Whats the aggregate wisdom on tenders

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potter water

New member
What is the best type of tender for the 22 sea dory cruiser. Rubber raft, kayaks??? Brands, sizes? Any bad experiences? We are leaning towards an 8.5 foot inflatable that can handle a 2 to 3 hp motor. All thoughts would be appreciated.
 
we have tried inflatable kayaks and 8.5 inflatable dinghys as well as a small raft w/o motor. I much prefer the dinghy with a 3.5 hp engine. I would rather have a inflatable floor over the slate floor (not a solid wood) that I have. As long as you think you can lift it on and off the roof your self you should be ok.
 
I pretty much agree with Tom. We like the inflatable dinghy with a high pressure inflatable floor. Ours is an Alaska Series with the extra tough coating on the bottom. It's been great for getting to shore and back from an anchorage. We don't have a motor for it (yet?), and so far rowing has been OK. (In a wind or current of any significance, rowing is a PITA, though.) It's light enough that I can get it on and off the roof myself, and it's stable enough so that getting in an out of if from the cockpit is easy. All in all it's the right combination of compromises for us.

What's best for you will depend on how you plan to use it and what your physical capabilities are. As always, the trade-offs are endless: weight, stability, durability, handling, load capacity . . .
 
8.5' inflatable w/air floor and a 2 to 4 HP outboard. The Honda 2 HP is air cooled, 4 stroke and generally trouble free.

Welcome to the C-Brats from another Utah resident. Love Lake Powell.

Brent
 
I think we'll go with the inflatable dinghy. I've changed my mind about the hard floor versus the inflated floor. Sounds like the inflated floor will do the job without the added weight of the hard floor.

I was thinking that there are only two c-dory's in the state. I'm picking up mine from the prior owner tomorrow. I will be dropping it off at Sharps Tarps in Salt Lake for fitting up a complete camper back before I get the thing home here to Logan.

Hope to see you around, and we are planning to attend the lake Powell event in September, though we'll be down to Powell well before then for an earlier trip.

I also own a West Weight Potter 19 sailboat that I love a lot. So many boats and too little time. I'm afraid after we get an hour on the Dory that my wife will tell me to sell the Potter. Her idea of fun sailing is to motor to a secluded bay, break out the swimming suits, and the lemonade and her latest Kindle book.

Harry and Susan Ames
 
Tom is right on. I also have a 10ft Portabote, but I just bought an Achilles LSI-260 and a 3.5 Nissan outboard for our trip.
 
For my sailboat I bought a doughnut boat (wanted short length) with a wood floor which we wanted for stability getting in & out. It provides that, but the cost is weight. I wish now I had gone for the inflatable floor. (next lifetime?) Kept tender when sold rag-bagger & became stink-potter. My 22 cruiser has the low radar arch and that makes the roof too short to carry the boat inflated. After a lot of fussing I've developed this system: I partially inflate the boat, throw it over the side, insert the wood floor and then finish filling. Reverse the process next day when we move. Slow, but it's does the job, even with the hand pump. I just bought the deluxe electric inflator from "Boatstogo.com", which I hope will make the process easier. I haven't tried it yet, but I have high hopes.
Chuck
 
We have the West Marine RU260 8' inflatable with slat floor. Oar powered or Honda 2 HP. Chose both because of weight. The dinghy is 40-50lbs, the motor is 26lbs and air cooled. We have had another 8' dinghy, OK but not as good as the West Marine which is a Zodiac with a WM logo. We also have a 12ft inflatable 2 person Kayak (Innova) 25lbs. The dinghy is a little more practical for transporting people and stuff and we use it most of the time but the next time we go to Lake Powell we will take the kayak and leave the dinghy at home. Either one can be launched and retrieved from the bow of a 22 with relative ease. We get aboard with either one tied hard to the 22 amidships. We use the dinghy as a rooftop carrier for light bulky stuff and keep it inflated all year.
 
We're really pleased with our Avon Redcrest - a tough hypalon inflatable capable of carrying four in a pinch. Weighs only 40lb without slatted floor, and inflates easily with the excellent foot pump included. Ours is 13 years old now and in fine shape.

Cruising our CD22 in SE Alaska we kept our dinghy rolled up in a canvas bag with straps/clips added to tie it securely out of the way on the roof.

We did without a motor for years, but now sometimes use a 2hp Yamaha that weighs only 22 lb, and mounts on the Redcrest's rounded stern on a fiberglass motor mount.

If you want to enjoy rowing, get a good pair of oars, like our Sawyer 6.5 footers.
 
I've got a West Marine RU260 like some other folks on here. It's an okay dinghy, but far from ideal in my opinion.

First, it doesn't fit on the cabin top of my boat very well. With the high top and the radome bolted directly to the cabin top, the dinghy can be flipped upside down over the radome, but it's not an ideal solution.

Instead I've used a combination of towing the dinghy sometimes and deflating it and storing it in the cockpit other times. It doesn't take long to inflate and it's not all that cumbersome, although it certainly isn't elegant. Towing works surprisingly well at all speeds and has the advantage of being ready whenever. On a couple of occasions the bow of the dinghy submarined, but the water quickly drained with the plug out. Keep in mind this was in some nasty tide rips in Active Pass. The towed dinghy can occasionally get in the way when docking, particularly if you have to change plans at the last minute and tie up in a different place or on a different side. My biggest concern when towing the dinghy is fouling the prop, but in about 1000 miles of towing that hasn't happened.

As far as a dinghy, the RU260 gets the job done. I prefer inflatable floors to the slat floor on the RU260, not just for the weight savings but also because they feel more stable to me. The RU260 rows poorly, but most inflatables do. I've had a few minor holes in mine from rocky landings and they've been easy enough to patch. I bought mine from a neighbor who was moving for something like $50 or $75 and I'm really happy with it for that price. I don't think I'd spend $850 on one though.
 
Solid plywood floors are very difficult to assemble, and heavy. The slats are OK--the air floor is better. I have used from 6'7" on up to over 13 feet (not on a C Dory)--and been using inflatables since 1962--when I bought an Avon Red Seal (bigger than the Red Crest). Just remember that 2 hp may not be enough to push you against a heavy wind. We go with 3.5 hp. (from experience).
 
20dauntless: I have an avon 2.85 rollup that I would like to continue to use but it is pretty heavy to put on the top so I considered towing it. I towed it behind my sailboat a lot and a couple times it managed to fill with water. With the c dory that could be a difficult situation. I am curious how well it works while you are planing, and how far back do you let it ride. I used to position mine on the front crest of the following waves, but with a sailboat the speed was closer to constant so it was easier. Interesting that you have been able to successfully tow yours. I will have to reconsider.
 
We also use the 260 model with the slat floor from WM. It fits great on the cabintop on our 25, but I know I have seen the same model on top of 22s. It doesn't row great, so we only do that if there are short distances to go and no wind or current; works fine with a 2.5 hp short shaft motor. I have never tried towing a dinghy with the C-Dory - don't like that idea due to the outboard and the ability to run a different speeds.

Now, regarding your Potter. There are a lot of former and current sailors here, so we understand. We kept a Com-Pac SunCat for the first several years we owned the C-Dory... pretty much so we could still be sailors. Even when we had them both in the water at the same time, we preferred taking the C-Dory out because of the protection of that enclosed helm... and the spacious cockpit with comfortable chairs... great electronics... a comfortable galley... hot and cold pressure water... great view while sitting at the dinette. Don't be in a big hurry to sell the Potter - a perfect sailing day may come along and you will still enjoy the tiller time. But, when the time comes that you have to choose and you continually choose the C-Dory, you will know it is time to find a new home for the Potter.

Enjoy!

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/7-5-BALTIK-INFL...939?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb2811e33

This is what we have w/ a 2.5 Suzuki O/B. Works great for us. You won't win any races but it allows us to explore, go to shore etc. It's light enough for me to handle since we store it on the roof of the boat. We make sure and store it indoors when we're not using it, since the material isn't as UV "proof" as Hypalon, but the the price. Looking at our it's identical to the Saturn one of comparable size.

I like the simplicity of the Suzuki since the fuel tank is internal, it's water-cooled and has foward and neutral; reverse is a 180* but it's not an issue. Engine weighs about 28 lbs.
 
NewMoon":2bgyng85 said:
Cruising our CD22 in SE Alaska we kept our dinghy rolled up in a canvas bag with straps/clips added to tie it securely out of the way on the roof.
Click to expand...
Richard, do you inflate/deflate your dink for every shore excursion?

Warren
 
Hi Warren,

Yes, we deflate almost every time. If we leave it inflated it takes up too much space onboard, and towing it gets in the way in a bunch of ways. With our upper helm and the shrimp and crab pots we carry on the roof, it can't practically be carried inflated up there. Takes maybe ten minutes to get it ready to go.

On New Moon the deflated dinghy rides rolled up atop the engine box against the transom. Oars ride on the side of the roof, wedged in next to the grab handle along the side, with a velcro strap to make sure we don't bounce them off in rough water.
 
potter water,

A brief mention was made of the Alaskan Series Tenders. We own one as do many other PNW Brats. They are fairly lightweight, easy to manuver and tough as nails (don't ask how I know). They row pretty well and we use a Suzuki 2.5hp motor on it, which works out fine. They are a little more expensive but totally worth the cost imho. Plus, they fit nicely on top the roof of our CD22 and tuck in nicely under our high radar arch. Here's a pic of ours on top the roof.

P1000567_small_2_cropped.jpg
 
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