppy.
4)The front of the mercury is wider than your typical inflatable that gets very tight in the front. This design
utilizes every foot of the inflatable allowing passengers to sit in the front.
5)The mercury is an 1100 dinier thickness as compared to the average in the industry of 900.
6)The mercury has the highest capacity for its size, both weight capacity and HP will be higher on the
mercury.
Basically the mercury is designed around a dry ride. The bowed up front, the deep V-keel to raise the front
up a little more, the splash guards to stop the splash, the higher capacity means it floats higher, and the
big tubes all equal the driest ride on the water

[Catman]

Looks like a winner to me, David.

[flagold]

Does that one have a hard floor (insert)? I'm thinking of the same thing now, have a labradore to get to shore and would like to do so without swimming . . .

[Chivita]

One question,

Where?

$750 seems to be a great price!

[Sneaks]

I've seen and admired the Mercury line for quite a while. The LA C-Dory dealer Elco Marine sells them and it's high on my list when the time comes. Oops, on edit I goofed. At that price, it's likely not an air deck version.

Good choice, AFAIC

Don

[gljjr]

My biggest concern would be what kind of floor does it have? If it is a folding wood floor I think it would be great. If it is simply an inflatable floor I would keep looking. Since you are going from the gunnel of the 25 down to the floor of the inflatable you want a good strong floor to step on. It's bad enough trying to get in a dingy held next to the boat without also having to deal with unsure footing on the floor.

[Lil Rascal]

David,

Thats the exact dinghy I got from Buster Marine in NY. I have not used it yet, but did bring it on my San Juan Iaslands cruise a few weeks ago. You could see photos of it from my pictures. I think it is a comparable to the dinghies I see in West Marine for 1000.00+. I paid 650.00, but was told the prices were going up. It fits perfect on top of my 22. I had no problem sliding it out from under my radar arch and on to the transom to deflate it. Good luck.

Scott on the Lil' Rascal

[Alyssa Jean]

It IS from Busters Marine. It is a roll-up. Pat on Daydream has one and I was on it last week. Thanks for the input(s).

[SeaSpray]

This looks like a very nice boat and at 41lbs manageable. The biggest requirment for me is the weight. I would consider 40lbs to be the limit for me.

I have a Bombard AX3 that is said to weigh 35lbs but it feels like more. I can get it on and off the roof while standing on the bow. I have also inflated it while on the bow.

The down side of boats like these is the lack of a solid bottom. The slats are okay but they make the boat slow and you need to be a little more careful when getting in or moving around. I have not seen a boat with a nice bottom in this weight range so I think the trade off is worth it. The last thing I want to do while on vacation is injure my back or a shoulder.

Steve

[teflonmom]

Sounds like a really neat boat.We had an 8.5' air floor with a 5HP Nissan we carried it on the roof of our Rosborough it weighed about 41 lbs. Our 5 HP kicker was carried on a swing down bracket on the stern. Now my advise, buy a small light weight motor for easier mounting. Unless you will travel long distances and need speed the smaller motor should work OK.

Last week end we saw the really small 2 person dink sold by west marine at the Chesapeake gathering. Very light about 25 lbs, and looked like it rowed very nicely. We may use one for our new CD-22

Fred and Pat Red Lion, Pa.

[Little Catelyn]

I just received a Mercury 200 Rollup last week that I had ordered from Buster. $$$ 680 $$$ for the boat! Also ordered the cover, an underseat bag and a 12V pump.

I love the boat! Looks great! Best of all, it fits in the back of my pickup under the rolltop cover so it can be locked up. And although a fullsize, my truck has a short & narrow bed --- just an inch or so shorter in length and narrower between the wheelwells than the dimensions of the boat. With a little air let out, she fits great!

The cover seems nice enough and fits on my boat okay, but if the boat you're ordering uses the same one... ??? I think the underseat bag might fall into that 'must have' category. I wished it included a padded seat and some additional outside pockets (like what Defender has, but is the wrong size for me), but it will hold the pump, repair kit and even the blades for the oars with room to spare.

The ONLY thing I didn't like was the 12V pump. First of all, it showed up at my door in its original box --- way to thin for UPS! Everything else was packaged fine, just not this pump. Today I sent the pump back. They tell me that there will be a 20% restocking fee.

I think that your choice will work great on your cruise ship. If my boat were a little bigger, that would be my choice. If you would like to check out the smaller version before you order, mine is still in the back of my truck --- I'll be more than happy to meet with you.

Corwin

[Lil Rascal]

I find that the hand pump does a great job. It is very fast in filling up the boat.

Scott

[Bess-C]

David,
We have this exact dingy for our boat. It has worked fine. We also ordered it from Busters. The only downside is that it doesn't row easily, but I don't think most inflatables do. I wish it was a little longer, but I didn't want the extra weight of a bigger dingy. It was easy to get on and off of the roof from the cockpit before we had canvas. I don't know exactly how I'll load it now that we have canvas.

We bought a 2 hp Honda for it. That seems to be enough power. We chose the Honda because it has an integrated fuel tank, weighs 25 lbs and doesn't need 2 stroke oil. It is easy to get into the dingy and mount the outboard from the swimstep.
Lyle

[Catman]

Teflonmom, was that West Marine dink blue? If so it may have been the 22 pound critter I bought last week. Three-hundred pound capacity, six feet something, soft floor and comfy as a waterbed. Rows nicely.

Upside is the tougher, better construction than the inexpensive Sevlors, plus the blue nylon shell which envelopes and protects the hull. But that shell invites water and has to drain before the dinghy's deflated.

[Robbi]

Catman, That is the same one that you and I have bought. It was on (I think) the only boat that did not have dock space at the Maryland gathering and was at anchor. Robbi