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gulfcoast john
New member
Wesley,
Congrads and you will love your C-Dory.
Over our past 7 years with this TC255, we feel no need or desire for a dingy. For the 9 years prior to that that we had a 26ft Regal cruiser, with a Mercury 310 dingy with 2hp air cooled Honda. It was a total waste of effort and space.
Anchoring in the PNW is something we plan on avoiding on our upcoming Adventure this summer. A mooring ball is easy, you will master that by the third night. You may bump it during changes in tide or wind, but you will not pull it off station with your boat and worry about dragging out to sea.
All we need is a $20 2-burner propane stove for cooking, coffee and hot water for basin bathing, a Lil Buddy heater for mornings while awake, with overboard storage for the 1# cheap bottles.
We’re studying Waggoner’s guide, and it looks to us like there are about 3 out of 50 top spots where a dingy would really be needed to ‘get ashore from an anchorage in a cove’ where you could not anchor in knee deep water off a beach.
You are appropriately concerned re the complications of dingy storage/inflation/fueling/extra engine/space required as well as the complexities of anchoring off a ledge that drops to 50 ft and therefore requires 350 ft of chain vs line that can chafe on a sharp rock and part while requiring a dingy to get to shore to secure a floating poly line to a tree. I’m reading about all that too, but it seems to mainly apply to Alaska, not the SJI or the Broughtons. If it’s public land or a state park, it most likely has a marina or dock or mooring balls or a simple anchorage already there for the many visitors. If it’s private land, you can’t go ashore anyway and therefore don’t need a dingy.
If you have a dog, you need a dingy (and maybe a bigger boat).
You might consider the possibility of making your first cruising 6-12 months greatly simplified (and therefore much more pleasant as you learn the ropes) by staying overnight at state parks and other non-resort marinas, docks and moorings without the complications of worrying about dingy storage aboard a 19 ft Dory and dragging anchor.
How much is that worth to you and your mate?
We figure if we’re all wrong and want a dingy, we’ll buy one used in the PNW.
A little air floor or slat floor PVC dingy is toast after one one oyster scrape on the Atlantic ICW or sharp PNW rocks.
I’d appreciate the comments of our expert SJI area Brats regarding what they would advise Wesley (and us) consider as we try to plan for a happy and uncomplicated cruising adventure through your wonderful cruising areas!
Safe travels to all!
John
Congrads and you will love your C-Dory.
Over our past 7 years with this TC255, we feel no need or desire for a dingy. For the 9 years prior to that that we had a 26ft Regal cruiser, with a Mercury 310 dingy with 2hp air cooled Honda. It was a total waste of effort and space.
Anchoring in the PNW is something we plan on avoiding on our upcoming Adventure this summer. A mooring ball is easy, you will master that by the third night. You may bump it during changes in tide or wind, but you will not pull it off station with your boat and worry about dragging out to sea.
All we need is a $20 2-burner propane stove for cooking, coffee and hot water for basin bathing, a Lil Buddy heater for mornings while awake, with overboard storage for the 1# cheap bottles.
We’re studying Waggoner’s guide, and it looks to us like there are about 3 out of 50 top spots where a dingy would really be needed to ‘get ashore from an anchorage in a cove’ where you could not anchor in knee deep water off a beach.
You are appropriately concerned re the complications of dingy storage/inflation/fueling/extra engine/space required as well as the complexities of anchoring off a ledge that drops to 50 ft and therefore requires 350 ft of chain vs line that can chafe on a sharp rock and part while requiring a dingy to get to shore to secure a floating poly line to a tree. I’m reading about all that too, but it seems to mainly apply to Alaska, not the SJI or the Broughtons. If it’s public land or a state park, it most likely has a marina or dock or mooring balls or a simple anchorage already there for the many visitors. If it’s private land, you can’t go ashore anyway and therefore don’t need a dingy.
If you have a dog, you need a dingy (and maybe a bigger boat).
You might consider the possibility of making your first cruising 6-12 months greatly simplified (and therefore much more pleasant as you learn the ropes) by staying overnight at state parks and other non-resort marinas, docks and moorings without the complications of worrying about dingy storage aboard a 19 ft Dory and dragging anchor.
How much is that worth to you and your mate?
We figure if we’re all wrong and want a dingy, we’ll buy one used in the PNW.
A little air floor or slat floor PVC dingy is toast after one one oyster scrape on the Atlantic ICW or sharp PNW rocks.
I’d appreciate the comments of our expert SJI area Brats regarding what they would advise Wesley (and us) consider as we try to plan for a happy and uncomplicated cruising adventure through your wonderful cruising areas!
Safe travels to all!
John
IMO our dinghy is a well used item. We anchor out when possible or hook up to a mooring ball. But if you do that, you have to go to shore to pay, unless you have the annual permit. We have never gotten one as it would not pay for itself; we still are working stiffs. Your mileage may vary. All the WA State Parks balls have a fee you pay at a small kiosk at the park, in an envelope.
We use the dinghy to go to shore, go visit other boaters, just to take a ride on and look at boats we can't afford! It allows the freedom to get off the boat and go shopping, eat at restaurants etc. so we don't get "boat fever". Also provides a "life raft" should the worst happen. At least you'd be out of the 52F water!
Ours is a small unit; 6'8" weighs only 59# and the 2.5 horse engine only weights 28#. I've had three adults on board going slowly despite the 440# limit (the Admiral only weighs 100# so she's like a kid :wink: ).
I store it on the roof and just pull it up over the bow rail while standing on the fore-deck. A couple of nylon straps and voila. Done. We also store things in it like a stern tie spool, solar shower(s) etc. Things that can get wet and aren't sharp to puncture it.
We use the dinghy to go to shore, go visit other boaters, just to take a ride on and look at boats we can't afford! It allows the freedom to get off the boat and go shopping, eat at restaurants etc. so we don't get "boat fever". Also provides a "life raft" should the worst happen. At least you'd be out of the 52F water!
Ours is a small unit; 6'8" weighs only 59# and the 2.5 horse engine only weights 28#. I've had three adults on board going slowly despite the 440# limit (the Admiral only weighs 100# so she's like a kid :wink: ).
I store it on the roof and just pull it up over the bow rail while standing on the fore-deck. A couple of nylon straps and voila. Done. We also store things in it like a stern tie spool, solar shower(s) etc. Things that can get wet and aren't sharp to puncture it.
Maybe you forget about the up to 25' tides. Many times docks are full. Some docks are not connected to land. There are safe ways to use the dinghy on PNW beaches, and avoid any damage, or being stranded by high tides.
To the contrary, we spent 4 seasons (April thru Oct) Cruising the PNW to AK in the Cal 46, and several other partial seasons in 22's and 25's--and never "toasted" a air floor or slat floor dinghy. In over 55 years of using inflatables I have had two punctures; one a very rough concrete dock, with pointy rebar, which caused a puncture , and a 5 gallon propane tank riding on the inside of the boat, where it had rubbed on a lengthy and rough trip back to the boat (both were entirely my fault). Both were patched that same day, and served us well for many more years and hundreds of miles. There are inflatable boats where the bottoms have extra tough material if you are going to abuse the boats.
WA State Parks requires that you register on shore at the kiosk for the use of a mooring buoy daily even with a annual moorage permit. You will need a dinghy, kayak or some means to get to shore. We have a very small 2 person dinghy that has seen 2 years of use so far in the PNW and is doing fine. You do need to exercise caution though when stepping out onto shore so as to not damage the boat on sharp rocks or barnacles etc. Gary.
colbysmith
Active member
Wesley and Karen,
I'd say hold off on the dinghy. I too cut my teeth on the local Midwest Lakes, Great Lakes and Mississippi River. I have a 22', and before that a Searay 268 Sundancer, and before that a Pontoon. I owned my 22 a number of years before I finally purchased an inflatable Kayak. I don't travel with a dog or other pet, and for the most part was still able to find space to pull up to land, or squeeze into a dock for a short term stop. I'll admit, having the Kayak during my Inside Passage trip last summer was nice to get off the boat when anchored out. However, I cruised around the San Juans and other places in the PNW before I got the Kayak, and didn't have any issues. I could probably count on one hand the few times a dinghy of sorts would have been nice, but maybe only once or twice where I really would have liked one. As I started thinking/planning my Inside Passage trip, I started thinking about a Dinghy for emergency egress. (sinking). But as I gave that more thought and talked to others, I came to realize my chances of sinking were pretty slim. In the end I decided I wanted something that I could use to just enjoy some back waters now and then, and that could allow me to have transport from my boat to shore when anchored. The blow up Kayak was the answer. I can carry it out of the way strapped on the roof, and it's pretty easy to get down and put back. I have an electric air pump, and while it's easiest to blow up or take down on a dock, I have done it across my cockpit. As for the mooring balls, they suck. I did that one night and swore them off. Boat kept hitting it with the change in wind or tide. And of course it was hitting on the bow right next to my ears! (I did find a good way to moor however. It was while rafted with another C-Dory, and we tied the mooring ball tight between both our bows, keeping it from hitting either of us.) Even with the Kayak on the Inside Passage trip, I'd find fairly shallow anchorages (with the tide out), or docks. I did use my Kayak a few times, but could have survived without it. So again, I'd recommend just enjoy some cruising without a dinghy at first, and then see if you really need one. Colby P.s. BTW, how does your CD-19 compare to the "dinghy's" of some of the yachts you will be cruising among, size wise? I think you'll find you can pull your 19 up to anywhere some of those mega dinghy's can pull up to! :wink:
I'd say hold off on the dinghy. I too cut my teeth on the local Midwest Lakes, Great Lakes and Mississippi River. I have a 22', and before that a Searay 268 Sundancer, and before that a Pontoon. I owned my 22 a number of years before I finally purchased an inflatable Kayak. I don't travel with a dog or other pet, and for the most part was still able to find space to pull up to land, or squeeze into a dock for a short term stop. I'll admit, having the Kayak during my Inside Passage trip last summer was nice to get off the boat when anchored out. However, I cruised around the San Juans and other places in the PNW before I got the Kayak, and didn't have any issues. I could probably count on one hand the few times a dinghy of sorts would have been nice, but maybe only once or twice where I really would have liked one. As I started thinking/planning my Inside Passage trip, I started thinking about a Dinghy for emergency egress. (sinking). But as I gave that more thought and talked to others, I came to realize my chances of sinking were pretty slim. In the end I decided I wanted something that I could use to just enjoy some back waters now and then, and that could allow me to have transport from my boat to shore when anchored. The blow up Kayak was the answer. I can carry it out of the way strapped on the roof, and it's pretty easy to get down and put back. I have an electric air pump, and while it's easiest to blow up or take down on a dock, I have done it across my cockpit. As for the mooring balls, they suck. I did that one night and swore them off. Boat kept hitting it with the change in wind or tide. And of course it was hitting on the bow right next to my ears! (I did find a good way to moor however. It was while rafted with another C-Dory, and we tied the mooring ball tight between both our bows, keeping it from hitting either of us.) Even with the Kayak on the Inside Passage trip, I'd find fairly shallow anchorages (with the tide out), or docks. I did use my Kayak a few times, but could have survived without it. So again, I'd recommend just enjoy some cruising without a dinghy at first, and then see if you really need one. Colby P.s. BTW, how does your CD-19 compare to the "dinghy's" of some of the yachts you will be cruising among, size wise? I think you'll find you can pull your 19 up to anywhere some of those mega dinghy's can pull up to! :wink:
I have an Intex Mariner 3 dinghy. Yeah, it is not a "real" dinghy but it gets the job done even on rough landings. We use it about every 3 years and it works fine for what we want it to do. It is about 1/5 the cost of a "real"dinghy. For our use case, it suits us fine.
When we anticipate a need for a dinghy we carry it onboard and inflate it when needed. We either deflate it or put it on the cabin roof depending on the next anticipated use.
Some people will scoff at our choice, but what do they know.
When we anticipate a need for a dinghy we carry it onboard and inflate it when needed. We either deflate it or put it on the cabin roof depending on the next anticipated use.
Some people will scoff at our choice, but what do they know.
Ok, so yes, I carry an inflateable dingy. That is mainly because I cross Juan de Fuca Strait -- 25 miles across -- almost every time I boat, SO, if my boat sank, I would have a place to go while I eat my sandwich and coast to Japan on some fluke tide. :wink: In reality, I use the dingy rarely. Most of my overnights in Puget Sound are at a State Marine Park dock. I have done a few nights on a mooring ball, but when and where I did that, I took the boat to the dock, filled out my park pass envelope, and the went out to the ball. Even on my hundred day trip up north, (Broughtons and around the north end), I rarely used the dingy. I would say, start without and learn the boat, then if you need one, there is still time and opportunity.
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
This link will take you to a photo of my dingy set-up.
http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?full ... _photo.php
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
This link will take you to a photo of my dingy set-up.
http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?full ... _photo.php