Hello!

[Roscoe]

Just wanted to introduce myself, since I've been lurking for some time and decided it was time to join in.

My husband and I are retired and live in southern Maine, near Casco Bay.

At the ripe old age of 61 I've taken what is for me a huge step and bought a boat. It's a 22' C-Dory cruiser, and was just recently ordered; should be here late in May or maybe early June. That'll be a BIG day, since even now I can't think about much else!

I'm hoping for some advice on a dinghy. I'll need to row back and forth to my mooring, and the small inlet has no dock, so everything will have to be transported via the dinghy. There are two of us, plus two dogs. So I'll need something big enough to take everyone and everything in probably no more than two trips, but small enough and light enough to carry on the roof of the boat occasionally. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance. I've really been enjoying this website .

[Chester]

I can't offer any useful advise on dinghy choice, sorry,
But I can welcome you to the forum!

[dotnmarty]

Welcome Roscoe and crew. You certainly live in a beautiful place with a great seafaring tradition. There is a whole thread regarding 'Dingy" in the Forum section. That may be a good starting place. I know others will jump in here too. Enjoy your boat. I think you'll find lots of support here at C-Brats neighborhood!

[drjohn71a]

Welcome, Roscoe.... While things are a bit quiet here now, as it relates to your question, I guarantee you there's a lot of knowledge about dinghies here. You should try to search the topic, "dinghy". I know others have covered this alot in the last months.

Good luck!
John

[Roscoe]

Thanks, Milehog and Marty, for the nice welcome.

I'll be sure to check out the dinghy forum.

(Edited to add a thanks to John also.)

[Jim and Anne]

Hello Rosco and crew,
My wife and I are presently waiting for our 22 cruiser to arrive here on the East Coast. (As far as I know it left the factory yesterday.) I assume you ordered from John at Y-Landing.

I understand your inability to think about much else. Kind of all consuming. So many things to think about, so many harbors and coves to dream about.

I can't answer your question about a dinghy because I'm still puzzling over the same question myself. We'll be keeping the boat on a mooring, but there is a launch service available in Cotuit Bay. But I'll still need something for getting to the boat for early morning fishing. We're still thinking about a small inflatable to take with us while cruising. So I might suggest a small inflatable for the boat and an old, beat-up large dinghy that you leave on shore to get you out to the boat which you can leave on the mooring while you're cruising.

Maybe we'll see you at the C-Dory gathering at Y-Landing in May.

Jim

[teflonmom]

Hi.

Welcome! Just wanted you to know we purchased our C-Dory two years ago. I was 66 at that time. I have not aged a bit , having a C-Dory stops all ageing.

I have only one little idea about a tender. Keep it simple and cheap. Perhaps an old alum. flat bottom just to go out to the boat. Then choose something to carry on the dory when needed.

Have fun planning.

Fred and Pat Messerly and Mr. Grey (the cat)

[Alyssa Jean]

Welcome to the Pub Rosco and Rosoettes,

I am in a similar situation as you. We have a concrete ramp that is owned by the home association, but no dock. I also have a buoy out about 50 ft from the ramp. I keep a small Livingston down at the beach and use it to row back and forth. I have a small inflatable on the roof that I use for a tender. You will want to keep the weight down on your tender so you can man handle it, or woman handle it onto the boat. I bring mine up over the port or starboard bow and then slide it onto the roof.( I have a radar arch and the anchor light is on top of the arch.)

There are dozens of pictures in the various albums. When I had my 22 I had the tender as a cover on the cockpit. Take a look at my album of the 22.

[JamesTXSD]

Fred and David are right on, since you mentioned "rowing" to your mooring. Inflatables don't row worth a darn, and a hard dinghy (which will row much better) will be hard to lift/store on a CD-22. Another option could be a kayak to get to the boat, and then take the boat to a nearby dock to load and pick up the rest of the crew. If you are going to travel at displacement speeds, towing a dinghy can work... but one of the great things about these boats is their ability to travel comfortably at different speeds (some too fast for towing most dinghies).

Good luck with whatever choice you make for a dinghy - you already made a great choice with your boat!

Welcome aboard,
Jim B.

[Roscoe]

Jim & Anne, yes I am happily working with John at Y-Landing. In the small world department, I was interested that you mentioned Cotuit. Long long ago, when I was a child in a boating family on the South Shore of MA, for a few summers our boat was kept at Kingman Marine which as I recall is in Cotuit. I understand Kingman's is still there, and then some ... a whole lot bigger than it was in the early 1960s when it was little more than a pier and a few slips. (All the other summers we moored in Scituate Harbor, and I'm told that these days the waiting list for a mooring is several years! Shocking! Glad I live up here in the sticks.)

Thank you, Fred and Pat (so comforting that we are in the same demographic ), David (loved your pictures, very helpful), and Jim and Joan. I didn't know inflatables couldn't be rowed easily. I really like the idea of keeping a 'beater' on the shore, which in this case is on the rocks, for rowing back and forth, and a better dinghy on the roof. A kayak wouldn't work, since we have two large-ish dogs to transport and probably won't have access to a dock.

[Rick from Maine]

Hi Roscoe,

Glad to hear that there's another C-Brat in ME. Welcome. Casco Bay is fun cruising territory. Hard to beat the Basin for overnights.

Getting in and out of the C-Dory from/to a dingy with dogs will warrant a stable dingy, which typically isn't conducive to good rowing. So, a key for you will be how far do you have to row, and in what kind of conditions. A long row in water with current, wind, or waves isn't fun in an inflatable. But getting in & out from an inflatable is easy. Likewise, those El Cheapo aluminum flat bottom boats don't row well in those conditions. Seems like having a stable wooden skiff on the shore might be the way to go for getting to the boat. Another option is using an outboard engine on an inflatable.

As to an inflatable for cruising, I use an 8' inflatable from West Marine that weighs about 45 #. It's perfect for cruising as it holds 4 people ( or 2 people & 2 dogs), and fits on the roof behind the Anchor lite. It also fits into a valise about 3'x1.5'x8" when deflated, so I carry it in the V-Berth til I need it.

Rick from Maine

[El and Bill]

Roscoe -- Welcome Aboard! Hyup -- another Maniac!! All Rightee, keep that fella Rick under control, eh?

Are you thinking of joining (on land or water) some of those cruises the upper right corner folk are talking about for this spring/summer?? Great way to learn about your new family member (proud expectant papa at age 61, right?) and meet some fine folk.

We heartily recommend what others have been suggesting -- a solid dink ashore to get to the mooring (and leave her there, when you're out) and a light weight inflatable for the roof top when underway (as long as the hounds can hop aboard for times when they need a run ashore).

Good having you in the 'club' -- or is it still a pub?

[CTYankee]

Hi Roscoe,

Welcome to the NE C-Brats. We're having two planned cruises this summer, June 1-4 on the Connecticut River, and Aug 22 thru the 28th on the Rideau Canal in Canada. Join us if you are able. See details on Event signups above.

My advice on dinghys is like those above. A tough, stable, hard dinghy for transportation to and from the shore, and a very light inflatable for traveling. We have an inflatable floor Bombard at about 40lbs, and a high speed 12V electric pump to quickly inflate. I don't tow it or carry it on the roof, since it interferes with my electronics, but inflating and deflating is not a problem with the right pump. I don't know how good inflatable floors would be with the dog's nails, I guess it depends on the size of the beasts.

Good luck...hope to see you on the water.

Dun

[Moxieabs]

Hello Roscoe,
We just went through the dinghy thought process ourselves and decided on a hard shell for the mooring trips. Got a Puffin at Hamilton Marine, its a sturdy fiberglass made in ME. Still looking at inflatables for the cabin top. Hope to see you at a C-Dory gathering.
Dave