DINGHY DEAL

A

anchorout

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PRU 3 Performance roll-up inflatable dinghy. On sale at West Marine Nov 24 - 28 only. $499.00.

I seldom shop at WM because of their outrageous prices, but the last item I did buy from them was this dinghy. This one is even cheaper than the same item I purchased from them 3 years ago.

It is lightweight, rated for 6 hp, and as a basic dinghy, has worked well for me.
 
We've had this exact dingy for one season now. We like it quite a bit. Fast to inflate and small and light enough for a 22 foot c-dory. We don't put a motor on it (just row), so I can't speak to that.
 
You notice in the West Marine review, they use a Torquedo electric motor for display and a Mercury gas outboard for the moving shots. Also they don't show it planing. It's a good $500 dingy but don't expect too much.

Boris
 
We like ours and put a Suzuki 2.5 hp four stroke. It works great with Kim and I and our 65 lb golden retriever. Our other dinghy has an air floor and we prefer the plywood floor in the West Marine, much more stable floor.
 
In the review they state that it will not plane. I have a air floor with a keel and love it. planes nice and rows far better then my last flat floor dinghy.
 
Salmon Fisher":2myo8t9f said:
We like ours and put a Suzuki 2.5 hp four stroke. It works great with Kim and I and our 65 lb golden retriever. Our other dinghy has an air floor and we prefer the plywood floor in the West Marine, much more stable floor.
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I am a little surprised that you find the slat floor more stable than the air floor. The PRU or RU series, used thin plywood (a couple of ours broke, so I pulled these slats out, and put a layer of 6 oz glass on each side, with epoxy. We had both the 6' and 8'6" version of the PRU 3, and found it to be far less stable than our 9'6" air floor Avon. I can see, if you had made fitted plywood floor boards that may make the PRU seem to have a more stable floor. We have also had true plywood floor inflatables, with the aluminum side guides, which are very stable, but also difficult to assemble i the boat.

An Air floor, if properly inflated to 11.5 PSI will be very stable.. One needs to use a special pump to get this pressure.

We have used 3.5 HP or the Torqeedo interchangeably on the dinghies. On the slat floor the 3.5 will not plane it. On the larger air floor, the 3.5 gas engine will do a slow plane, but the Torqeedo will not.
 
I might not have inflated the air floor adequately, but the dinghy is heavy: 73 pounds, Silver Marine 8'6" vs West Marine PRU 3 roll up, 55 lbs. I can put the WM dinghy on the roof, not possible with the Silver Marine.
 
I am not sure how much our air floor dinghy's weight.--I have read about 63#. One of our slat floors was less than the advertised specs, and was very easy to put on the top. We have always been able to get our air floor up on the roof of the 22--as we have aged, we are now using the davit. I made an aluminum spreader bar, which allows better attachment than a rope. I'll have to take some photos next time we use the dinghy.

Granted that acrobatics are sometimes required, with one foot and one hand for the boat, and the others for the dinghy!
 
I just ordered the ru 3 from WM for $499 I will try it .Now to find a good 2.5 hp engine . I wanted a roll up boat for my Grandson and I to play around when we go RVing so this should be the right ticket .I know its not the best but it hopefully will last for a few years .
BTW i have a Achilles all hypalon rubber boat but no transom so no motor . It's a 1990 and it still holds air JIm
 
My personal favorite for 2.5 hp is the Suzuki 4 stroke. If you can find one of the Merc 3.5 2 strokes, they also weight only about 30 lbs, and are a great little engine.

I am not surprised about the Achillies. Especially without a transom--since that is where many inflatables start to break down.
 
I have a hobby, or an addiction of messing with small outboards. I buy them when they come up for sale, go completely through them to get them in very good condition, then sell them in the spring to pay for all of my grandkid's camps and special classes. Though I am NOT posting a for sale sign, anyone of the Brats that wants a like new engine for a great price can contact me. I have many of the engines discussed above and do not sell them unless they are like new, as a faulty outboard is no more than an anchor.
 
I might do the same someday and only wished you lived closer. Little motors are fun to work on and I'll bet you know many of them inside and out. Thanks for offering this to the group.

We have owned a few small gas outboards with the last one being my favorite so far.

The Honda 2hp 4 stroke
Tohatsu 3.5hp 4 stroke
Yamaha 4hp 4 stroke
Suzuki 2.5hp 4 stroke

Greg
 
srbaum":20kjltyk said:
I have a hobby, or an addiction of messing with small outboards. I buy them when they come up for sale, go completely through them to get them in very good condition, then sell them in the spring to pay for all of my grandkid's camps and special classes. Though I am NOT posting a for sale sign, anyone of the Brats that wants a like new engine for a great price can contact me. I have many of the engines discussed above and do not sell them unless they are like new, as a faulty outboard is no more than an anchor.
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Fantastic resource--Thanks for posting this Steve! Something for all of us to keep in mind!
 
I ordered one and it came in this past Wednesday. I already have a 2.5 hp Suzuki 4 stroke so I figure I can't go wrong spending $499.

I'll give details later when I try it out.
 
thataway":156em3rx said:
My personal favorite for 2.5 hp is the Suzuki 4 stroke. If you can find one of the Merc 3.5 2 strokes, they also weight only about 30 lbs, and are a great little engine.
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I have the 2.5 Suzuki 4 stroke which I call "David". Great little motor. Before that I had the Merc 3.5 two stroke. Forever failing me as I always seemed to get the gas/oil mix wrong. So I moved that one on.

Martin.
 
I'm still trying to get the merc 2.5 but the seller texts me for 2 pm then does not return phone or text messages so I guess its back to looking at new and used engines the
2016 suzuki 4 hp is $929
2017 suzuki 2 1/2 hp is $750 so for the extra $ might be worth getting the 4hp and use it for a slow kicker on my CC23?
 
Just know the Suzuki 4 weighs almost double the 2.5, so lifting it on/off the dinghy from your transom is a bit more work.

I do the same with my Suzuki 6 hp on the 22, so it's possible, and the 6 hp scoots the dinghy right along. My dinghy has an inflatable floor with keel, not a slat floor, so you probably don't need the extra hp for your dinghy, but if going with a 4 hp you might want to consider a 6 hp since the PRU3 is rated for it, and 6 hp may give you a little more power for the 23, if you were to prop it right. In fact a high thrust prop might be perfect in your case since you won't be planing in the dinghy anyway.

Personally I'd probably stick with the 2.5 for that dinghy even though its rated for 6, just because the 2.5 is so light and portable.

-Mike
 
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