A Dingy Thingy

[Zydecomo]

I am starting to look at small inflatable 2 person kayaks to use as a dingy. Skys the limit with some of these I've noticed. Prices seem to range from around $70 (Sea Eagle) to a couple of thousand bucks. It would be fun to have a kayak that could be paddled up small streams etc. The 2 that I've looked at are Helios 380EX and Aire Tom Cat Tandem. Coincidentally I have a C-Dory Tom Cat. Do you think 2 Tom Cats would get along? Any ides.
Phil

[Otter-BelleHavenMarina]

We have an Innova (not the Helios but the Safari model). It is super sturdy and durable, and in my opinion worth the $$$. I wouldn't recommend the Safari as a dinghy, however, because it is self draining and causes a wet seat -- great for play, but not ideal for a paddle to shore in evening wear!
Cheers,

[Notayot]

We have been using the West Marine 2 person inflatable. I think it is between $200-$300. It has worked well, and is very easy to board from the swim step. It is light enough for one person to put it on the roof top for travel. We keep it inflated when crossing the strait of Juan de Fuca due to the distance from shore (9-10 miles), but it could be easily inflated in a couple of minutes. There is a picture of Notayot with the kayak in our album.

[Anita Marie]

Phil, I spent a long time researching inflatable kayaks to use for a dingy on my CDory. I finally settled on the two man Hyside Padillac, my wife always gets a kick out of the name. The big selling point for me was its stability and the material it is made of, Hypalon. It tracks fine and is easy to launch and retrieve from the bow.
The boat is self bailing but only our feet get wet. I have added a couple hand holds and may add patches to close up the self bailing holes some day.
Hyside Padillac

Fred

[starcrafttom]

We have the west marine two man thta is made by seyvlor.its the kc330 model I think. Worked great on the desolation sound trip. we stored it on thte top wedged under the arch between the crab and shrimp pots. it rode up there just fine at all speeds for the whole 9 days. If price does not matter check out the "blue ocean"? I forgot the proper name. they have a clear floor so you can see whats below you. That way you can see jaws coming. I saw them on ebay for a while. but have not seen them lately

[Ron on Meander]

I'm giving strong consideration to ordering one of the Soar inflatables to replace our dinghy. It seems to be a very well built canoe along the lines of Red Foxes Aire Traveller, but slightly shorter and not quite as wide. Seems to have pretty good reviews. Anyone tried one?
soar 14
Ron

[starcrafttom]

sorry the name was blue hawaii kayaks, not ocean heres the link. check it out. http://www.clearbluehawaii.com/products/boats/hanauma.html

[catdogcat]

I like those clear bottom ones. There actually reasonably priced. I may have to sell my heavy arsed Zodiak this summer.

[lloyds]

catdogcat: I was thinking the same thing. I have a 2.85 Avon, talk about heavy. That Hanauma looks like just the thing for touring the broken islands and some areas on the east coast of vancouver island. I saw one at the kayak shop in poulsbo last fall. I might have to watch for them at the SBS, or run up to poulsbo.

[Anita Marie]

Hi Ron, The Soar 14 looks like a nice inflatable. The only thing I wonder is the weight. At 62lbs. it could be a handful getting it up on the roof. We have the Hyside Padillac and it weighs 48lbs. Do you need a 14' kayak? What about the Soar 12?

Fred

[Zydecomo]

I've decided to go with the Aire Tom Cat tandem from Gravity Play in Durango....Seems like there are lots of good choices out there.
PM

[Ron on Meander]