Plastimo P270SH RAID inflatable - reviews?

C

Ctarmigan

Member
I have an appeal to the hive mind.

Having had enough of futzing around with a Packraft as a tender, I'm looking to upgrade. I'm considering the Plastimo P270SH RAID - a 9ft slat-floor inflatable:
(https://ca.binnacle.com/Docking-and...table-Tender-Raid-II-P270SH/product_info.html)

They look good, but this is my first rodeo. I'm looking for a tender I can get on and off the roof of my 22 Cruiser (solo, in a pinch), and will fit my wife, (currently little) son and I.

While I can imagine some specific situations where I'd swap our 6hp kicker onto it, I anticipate rowing in 90% of cases.

Anyone have experience with this boat (or, experience with similar that would apply)?

Cheers,

Oliver
 
I don't have any experience with them, but from what I have seen a Mercury Inflatable with an air floor seems like a decent dinghy. Last time I looked into buying one they were about US$700 for a smallish one suitable for a C-Dory.

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/inflatables/all/

It depends on what you intend the dinghy use for. If you are looking for a potential liferaft in remote areas or something you are going to use a lot then you may want to spend some $ and get a proper brand name one.

If you want a dinghy for more casual use, then there are some less expensive alternatives. I have an Intex Mariner 3. It is a lot less than a "real" dinghy. But it is robust enough for what we use it for (we use about one trip every other year). The Mariner rows nicely and is much tougher and better built than I originally expected. I have landed fairly large people (250+#) on rocky shores in 1+ foot waves with no damage to the dinghy. I have zero complaints about it.

However, if I had intended for this dinghy to be a potential liferaft in remote areas or offshore, I would have gone with something different.
 
If you are going to put any motor on the dinghy consider a wooden or composition transom. If you want the best combination of light weight, carrying capacity, ability to plane, and easy to row, the high pressure air floor is hard to beat.

We have an air floor 9 1/2 air floor made by Avon, branded West Marine. We have had it about 15 years and no signs of wear. It's weight is in the mid 60# range. Even at our age and both having bad backs we use the Garhauer Davit for lifting to the cabin top. I can do it solo, but is easier with Marie guiding the front of the boat as we lift it upon the top. It is rated for a 10 hp,

The slat floors are not as stable as a wooden/aluminum floor or an air floor. You will not really plane with the slat floor--there will be sort of a bump in the center of the boat--but to get the most efficiency rowing or planing, you need the "V" and a rigid bottom. Also there is much better stability getting into the boat with a more solid floor. The wooden'/ aluminum floor boats are to hard to put together on board the C Dory. We inflate ours on the top of cabin, using an electric pump and one of the Li battery 12 volt jump boxes.
 
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