Dingies & Tenders

c-the-light · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 12:33 am Post subject: Dingies & Tenders

We have been enjoying the heck out of our 2007 25' C-Dory, mostly at Lake Tahoe. Now we are looking at a boat we can use as a towable tender. Research seems to suggest a hard bottom inflatable. Anyone out there have any suggestions...what works, what doesn't, and why? We were about to winterize but realized there's lots of winter fishing available, at least for a while longer so we've put it off for now.

Professional Hobbyist · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 12:54 am Post subject:

I've been looking for a tender for my new 22. I've talked to several dealers of inflatables and I've discovered it isn't practical to tow a dinghy at planning speeds. I've been told that towable means sailboat speeds, i.e. 5-6 knots maximum.

Right now I have an inflatable kayak I'll try using. This suits my interests in exploring shorelines (I already kayak) and it doesn't require an outboard. Its size, shape and weight make it easy to launch and recover.

By next summer I may need a conventional inflatable dinghy and if so I'll be looking at relatively small fully inflatable models with high pressure floors that I can carry on the cabin top or deflated in a storage bag.

starcrafttom · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 1:54 am Post subject:

hate to disagree but I see many many boats towing dingys around here. My family had a 28 chris on the chessapeke bay in the 70s and we towed our dingy everywhere. the key to towing a dingy is to have it back far enough that it does not inter act withyour wake. give enough rope to place your dingy 10 to 20 ft pass the v of your wake then dont turn fast. We never hauled our dingy on the boat. As for what type of dingy I cant say. I have not tried it with a c-dory but see no reason it would not work. if we go on a long trip again this summer ,say for two weeks I would like to have a dingy with a motor and would not bother pulling it out everyday unless I was tarveling thru a area with bad rapides and then would just go at slack any way,

Nan-C · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 9:22 am Post subject:

We are at the point of being almost sure we are going with the SOAR inflatable. The problem is we are going on very little info and a lot of gut feeling. We could test it this spring at SOAR's Healdsburg headquarters but hope to need it this winter, which means buying sight unseen. We would be interested in any insights. We are struggling with the 12' vs 14' foot decision. !2' is probably good enough for our basic needs, but we hope to use it for play also. Does anybody have any experiences with the SOAR?

Greg

Pat Anderson · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 10:01 am Post subject:

I suppose you CAN tow a dinghy as Tom describes, but I don't understand why that is an attractive alternative to an inflatable such as an Alaska Series and a 2 hp motor. Dinghy goes easily on top of the 25, get the leverage thingee down and it takes only a couple of minutes. Only reason I could think of is that you need an outboard that is too big or heavy to easily go on and off the dinghy. These days I am just as inclined to row the dinghy anyway - and I will put in a plug for the Alaska Series tender - it is a great rowing inflatable! Did have a fun time playing with the inflatable kayaks in the Gulf Islands, but with the way we use the dinghy to ferry two teenage boys to shore the Alaska Series is about perfect (as was the prior Mercury inflatable). If you can't tell, after one year, we are happy as a clam with the Alaska Series!

Doryman · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:06 am Post subject:

Ron on Meander · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:16 am Post subject:

tpbrady · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:31 am Post subject:

Take a look at the Power Drifter (http://www.riverwire.com/cgi-bin/item/PACPWR). While I haven't used it the rowing frame is supposed to be pretty good and you use a small outboard. I use kayak paddles and made some wooden seats to span the tubes. Two people fit in nicely with gear going to the beach and its not that heavy. Even has a high pressure floor so you stand up in it (if you have good balance).

Tom

El and Bill · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:35 am Post subject:

Like any boat, the type of dinghy you buy is totally dependent on your uses you intend for the dinghy.

We don't have a dog (or teen-age boys) to take ashore (so don't need a large or solid bottomed dinghy), we use our C-Dory to explore the shallows and side channels (so don't need a dinghy with a motor)for "exploring", we don't like to lift heavy weight out of the water to store on the cabin roof (so use a very light-weight dinghy), we don't care to tow the dinghy since it is one more 'thing' to keep an eye on when manuevering in tight spots or coming into a marina, and we buy Timex rather than Rolex (with the idea we might need to replace more often, but in the long run probably be more economical and we're sure not trying to impress anyone).

So, we bought a little Sevlor (often on sale at West Marine or any larger 'camping' store). We have several small inflatable Sevlor inflatable kayaks we use for running white water rivers. But, for the C-Dory we use an inexpensive Sevlor dink inflatable we carry on the cabin roof when we want a 'life raft' and or a means to get to shore easily in areas with high tides. It is very light, inexpensive, and we have yet to punch a hole in any of our Sevlors -- and our teenage kids love to jump in and row around fishing or 'messing around.' It doesn't row as straight or easily as solid floor dinks but that makes it more fun for the g'kids and we don't mind since we don't use it often. And, it stores in the back seat of our truck in a relatively light-weight, small bag between times when we have it on the boat.

C-Hawk · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:49 am Post subject:

SEA3PO · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 12:11 pm Post subject:

Yep Fishtales is right-on... I usually deflate my Avon...and just keep it aboard while moving...but Roger towed back from Catalina and I had the Avon aboard and I could not see any difference in fuel used or speed...

I highly recommend going to the Seattle Boat Show with us to pick yours out...that way you will see ALL the boats...and even get a deal if you buy at the show... I bought my boat from ELCO marine....used to be a C-Dory dealer...but mainly sells inflatables....and this year I plan on buying a Yamaha 4 hp motor from them. The discount us usually something like 10%

Joel
SEA3PO

thataway · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 6:31 pm Post subject:

I have seen too many folks loose towed dinghies, capsize towed dinghies or swamp towed dinghies, to want to do that on a regular basis. I have owned several RIB's--but don't consider them a viable alternative for a C Dory. We have a 6'7" Zodiac--with a few plywood slats, which weighs about 35 lbs and fits on top of any of the 22 on up C Dory cabins. We have a 9'4"Avon (Hyplon) high pressure air floor and will take up to 8 hp, allowing it to plane. We also have a 10' 6" Avon (Hypalon) with roll up vinly slatted floor--weight close to 100 lbs and takes up to 15 hp. Any of these boats can be used on the CD 25 or T C 255--and the first two work fine on the CD 22.

We just got our second Garhauer davit (30" arm) and are in the proces of having a mount made which will allow this davit to put an inflatble on the roof of the TC or CD--This mount will fit on the cabin side (either side) and will allow the hoist to put the dinghy on the roof, pick up a person over board and put them in the cockpit and pick any item up from the dock into the cockpit or cabin top.

We have towed "dinghies" as big as a 22 foot Grady White, behind a trawler--and a 12 foot skiff behind a the Grady White. When you are moving at planning speeds, there is always risks of wind getting under the dinghy and flipping it--So we just don't do it at any speed unless we have no other choice.

Doryman · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 8:30 pm Post subject:

thataway · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 9:54 pm Post subject:

Basically we are going to use a SS plate which has four countersunk holes, one in each corner. There are two parallel slots where the 1/8" plate is pressed out, and allows another 8" plate to slip between these two plates. (I'' try and get a photo in the album tomarrow). This basically is a fishing rod holder base (beefed up probably). The fishing rod holder can fit in this, or we are fabicating a SS plate, with a brace which will hold the "ball" at the bottom of the davit in place. (there will be a "T" brace to take the downward thrust). The upper ring for the davit, will be secured to the lip of the top which turns down. There will be a SS plate to distribute the load, and there will be SS bolts which will hold this in place. Both the base ball and the upper ring, can be easily removed in about a minute. there will only be the SS plate on the side of the cabin house. The newest davit has two ways that the hoisting line is secured--the upper is like the older davits and is a double cam cleat on the inboard end of the lifing arm. The second way is another sheeve on the upper part of the round part of the arm, with a jam cleat below it--so that you can hoist with your hands at the level of the top of the davit, or from the water or a dock--and secure the line--again photos in the AM. There will be no obstruction when you go to walk around or docking.

c-the-light · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 10:50 pm Post subject: Dingy/tenders responses

Thanks for everyone's input on our dingy questions. We forgot to mention that we already carry 2 14' or 2 17' kayaks on the roof...beautifully finished wood kayaks , however, do not make good doggie transports to the beach. After a lot of research from Seattle to San Francisco and the Coast Guard, we found that it's OK to tow a hard bottom inflatable...we most likely will never tow more than 15-16 knots. Our research on hard botom inflatables fount that the Walker Bay 8'10" Genesis seems to best fit our needs. When deflated it will easily fit on the rear cockpit. Regarding tghe motor the best air cooled, lightest (27#) was the Honda 2hp. Talked to lots about reliability--rave reviews from everyone. One guy has 2000 hr pushing a 12' dingy!
To the owners of the Nan-C..I believe we bought our boats from the same dealer in Oakland at about the same time. Yours is green? Ours is the blue one! Give us a call sometime..775-882-2535, Carson City, Nv time!