Inflatable
- Thread starter JimR
- Start date
We have a 25 and store the boat, inflated, on the roof. Therefore, weight is a primary concern. We do not have a crane installed although I did just order a Garhauer model and I will install it asap. I don't know if it will be able to lift the boat onto the roof, but it will lift the engine onto the boat, thus saving my back and shoulder.
Right now I pull the dinghy up over the front rail and then slide it onto the roof. Getting it up over the rail is the difficult part, although manageable. I believe our boat weighs about 60 lbs. It is 7'6" and we use a Suzuki 2.5 horse to push it. It's an inflatable floor version. There are boats w/ wood slat floors and alum slat floors, but they usually weigh more.
You could use something lighter, like a doughnut dinghy. Those will not plane but we don't see the need to go fast. Our current model will not plane with the 2.5 either. Rowing is an option; no gas & no extra outboard. But if you anchor out a ways or the wind/current pick up, rowing can be a real PIA or damn near impossible.
The type of material the ding is made of varies. Hypalon lasts longer, but is more $$. Our boat is PVC which works fine for us. I just keep it covered when not in use; UV will age it quickly. I store it away in winter, deflated and dry.
I don't see the need for anything larger, as it is primarily my wife and myself and our g-kids are young (and small) and rarely with us. Something in a similar size is perfect for a couple or even a couple with a dog.
Right now I pull the dinghy up over the front rail and then slide it onto the roof. Getting it up over the rail is the difficult part, although manageable. I believe our boat weighs about 60 lbs. It is 7'6" and we use a Suzuki 2.5 horse to push it. It's an inflatable floor version. There are boats w/ wood slat floors and alum slat floors, but they usually weigh more.
You could use something lighter, like a doughnut dinghy. Those will not plane but we don't see the need to go fast. Our current model will not plane with the 2.5 either. Rowing is an option; no gas & no extra outboard. But if you anchor out a ways or the wind/current pick up, rowing can be a real PIA or damn near impossible.
The type of material the ding is made of varies. Hypalon lasts longer, but is more $$. Our boat is PVC which works fine for us. I just keep it covered when not in use; UV will age it quickly. I store it away in winter, deflated and dry.
I don't see the need for anything larger, as it is primarily my wife and myself and our g-kids are young (and small) and rarely with us. Something in a similar size is perfect for a couple or even a couple with a dog.
starcrafttom
Active member
We have used inflatables and kayaks. I prefer the kayaks for exploring but I like the dinghy for taking the dog ashore. Well I like the dinghy for going to shore period. kayaks are a pain to get out of at the dock even for me.
If you are getting a inflatable ask your self what are you going to use it for? And that is not a stupid question. Are you just looking to go a short ways from anchor to shore? Or are you looking to explore or maybe fish out of ? Set crab pots? If you are doing anything but the short shore run I would stay away for the soft floor models. They are a bitch to row any more then a 100 yards. They are harder to get in and out of in my opinion. I much prefer the inflatable ridged floors. You fill then with air but they are rock hard to stand on. Most of them have a inflatable rigid keel which makes them easy to row, faster with a motor. In fact we had a small motor for our flat floor dinghy but the dinghy with the inflatable ridged floor and keels row so nice and easy that I left the little motor at home. The same motor would not plane a 6ft flat floor dinghy but it will plan my 8ft ridged inflatable with a keel.
I will let others talk about which materiel is better. I have bought all my dinghy's on craigslist. A lot cheaper to buy and try then sell if you don't like one type. Once you have tried several types you can go get a new one id you want. I have bought and sold 5 different ones before buying my current used one. Made a profit off of every one too.
If you are getting a inflatable ask your self what are you going to use it for? And that is not a stupid question. Are you just looking to go a short ways from anchor to shore? Or are you looking to explore or maybe fish out of ? Set crab pots? If you are doing anything but the short shore run I would stay away for the soft floor models. They are a bitch to row any more then a 100 yards. They are harder to get in and out of in my opinion. I much prefer the inflatable ridged floors. You fill then with air but they are rock hard to stand on. Most of them have a inflatable rigid keel which makes them easy to row, faster with a motor. In fact we had a small motor for our flat floor dinghy but the dinghy with the inflatable ridged floor and keels row so nice and easy that I left the little motor at home. The same motor would not plane a 6ft flat floor dinghy but it will plan my 8ft ridged inflatable with a keel.
I will let others talk about which materiel is better. I have bought all my dinghy's on craigslist. A lot cheaper to buy and try then sell if you don't like one type. Once you have tried several types you can go get a new one id you want. I have bought and sold 5 different ones before buying my current used one. Made a profit off of every one too.
When going out camping for more than a couple of days I enjoy bringing along an inflatable floor 9' Achilles LSI96 (now called LSI290). Probably too heavy for storing up on the roof, but the size is really nice (big!) in the water for cruising around and exploring islands once you are on anchor.
It stores, inflates, and deploys nicely from the deck of my 16'. An electric inflator is handy for this, but even with foot pump it takes only about 15 minutes to set up. The 6 hp Suzuki gets lifted from transom of C-dory and into dinghy, then hop into dinghy and lift motor onto the transom, everything tied off securely while doing this of course! A 2.5hp would be much easier to lift, but the 6 hp isn't bad (for me), and it really gets up and goes!
Most people aren't into this type of dinghy cruising and only need to get to shore, so for that this setup would be overkill, just sharing this particular C-Brat's dinghy-ing experience...I've been using this setup for 13 years on 4 different motherships from 16 to 22' and while I keep changing big boats, I continue to use and love the 9' dinghy and 6 hp kicker combo! (As a side note, this dinghy is large enough it also gets well-used as a boat by itself, either on lakes or calm days out on the sound).
-Mike
It stores, inflates, and deploys nicely from the deck of my 16'. An electric inflator is handy for this, but even with foot pump it takes only about 15 minutes to set up. The 6 hp Suzuki gets lifted from transom of C-dory and into dinghy, then hop into dinghy and lift motor onto the transom, everything tied off securely while doing this of course! A 2.5hp would be much easier to lift, but the 6 hp isn't bad (for me), and it really gets up and goes!
Most people aren't into this type of dinghy cruising and only need to get to shore, so for that this setup would be overkill, just sharing this particular C-Brat's dinghy-ing experience...I've been using this setup for 13 years on 4 different motherships from 16 to 22' and while I keep changing big boats, I continue to use and love the 9' dinghy and 6 hp kicker combo! (As a side note, this dinghy is large enough it also gets well-used as a boat by itself, either on lakes or calm days out on the sound).
-Mike
Hi Jim,
Welcome aboard. We already had a West Marine PVC inflatable when we bought the CD-25 (back in 2006). It was a U260, made by Zodiac. Relatively inexpensive, slat floor, worked fine with a lightweight 2.5 hp Merc motor. The weight was around 50 pounds, easy enough to lift over the bow and put up on the roof... even easier with two of us, but a bit snug on the space on the bow.
WM is now using Achilles as their vendor - I bought one (sold it with the boat) and was very pleased with the construction. The tubes were a bit bigger than the Zodiac, but it still fit under the tall radar arch.
A lightweight dinghy gives you lots of options. The slat floor ones don't row worth a hoot, but they don't need a big motor to move 'em.
We bought a cover for that WM Achilles to keep the UV at bay.
Great boat you're getting!
Welcome aboard. We already had a West Marine PVC inflatable when we bought the CD-25 (back in 2006). It was a U260, made by Zodiac. Relatively inexpensive, slat floor, worked fine with a lightweight 2.5 hp Merc motor. The weight was around 50 pounds, easy enough to lift over the bow and put up on the roof... even easier with two of us, but a bit snug on the space on the bow.
WM is now using Achilles as their vendor - I bought one (sold it with the boat) and was very pleased with the construction. The tubes were a bit bigger than the Zodiac, but it still fit under the tall radar arch.
A lightweight dinghy gives you lots of options. The slat floor ones don't row worth a hoot, but they don't need a big motor to move 'em.
We bought a cover for that WM Achilles to keep the UV at bay.
Great boat you're getting!
chriscarrera
New member
We have a 10 foot Saturn inflatable, seems fine for what it is. Its 100lbs, so over the bow and onto the tomcat roof with my wife works fine. Then I use a garhauer crane to lift my 20hp suzuki from its transom mount onto the dinghy. Outboard doubles as a kicker if all else fails.
Regarding the slat floor dinghies, I had one and don't recommend, floor is too squishy and unstable.
We like the bigger outboard for exploring and going fast.
Regarding the slat floor dinghies, I had one and don't recommend, floor is too squishy and unstable.
We like the bigger outboard for exploring and going fast.
Thru the last 50+ years we probably have had almost every type of inflatable available. The least desirable were the ones with full plywood floors, and aluminum side stringers which the plywood slid into. They were heavy and a bear to put together--even on a 62 foot boat. The largest was 13' and planed well enough to single water ski behind. We had a RIB--impractical for a c Dory--probably the one we liked the best was an 8'6" slat floor roll up, and the 2.5 HP suzuki. Some of the 2 hp motors are just not large enough to push a larger boat agains the wind. We also had several "dough-nut" such as the Avon Red Seal. Our current boat, seems ideal: It is an high Pressure air floor, 9'6", about 60# wt, and we can carry it on the cabin top of the C Dory 22. It can take up to 10 hp, we usually use a 3.5 HP 2 stroke Merc--weight about 30 lbs We also often use it with the light weight Torqeedo Traveler 1003--about 3 hp equivalent.
We do have the Garhauer Davit for hoisting aboard, and it really helps. We also have a "cockpit position for the Garheur for motors, ice chests, and even MOB. I am 80 and Marie is about 72, we both have back and arthritis issues, but can handle this size boat, without a lot of problem. I did make a lifting spreader bar, which gets he boat higher, and well balanced: There are two different diameter pipes for the garehauer davits--so be sure to know what you need.
'
Note that if we didn't have the radar strut, the dinghy could be further forward. But it rides fine, with just a little weight on one of the SS cockpit Bimini bows.
This dinghy is so comfortable that we can easily spend an after noon "cruising"--and 2 to 3 knots--or much faster, if we want to burn the fuel. Particularly with our bigger boats, the dinghy was our "station wagon"! There have been times we have gone over 30 miles from the "mother ship" . Even carried a "kicker" on the bigger RIB and inflatables.
My Son's 25 has a flatter roof, and I am going to suggest the Garhauer Davit, and the 9.5' inflatable floor, since he has a 9.9 hp kicker. It should handle his family of 3 plus 2 dogs...
We do have the Garhauer Davit for hoisting aboard, and it really helps. We also have a "cockpit position for the Garheur for motors, ice chests, and even MOB. I am 80 and Marie is about 72, we both have back and arthritis issues, but can handle this size boat, without a lot of problem. I did make a lifting spreader bar, which gets he boat higher, and well balanced: There are two different diameter pipes for the garehauer davits--so be sure to know what you need.
'
Note that if we didn't have the radar strut, the dinghy could be further forward. But it rides fine, with just a little weight on one of the SS cockpit Bimini bows.
This dinghy is so comfortable that we can easily spend an after noon "cruising"--and 2 to 3 knots--or much faster, if we want to burn the fuel. Particularly with our bigger boats, the dinghy was our "station wagon"! There have been times we have gone over 30 miles from the "mother ship" . Even carried a "kicker" on the bigger RIB and inflatables.
My Son's 25 has a flatter roof, and I am going to suggest the Garhauer Davit, and the 9.5' inflatable floor, since he has a 9.9 hp kicker. It should handle his family of 3 plus 2 dogs...
journey on
New member
On Journey On we use an Achilles inflatable. I got the 11' model, because it was cheaper than the 10' model, on sale from Defender. We got a 9.9 Honda as a get-us-home motor, part of the boat deal. So far, no real complaints. When we anchor we have our taxi ready to go.
A few comments. First the motor. I didn't want to bring along a third motor so the 10 hp had to do duty for the dingy. One needs a 10 horse to get you home or at least out of trouble, so that's a given. The Honda is the heaviest 10 made so you might look at a Tohatsu. They're some 20 lbs. lighter. Second, given where the motor-mount is on a 25, you may not need a long shaft. Shorter is lighter. Also, I had to make a transom extension to accommodate the longer shaft so it's worthwhile checking the height. BTW, 6 hp is the smallest motor I'd get. We used a 3 hp Evenrude for years and the upgrade to a 6 hp was magnificent. A 10 is outstanding.
Second, the dingy. The Achilles is cheaper than the Avon and well made. Both use hypalon which is more scuff resistant than polyester and doesn't deteriorate in the sun; this may not be a problem up North, but it was for us in SoCal. Also we're sold on the inflatable floor. I'm glad we got the room in the inflatable so don't go small. Ours is 10 years old and in good condition. Better than an Avon and we've had both; both are good. I'd get the 10' model, even if the 11 is on sale.
We tow the inflatable without the motor using a polyester bridle, setting it back on the first wave. Can't tow with the motor installed because it's unstable. Getting a 10 hp motor off the C-Dory and onto the Achilles and vice-versa requires a lift; I made one shown in our album. The inflatable might fit on the roof, I haven't tried. Towed in the ocean, in bays on rivers; no trouble.
Hope this helps.
Boris
A few comments. First the motor. I didn't want to bring along a third motor so the 10 hp had to do duty for the dingy. One needs a 10 horse to get you home or at least out of trouble, so that's a given. The Honda is the heaviest 10 made so you might look at a Tohatsu. They're some 20 lbs. lighter. Second, given where the motor-mount is on a 25, you may not need a long shaft. Shorter is lighter. Also, I had to make a transom extension to accommodate the longer shaft so it's worthwhile checking the height. BTW, 6 hp is the smallest motor I'd get. We used a 3 hp Evenrude for years and the upgrade to a 6 hp was magnificent. A 10 is outstanding.
Second, the dingy. The Achilles is cheaper than the Avon and well made. Both use hypalon which is more scuff resistant than polyester and doesn't deteriorate in the sun; this may not be a problem up North, but it was for us in SoCal. Also we're sold on the inflatable floor. I'm glad we got the room in the inflatable so don't go small. Ours is 10 years old and in good condition. Better than an Avon and we've had both; both are good. I'd get the 10' model, even if the 11 is on sale.
We tow the inflatable without the motor using a polyester bridle, setting it back on the first wave. Can't tow with the motor installed because it's unstable. Getting a 10 hp motor off the C-Dory and onto the Achilles and vice-versa requires a lift; I made one shown in our album. The inflatable might fit on the roof, I haven't tried. Towed in the ocean, in bays on rivers; no trouble.
Hope this helps.
Boris
Pat Anderson
New member
We have had an Alaska Series by Gary King inflatable for the last nine years. It has a rigid inflatable floor and it rows really well. It weighs about 50 lbs however, and that is getting to be a chore for me. Greg (Aurelia) recently fixed me up with a double pulley setup that I think will make it easier for me to get it over the bow rail. Once over the bow rail, it is easy to get up on the roof. Overall, we are very happy with it. I have a 2 hp Merc two stroke, but I usually leave it home because our main use is rowing a certain Lhasa Apso to shore!
