dinghy's again

H

hansonby

New member
We are new to boating, have a 22' Cruiser, and after a first trip this weekend to the San Juans we think we need a dinghy. I have reviewed previous posts and ask now if there are any recent/new dinghy recommendations. We want a lightweight dinghy chiefly to row from harbor moorage to shore in order to use facilities, e.g. - at Sucia Is. marine park.

West Marine has an ~8' inflatable model coming up on sale for $299. The oars and oar locks do not look too good. I don't mind paying more for sturdiness, lightness, ease of rowing, and ease of storage. I want to avoid buying a cheap dinghy and then immediately feeling a need to upgrade.

Right now I'm thinking no motor, to avoid the motor/gasoline storage problem.

Ideas/comments?

Thanks,

Byron
 
hi hansonby

We too are looking for the right dinghy and I can tell you I have looked at just about 20 different models with prices ranging from $300 to $3000! I really like the Portland Pudgy design but it's too large/heavy for us and it's expensive.

I need a light use dinghy and am leaning toward the Mercury line. As much as Zodiaks are proven and popular in our area, I need a dinghy that is under not longer than 8', preferably ~7'.

When anchoring out, we will continue to grumble/laugh and use our $40.00 coleman raft :lol: for ferrying to the beach campsites we make until we find exactly what we want.

Good luck!

Mike
 
I'm curious what dinghy WM will be offering for $300?!? My only concern would be just as you mentioned; be careful about the high end 'toy' type over a heavy duty PVC dinghy. I once bought a high end toy type and there is a huge difference between those and a brand-name PVC for example. Hypalon is probably the best but those are very expensive.

I use a Mercury Roll-up 200. It fits perfectly on the roof of Napoleon between my radar and all-around light.

If you are new to boating, I submit that once you buy a little dinghy engine you would wonder why you ever rowed! Particularly in wind or current of any kind you will LOVE having a little engine. Also, if you don't already have a kicker, the dinghy engine can serve that purpose too.
 
If you are new to boating, I submit that once you buy a little dinghy engine you would wonder why you ever rowed! Particularly in wind or current of any kind you will LOVE having a little engine.
Click to expand...

Ditto to what Capt. Matt said; we ran into a slight on-shore wind/current once and I had a very difficult time getting back to the boat with just the two of us on the dinghy. It was exhausting. Once we got the 2.5 horse Suzuki we questioned why we didn't buy it sooner. It holds about 1/2 gallon IIRC and we just carry a very small gas can with another gallon or so for re-fills. I keep it dry in the cockpit and put it on the roof @ anchor.
 
Hi Mark,
Earlier this season I mentioned the wind flipped my dinghy while tied to the mooring. It was a few weeks of rowing while I reconditioned my motor that had been sitting upside down underwater for a few hours :amgry

My mooring is right at the mouth of a river. With the tidal shift we get about 3 knots current and that can be a tough row in an inflatable!

If you must row, you need something like a kayak or a solid dinghy. Of course, this presents other challenges including weight, whether you can carry it solo, etc.
 
We recently purchased an 8' Gig Harbor hard dinghy. We have not had a chance to use it yet, but by all reports it is a great rower. While it is our intention to row it -- my wife is adamant -- this thread adds to my suspicion that the small Honda is in our future. The interesting thing about this boat is its weight. Kevlar, 62 lbs.

Regards to all,
Greg
 
I noticed more interest in the Portland Pudgy Dinghy. It is a weighty boat for roof hauling and I am now on the second version of our roof loading system but I can say it does tow great and is self bailing with the plug pulled and up to 30 lbs of gear in the storage compartments. It tows very nice up to 18 knots with my boat and length of tow rope and it would likely go faster if you experimented. I have towed it quite a few times now and purposely hit big wakes at all angles and it just slides right through. The deep keel and significant weight and standard towing bridal are really key features. If your speeds are kept inside the normal cruise speeds for our boats, you could just tow it all the time. If towing into a marina, we just pull the line up short and clip to out canvas rail overhead so the Pudgy is following about 3 ft behind the motors and it works great even while backing.
 
ok, i'll take exception to capt. mattie. with strong wind and heavy current i was able to row our zodiac 380 deluxe for approximately 5 miles at 15 knots. the only thing that slowed me down was the fire that occurred where the oar meets the pvc.
check out www.boatstogo.com in the past they have offered some very good deals.
best regards
pat
 
patrick and linda":2tbxn9i5 said:
ok, i'll take exception to capt. mattie. with strong wind and heavy current i was able to row our zodiac 380 deluxe for approximately 5 miles at 15 knots. the only thing that slowed me down was the fire that occurred where the oar meets the pvc.
check out www.boatstogo.com in the past they have offered some very good deals.
best regards
pat
Click to expand...

Ha ha - you would be the exception then! Did you run out of spinach cans before you reached your destination?
 
ok, just last week, i was visiting with a friend who had just received his dinghy from boatstogo. it was 14', 20" tubes, huge, i know, but looked to be well constructed. he purchased it on ebay including a 2 cycle 40hp outboard. sweet deal.
pat
 
matt_unique":zhzwqb9u said:
patrick and linda":zhzwqb9u said:
ok, i'll take exception to capt. mattie. with strong wind and heavy current i was able to row our zodiac 380 deluxe for approximately 5 miles at 15 knots. the only thing that slowed me down was the fire that occurred where the oar meets the pvc.
check out www.boatstogo.com in the past they have offered some very good deals.
best regards
pat
Click to expand...

Ha ha - you would be the exception then! Did you run out of spinach cans before you reached your destination?
Click to expand...

Key word; "WITH"...not against. :wink:
 
In the last 28 years, I've owned 3 dinghys: 2 Avons and 1 Achilles. They're made of hypalon, aren't cheap, but are tough. That WM dinghy is polyester, and probably not the best. I had several Sevleyour dinghys like that, and a summer is all you get.

The Achilles, now 5 years old, is still in great condition. It's ideal for a C-Dory, since it has an inflatable floor. This allows it to be deflated and rolled up for a small package. It's a little big (11 ') actually too big, but it did haul 4 people around Yellowstone lake. I would assume that an 8-9 ft would be better for a 22. We tow the dinghy behind the boat, and when we're going a long distance either on the ocean or towing the boat, it's rolled up and stored in the cockpit.

I also bought an electric inflator/deflator. One of the best investments I've ever made. I can turn inflating the boat to the grandkids, since it has an automatic shut-off.

Initially I had a 3 HP outboard, but a 6 HP allows the dinghy to be planed, even with a couple of people. Though not at Yellowstone (8000' altitude.)
You can always slow down with a bigger motor, but a smaller has it's limits.

Boris
 
I purchased the West Marine Solstice a couple weeks ago that byron mentioned. $299. I found the same one at Outdoor Wholesale for $279 regular price. I am actually pretty surprised by it. Oarlocks and oars might not be top of the line but for a light use dinghy they are more than adequate. The construction seems to be good. Really couldn't find much wrong with it for a PVC dinghy. Super light for its' size. I rowed it around a small lake and fished out of it with two people and it was fine. Drug it across some rocks without a problem. I would prefer to use my Avon but weight is an issue. They are about the same size but while looking at it the other day I found that it weighed like 89 pounds. No going up on the roof for that thing.
 
Don't know what your price range is, but I went with a Mercury 270 PVC Air Floor. ($999) The Hypalon was about $300 more, but I'm not going to store it in the elements, so the money I saved went towards a 6hp Nissan.

You can get a Mercury roll up for about $650.

I got it at Buster's Marine www.bustersmarine.com and was treated fairly (others on this site don't like Busters).

Mercurys are high quality boats with a great warranty.

Don't know if its what you're looking for, but at least take a look.

John
Swee Pea
 
Hi,
Everyone is different, we went with a Bombard MAX 2 AERO a div of Zodiak.7'10 PVC 3 person, 5 year warranty, it is a roll up, weighs 55 pounds inflatiable keel and floor. Rolled up size 37"X 19" X 9" $929 from Defender. Comes with foot pump,oars,seat,bag etc handles up to a four hp 60 pound motor. I was told if you use the foot pump by the time you get it blown up you will be too tired to go anywhere. :amgry Inflatiable floors require a little better pump,(because of the additional pressure required) I opted for a 12volt on with alligator clips to connect to a 12 volt battery. A good high pressure inflator deflator West Marine $200. 2.5 hp Yamaha 37 pounds no reverse unless you spin the motor 180 degrees $799. Suzuki's 2.5 hp is 30 pounds but was not available locally.
D.D.
 
I recommend the Alaska Series Inflatable Tender 240TDS.
7’10” long
45lbs
837lb payload

Jim King is the owner and a great guy to do business with, he personally stands 100% behind his product.

When he first started having his boats made overseas 3 years ago there was a few problems, I have one of those boats.
-The plastic in the ore locks was too hard and they eventually broke, he replaced with new improved.
-The valves were defective because of a bad mold, he repaired and future valves are flawless.
-The kicker brackets had a cross bar welded in the wrong spot, he replaced with proper unit.

These are the only faults in the early models made overseas I am aware of, his current line in top notch.

We go to shore most every day in this tender, drag over rocks and barnacles with no problem. It’s our 3rd season with the boat and no regrets.

The online prices are 50% inflated or more from his show prices, he’s not updated the web site for years. I think you can buy this boat at show price for like $1100 with grizzly bottom, worth every cent.

Get the grizzly bottom if you buy, makes the boat indestructible; you don’t want a blowout ashore with your boat floating in 40 degree water.

It would be nice to have a sport boat configuration like the Zodiac with drain plug, but haven’t found one light enough and durable enough to withstand the harsh treatment we’ve put this tender through.

IMG_1121.jpg
 
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