Packraft for a dinghy

[nwboater]

My quest for a lightweight dinghy that I can easily lift on and off the cabin top of my TC255 has lead me to super lightweight inflatables called “packrafts”. They appear to be very durable and far more stable when boarding off the boat than kayaks. Is anyone using one as a dinghy/tender?

[ssobol]

I guess it depends on what you intend to do with it and how often you're going to use it.

I have an Intex Mariner 3 dinghy. It is nicer than you might think, does the job nicely, and can carry a large load. It weighs around 40#. However, while my example is in excellent shape after many years, I don't use it very often so I can't say what the durability in daily use is like.

It probably does not pack down as small as a pack raft. Once I inflate it, I carry it on the roof. My dinghy came with fixed rod holders for fishing. I cut these off so I could lay the dinghy bottom up when it is on the roof and inflated.

I row it, but you can put a small gas or electric motor on it. There is also a sail kit. When I bought mine it was around $150, now it is around $300. For the amount of time I use a dinghy, I could not justify the cost of a "real" one. The one I have suits my use case very well.

There are many Youtube videos of people using and modifying this dinghy.

https://www.amazon.com/Intex-Mariner-Boat-Grey-Black/dp/B01NBY7P28

[nwboater]

Thanks all for the feedback. Because I want to add an outboard, I've decided to forego the packraft idea and continue looking for a super lightweight inflatable dinghy. I'm holding out for something in the 40lbs range, max.

[thataway]

You are going to have to make some sacrafice--weight vs durability. Outboards do best on wooden transom dinghys--High pressure air floors are best. I believe the Packraft would not hold up if landing on most "beaches" in the PNW.

I don't know your circumstances, but as we got too old, and health issues no longer allowed us to wrassle a 60# dinghy aboard, we went to the Garhauer Davit--see the last page of my photo album for a tutorial on use of this davit. I have used them on the 25, 255 and 22. I had an unusual mount built for the 255, so the heel of the davit was not on the deck, and served a dual purpose. (that is in the 255 section of my photo album).

The lighest "decent boat" would be: Achillies LT 2. Weight of 37#!. . I will warn you that this is a small boat--I have owned one, and used both an Torqeedo and 2 1/2 Suzuki on it--both work OK. It is 7'3" long but only 5' long inside and the width inside slightly less than 2 feet. This is the boat I would recommend for the weight and durability--it is probably more expensive than most that size--for a reason!

The 8 1/2' version is 57# and it 6' 3" inside, with just over 2' inside beam. It also had larger diameter tubes--at 15" vs 13" for the smaller boat. At one time I owned both--and much preferred the 8 1/2 foot model.

Another dinghy you might consider is the "Alaska Dinghy" by King. These are rugged full tube boats, which can use a motor mount and for their 220TDS: 7'3" length 4'5" beam and 40 lbs weight A very good and rugged boat--no more than the 2 1/2 to 3 HP there. adding the "grizzly claw" under fabric will increase the weight some, but much more durable for PNW!

My most recent inflatable was a West Marine branded boat made by Avon. I believe it is no longer in production. It was PVC, 9 1/2feet, air floor, and 68# with the air floor. It would take up to a 9 1/2 which planed it well. I used it with the 2 1/2 Suzuki, a 3.5 Hp 2 stroke Mercury, or the Torqeedo 1103. The last few years I used only the Torqueedo. The reason was it was only 30# but broke down into parts no more than 12#, so it was easy to take on or off the dingy.

I bought my first Avon, a Red Seal, with motor mount and 2 hp , 2 cyl Johnson (terrible motor in comparison to the newer Suzuki etc.) in 1963 (about 60 years ago. During this peroid I have always owned an inflatable of some sort. The most common were Avon (before bought by Zodiac) and Achillies. The Avon included a RIB which I had used several times a day in SE AK, taking dogs ashore on all types of beaches. Each year I would epoxy some fiberglass mat over the areas on the keel and bow which wore on the rocks etc. When I sold it with the Cal 46, that Avon was 20 years old and still in good serviceable condition. The most recent dinghy described above was sold with my last 27 and still in very good condition at over 10 years of age. (and white fabric at that).

The other option for you would be one of the inflatable Kayaks--they are easily paddled. Pat and Patty Anderson had rave reviews after doing the loop with theirs. I believe it was a Sevylor kayak