Dinghy for CD-22

S

ssobol

Active member
I am considering a dinghy for my CD-22. This dingy probably wouldn't be used all that much, but when needed would be used to get to/from a moored or anchored boat to shore.

I don't anticipate using a motor on this dinghy, so it must be set up for rowing.

The considerations I have are (in no particular order):
- light weight (to get on and off the cabin roof)
- sized to fit on the CD-22 cabin roof when inflated
- hold 2 medium sized adults
- be able to be deflated and stored in a portable container (boat may be carried stowed on the roof of the CD-22 at times instead of inflated)
- be able to be assembled and inflated/deflated whilst on the water in the CD-22
- have a reasonable cost
- be fairly rowable

I have owned a couple of RIBs so I am aware of the nuances of the maintenance of inflatable boats and the pros and cons of the different materials.

Most of the boats I find online have a hard transom of some type and are meant to carry motors. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, some of these boats have the transom some distance inboard of the end of the tubes (to support to weight of the motor). In some cases having the transom this way reduces the interior length of the boat quite a bit. Getting sufficient interior space requires making the boat longer.

Does anyone have any suggestions for boats that might meet my requirements?

Thanks.
 
There are still a few of the round stern dinghies available, such as the Alaskia series tenders--the 7'3" boat only weighs 40 lbs. These seem to have a good reputation. I would consider putting in a plywood floor board--just to have a better floor to step on when boarding. But this can be fairly light.
 
We have a West Marine RU260 inflatable. 8ft, slat bottom. Holds the two of us easily, 50 or so pounds (that was a major consideration), comes with oars. We sometimes row it and other times use a 2hp Honda which at about 25 pounds is not too heavy to manage.
 
Google Bombard AX2 made by Zodiak. I have had the AX1 for 10 years now, quite happy with it. While at anchor I can launch the dink off the roof and put it back on the roof (from the water) using one hand. Check my album, there are pictures.

Martin.
 
I would recommend that you get a boat with a inflatable floor and keel. Even if you do not use a motor they are so much better to row then a flat soft bottom or wood slant bottom.
 
Chester":1jt163d1 said:
The Feather Baylee series of tenders are very high quality, tough and ultra light weight.
The link below is the one we have. Notice the weight.
Click to expand...

Baylee-Red_large.jpg


14 lbs. (with rowing frame) :shock: Wow! This looks very interesting. Since you have one, I take it you have rowed it. Can you comment on the rowing quality?

I know it's not going to be like a 20-foot rowing shell, but I love to row, and I did have good luck in improving the rowing of an 8' Achilles to the point where I would just take it out for a fun row and very seldom mounted the available 2hp Honda even to go a fair distance. I think the main thing that made it work on that boat was the oarlocks. They were made such that I was able to fit a 7-1/2" set of wooden oars, and get reasonably "proper" rowing motion out of them. It also had a high-pressure inflatable floor, so that probably helped too. At any rate, it made me realize that certain inflatables could be set up to be fun rowing, for me. That Achilles would now be larger/heavier than I would want, but I was just mentioning it as an example.

I see the Werner has "real" oarlocks so that any oars (within reason) could be fitted, and from what you are saying the ones that come with it might already be nice (my usual two gripes are that the oarlocks don't really rotate and the oars are super stubby).

If you have any more comments on what you do or don't like about your Werner, I sure wouldn't mind hearing them. I mean, fourteen pounds?!

Sunbeam

PS: I did find a photo of the oars in the photo with another of the inflatables. They look to be around 6' long, and almost like they might be one of the take-apart kayak paddles just "taken apart."

BLstudio_large.jpg
 
Wow - over $2,000 for a dinghy to put on the roof of a CD and use to row once in awhile to shore?

We've run white water rivers all over the US (we have ten years experience running the Grand Canyon) -- a heavy use for an inflatable -- and never felt the need (or required the need) for such a high-priced small rig.

I guess it depends on whether you want a Timex or a Patek Caliber 89.
 
El and Bill":3mwygux5 said:
Wow - over $2,000 for a dinghy to put on the roof of a CD and use to row once in awhile to shore?

We've run white water rivers all over the US (we have ten years experience running the Grand Canyon) -- a heavy use for an inflatable -- and never felt the need (or required the need) for such a high-priced small rig.

I guess it depends on whether you want a Timex or a Patek Caliber 89.
Click to expand...

Speaking of the "Timex," I looked up the Caravelle you linked to. Of course I wasn't expecting it to have all perfect, 5-star reviews, but I did notice that one or two people who had had one made years ago and then bought a recent one, commented that the quality and function was much better before Coleman bought out Sevylor. I was wondering if you had the older version or the newer one (or maybe both at different times for a comparison?).

I could see good reasons for both of these dinghies, depending on one's mission(s) and preferences. I've actually been leaning towards a kayak, but am still open to a rowing dinghy. Whatever it is, I want it to be relatively light, easy to take on and off the C-Dory, and good for exploring (i.e. reasonably fun and efficient to paddle). In the old days, I required a dinghy that could also be a "freighter," for getting fuel, water, and supplies out to the boat; but with the C-Dory, I figured I'm going to be at a fuel dock regularly anyway, so I can probably do the bulk of my provisioning with the main boat shoreside (hence the dinghy would mostly be used for exploring with the tranquility of oars or a paddle). If my past habits are any indication, I'll do a fair amount of this exploring.

Sunbeam
 
There are a number of good ideas, certainly a number of different type of boats. One thing to consider--the dinghy is our Life Boat!. I would never trust my life to a pool toy! Some random thoughts about dinghies:

Fabrics--Hypalon has stood the test of time as the most durable fabric. It is less affected by the sun and other elements. You can look at a 10 to 15 year old hypalon boat and have it still be function and often look nearly as good as new--they also hold their value.

Rowing--no inflatable is going to row like a hard shell specifically designed rowing boat. Rowing an inflatable is far different than rowing a good hard shell boat. The hard shell boat will "carry" and you use long oars, long strokes and fairly deep penetration of the water--a good rowing boat will allow you to use your legs (even without a sliding seat). You can use your back, not just arms and shoulders.
An inflatable needs short stokes, because it does not "carry" or glide well.
The strokes are best short and choppy, with shallower. The boat has a lot of windage--so much that it is difficult to work against the wind at times. (this is one of the reasons I recommend more than 2 HP for a dinghy motor, because there have been times when I could not make headway against wind with a 2 hp, and could with a 3.5 hp outboard.) Yes, an inflatable keel boat will row better than a flat bottom boat.

Stability and ease of getting into the boat. The Feather Baylee is certainly interesting--it uses a urethane fabric--didn't find a lot about puncture resistance/scrape resistance. However, as light as it is, the fabric scrim has to be light. I also wonder how hard it is to get in with your legs under the rowing frame? Many river rafts have a rowing frame, but they include a seat over the frame.

I have rowed a lot of inflatables--and hard dinghies--including a Dory y miles every morning for several years, and my Fatty Knees, vs having rowed in a number competitive inflatable boat races. In competitive inflatable racing, we found that using paddles actually was faster than rowing.

We currently have a 9 1/2 foot PVC fabric Air floor, rated for 10 hp. Weight is about 60 lbs, the oars can be feathered (as can many of the better boats)--but we rarely row it. The two of us, even with our bad backs can get up on top of the 22. But we also had several of the smaller AX series--with slat floors, and their weight was about 30 lbs--easier to place on top of the boat.

The type of boat you may use on sand beaches, may be far different than a boat you use in the PNW where there are often rocks and barnacles which may damage the bottom or tubes.

You may think that you can easily row that 100 yards--and then you are faced with a 40 knot wind, and are sailing off into the sunset in the rowed inflatable.
 
The prices are high for the Baylee dinghys but the Alaska dinghys are even higher according to their website. When we got ours they were about $400 less.
The Bailey 3 rows surprisingly well for what it is. I suspect the good oars are mostly responsible and the skeg and Scotty oarlocks help. The inflatable floor wasn't available when we got ours so's I can't offer an opinion on it.
The oars are two piece take apart's and are individually fitted, no slop at all. They are 5' 11" long and weigh 1 pound 10 5/8 ounces with the oar collars installed.
Do a search on Feathercraft and you will see how well their products stand up.

Steve
 
Bob, the Bailey's frame does require a small amount of maneuvering. Not a problem for most but you do know it is there.
The tube diameter is 11.4 " so's it has less windage than many inflatables. With the longish oars you can use your back and don't have to resort to chopping at the water.
It isn't for everyone but it is a remarkable little tender.
As far as durability do a search on Feathercraft products.

Steve
 
Steve,

Thanks for the additional comments on the Feathercraft. I'm not sure which way I'll go yet, but I'm glad to have the information on it to consider.

Sunbeam
 
To answer your question about the Sevylor quality after Coleman takeover -- yes, talking with river running friends, they do believe the quality has been reduced somewhat, but many still use them -- especially the kayaks.

So, like buying a boat, it depends on your needs. Row to shore once in awhile (and can give a miss if the wind is strong), or take your sharp-clawed dog ashore twice a day, or hauling heavy groceries or sharp-pointed firewood loads to the boat, or recreational racing around the harbor rowing against other dinghies? Different boats for different purposes. The sharp stuff? - floor boards. Rowing a lot, we recommend an inflatable with a keel, and check out the kayaks.
 
Regarding an inflatable keel and floor, yes this allows for better rowing but remember it's also one more thing that can go wrong. We had a Zodiac Fastroller that had an inflatable floor and keel. These were 2 independent pieces connected by a small tube. When you inflated the floor you also inflated the keel. Unfortunately, the unique plastic piece connecting the filler tube between the floor and keel developed a microscopic crack which allowed the keel to deflate, and as a result so did the floor. It took us 3 months before Zodiac had a replacement part available, which also cost us $40. Had we bought an inflatable with a rollup or slat floor it would have been one less thing that could go wrong. It might not have rowed as well, and I do enjoy rowing, but we would have been able to continue using the boat when we couldn't use the one we had. We later sold this boat specifically because of this issue.

Rob
 
That does sound like a problematic feature and good to know about. The Achilles had the two pieces completely separate. There was the inflatable floor and then a separate keel "sausage" that went underneath it. That said, I did manage to puncture the floor with a rockfish fin-bone (I grew up fishing in hard boats and plus "our" fish didn't have such formidable spikes). Not that the floor was so weak (it was Hypalon), but I just wasn't even thinking that could happen.
 
I totally agree Sunbeam. If the bottom and keel are completely separate unconnected pieces, each with its own inflation valve, I wouldn't worry about this. With mine it was all or nothing which could suddenly leave you with a useless dinghy. At least with separate pieces you can still use the boat, just not as efficiently. The comfort and stability of an inflatable floor is great. In fact, we are considering a tandem Sea Eagle inflatable kayak that has an inflatable floor.

Rob
 
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