New Dinghy... Yet Again! Venture 26

H

haakebecks

New member
So, I'm looking for a good dink and matching outboard for the Venture 26. I read through a ton of threads about this and thoughts were mixed and a number of posts are pushing 6-7 years old. Quality can certainly change in that time from various manufacturers.

What would you folks recommend these days? I'm on a budget of sorts.

Definitely looking at the Suzuki 2.5 as it seems to be very highly regarded and quieter than the Honda 2HP. That being said, if I found a Yamaha, Merc, etc. at the right price and weight I would give them a serious look as well.

What are folks thoughts on this stuff these days after years of use?
 
Have the Suzi 2.5 hp. Wonderful little engine that pushes my inflatable along very smartly with two adults on board. Lightweight and first pull starts everytime.
 
The Suzuki 2.5 is still the best of the small dinghy engines (my opinion). I also have a Merc 3.5 (last of the 2 strokes (?)) Which is a great light weight engine.

As for the boats--look for Achillies, who still uses a Hypalon type of material (generic brand). I think you still get what you pay for. A cheap boat will not last as well as a more expensive boat. I still prefer the air floors, over solid floors. The slat floors have not changed, and are cheaper and do fine, with the low HP engines. I can plane my 10 foot air floor, with one person and the 3.5 Merc. (slow speed plane--about 10 knots).
 
It depends more on the type of load, distance you need to travel, and the weight you want to haul up to the top of the cabin. A Davit can be used if necessary, but this is more gear and weight on the boat. Ideally you want as light a weight in a dinghy--because it is easiest to put on the boat. The lightest will be a boat with no wooden transom or floor boards--such as the LT2 or LT4 (the difference is about a foot more inside room)--and since there is no solid transom the motor is on a bracket which fits into the stern of the inflatable. Up a notch is a slat floor, with a wooden transom such as the LS2 or LS4 have about the same room, but slat floor (rolls up with the boat, and a solid transom. The best of the lot is the air floor LSI series. They are heavier, but do have a drop stitch air floor with inflatable keel, and will take a larger motor up to 15 hp. (we have one which will take the 10 hp, but does fine with the 3.5 hp--displacement speed for 2 people).

Normally a C Dory owner does not need a fast or long range dinghy. Larger tubes give more capacity and less chance of getting wet!
 
Thanks to the C-Brats recommendations, we just bought an Achilles LT-2 inflatable with a Suzuki 2.5 and are quite happy with this combo. Because of a bad back, I was most concerned with weight, and I can haul the LT-2 over the rail of my TomCat and tie it on the roof by myself. The boat comes with two plywood floorboards, but for some reason they don't cover the length of the boat. I simply fabricated two more out of 5/16th plywood, treated them with West epoxy and painted them with Bilgekote gray to match the others. To prevent slipping, I applied strips of non-skid tape to the boards. By removing the center seat, we have just enough room for the two of us and our 60 lb. dog. My only complaint is that the flat bottom and light weight (37 lbs) makes getting in and out a bit tricky, as the boat will easily "skid out" from under you. Be sure it's tied securely and be careful. The Suzuki is a sweet little engine, and it looks cool next to our twin Suzuki 150s. With our TomCat we can anchor close to shore, so we're not planing on covering long distances with this rig. Yes, I wish we had a larger dinghy with an inflatable floor with a slight V-bottom, but my back just wouldn't take the strain of getting it onboard. This setup is a good compromise.
And the Achilles is made to last.
 
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