Now what coach?!?

K

ken35216

New member
Okay, so my new boat came in last week. :D

I have her at my house now to outfit before I take her down to Destin, FL where she will live. Now, since it's going to live in Florida it HAD to have A/C, I wanted a light and I wanted RADAR so it has the radar tower on back and a light on front.

I bought a West Marine PRU-3 inflatable a month or so ago (big sale) and pumped it up yesterday to figure out where I'm going to store the dinghy while underway.

I can't figure it out....

Any ideas?

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I struggled with this problem for awhile until it occurred to me the solution
was right in front of me.

Your boat is one tough dinghy. It beaches. It draws almost no water.
It is small enough to explore those ity-bity coves and channels others can't and
have to use a separate dinghy. Thus, you can squeeze into almost anywhere.

I know, I know. Others claim you can mount it with some davit, tow it, roll it up
and stuffit somewhere or another. But the truth is, you don't need a dinghy.

It's simply a case of "less is more".

Aye.
 
Congrats on getting the boat and getting into the "commissioning" for you now.

Your inflatable only weighs 53 pounds. Foggy is right in that you may not need a dingy as often as you think unless you are anchoring out often and taking a dog to shore. Personally, I don't beach my boat, but then I don't have sandy Florida beaches here either. Unless your cockpit canvas support system is PRETTY STURDY, it might not work to put it on top of that. (Why I don't have cockpit canvas.) Joel is pretty smart too. you can carry it deflated, rolled and either in front of or behind the AC on the roof top. It might tuck in behind, between the AC and the radar arch relatively easily. In front of that might be easier to drop it onto the fore deck and inflate it there before pitching it over the rail.

Another option might be to build a rack that would allow carrying it over the AC, but high enough so it wouldn't affect the AC function.

Stay cool, your 3/4 of the way there, The C-Dory, the AC, in FL and the inflatable. It will all come out in the wash.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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You need a inflatable as your get-to-shore taxi.

However, you've used up the smooth real estate on the cabin's top and now have to deal with the bumps. Turn the inflatable upside-down and see if it fits.

If not, well deflating it certainly works, as well as towing it behind. Judy has an 10 1/2 Achilles which doesn't fit above, so we stow the deflated and rolled up thing till we get to our first stop. Then we inflate it, mount the motor and we're good to go. Since moving the Honda 10 from the C-Dory to the inflatable is a bear, deflating/inflating is a small part of the job. Unless we just row. When we're set to go home, we bring it in, deflate and roll it up and we're set for the trip home.

We tow with a crossed bridle, to each side of the inflatable and each side of Journey On using polyethylene floating rope. No towing problems.

Boris
 
I have always used marinas but I want to anchor out a LOT more especially since I'm going to be cruising much more (semi-retire) and need to save $$. I also have a dog so it would be really nice to figure out how to have a dinghy.
 
unless you are going to run the air while underway?? just put it over the air conditioning unit upside down. Or as others said build a rack that holds it a foot over the unit.

less is better-- unless you want to go shore, have a dog, want to explore, have fun visit other boats etc etc etc..
 
Then there's the seldom used idea, if you want a dinghy,
plan for it from the beginning. This always works the best
and makes others jealous.

Aye.
 
I started carrying the dinghy on the roof top, until I mounted solar panels there. Then I made a simple rack out of SS tubing and mounted it over the cockpit. I used a davit crane to raise and lower it . If I had it to do over, I would have saved a lot of time and money by keeping it rolled up in the cockpit and using an electric air pump to inflate it when needed.

Now it takes me about 10 minutes to roll it over the gunnel, attach the pump, and fill it up. Little 2.5 hp Suzuki is light enough to lift over the gunnel and drop onto the transom. We don't tow, but in a few minutes we can deflate and roll it up over the gunnel, and off we go.

We swing on anchor days at a time, and a dinghy and solar panels are very necessary for us.
 
That's the beauty of a light weight roll up model like the one you have - they are meant to be rolled up easily and stored out of the way!

Since 2003 I've been carrying a much heavier Achilles dinghy deflated and stored either in the cockpit or up in the V-berth. Until last year I always inflated with the foot pump, but now finally have a 12V electric pump which makes the job even quicker and easier - I just unroll it across the transom, supported in the middle by the outboard, hook up the pump, and when inflated, slide it into the water. Works just as easily from the 16 or the 22 this way. Your camper canvas might make that method a little more challenging.

On longer outings when it's calm I have also towed it short distances, from one anchorage to the next (always best to remove the outboard when towing).

The new boat looks sharp by the way! Congrats!
 
You've gotten mostly good suggestions here. Having boated in Florida, we found many times where a dinghy was essential. Sounds to me like deflated or inverted on the roof would work fine. Towing, too. Give each a try to see what works best for you, and ignore the nay (or aye) sayers.

Enjoy!
 
...ignore the nay (or aye) sayers.
Click to expand...

Yep. Where there is a will, there is a way.

We stored ours on top, right side up. Until we got our radar and realized the engine plate blocked the beam (low arch). I tried it upside down. Same outcome. Only solution; raise the radar. Bought a pedestal, installed it and made a new connector. Voila.

You do whatcha gotto do...
 
the other thing to think about is a kayak. you can store that on the roof on either side of the air conditioning unit with no problem. In the past several years we take the kayaks out more then the dinghy. A double or two singles would work great. I have no problems getting mine on and off the roof but may add a custom hoist next year.
 
Sea Wolf":1hlazbgj said:
There's a commercially available bungee anchor/shore tie system that's been discussed on this site a few times over the years if you're interested,

Anchor Buddy is the name.

See it work:

Anchor Buddy

Joe. :teeth :thup
Click to expand...

Works for boats up to 4,000 pounds but very cool!!
 
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