Which inflatable dinghy & outboard for a Tom Cat?

John,

The inflatable floor you have in your cheap dingy is inflatable like an air mattress. It is not very stiff and you get the water bed feel. That is the same for my little dingy with slats.

The high pressure inflatable floors are much nicer. They are very stiff and are much more solid to step into and out of.

Steve
 
Agree with Steve. The inflatable floors are almost as stiff as a fiberglass bottom--and are as stable as the articulated vinly floor I have in an older Avon. The slats in the fabric are not as stable--and I would not recommend them for a handicaped person. I stayed away form the inflatable floors, because of our mulitple dogs--this may not have been a really valid reason, but my thoughts are that dogs bring a lot of sand aboard a dinghy in their paws. The sand gets into the area between the floor and fabric, abraiding both. It also happens with the wooden or aluminum floors which are in 3 to 5 pieces. When we had that type of boat and the large dogs, we would take the boat apart every month or so and clean out the sand. With an RIB, this doe not happen, or with the softer bottom boats it does not happen.

Margaret I looked at the West Marine dinghies today when I was in the store. There is a roll up wood system sort of laced with fabric--full width, and each piece touching the next--seemed to be a stable floor. The boat was about $1100. It is 7'10" long, weight 75 lbs and looked to be fairly easy to put inflate. You might want to take a took at the RU3. Although I like Hypalon better than the PVC fabric, the PVC is less expensive, and lighter. This boat is rated for 4 hp and about 525 lbs, with 16" tubes. There are a number of other boats avaialable, which may be as good or better, but this one seemed close to meeting your needs.
 
Bob, Thanks for looking. I looked at the RU3 online. Looks good. What is the distance between the motors on the 255? Seems like that would be a good place to board if I could pull the dinghy under the step. I have lots of time to shop around as we won't be needing the dinghy until next summer. We just received the first pictures of our new boat today. We are excited to say the least! Of course it is bare. Bottom paint next, electronics and radar arch next. Gene will undoubtedly post the pictures in an album.
Margaret
 
The Suzuki 150's on our boat are about 40" between engines...but the Hondas may be slightly different. I think that the RU3 did not have the wood slats all of the way foreward, but something could be made to give a stable place there. I can check to see how far a similar dinghy (the bow of our 6'7" West Marine is very similar to the RU3 and this dinghy is still carried under the Bombard label which lists the beam as 3'9" I am not certain if one could get the bow it it between the motors, but I can check in the next few days. (the problem is that the distance between the motors is aft of the swim step). If you or Gene boarded from directly between the engines, the dinghy would have to have be pulled in hard between the engines. You will have to experiment, but my feeling is that a third hand railing; maybe a little shorter fore and aft, could be attatched to the top of the stern railing, and then to the swim step just inboard. That way the dinghy can be brought along side of the boat, and Gene board with something solid to hang onto. Again, we can check that out with the dinghy in the water, if no one else has done it that way.

Another item I would consider is what I call the poor man (or C Dory's) Passerelle (the gangplank used on fancy yachts). This is the "pet step II" We have had one for 4 years and it is great on the C Dory 22--we will be taking it on the TC 255. It is 70" long, folds to 35", weight 18lbs and carries 500 lbs! We don't have the float, but have used fenders to float the end and let some dogs get out of the water. We have used it at least 60 times, with the C Dory22 stern to the beach, motor up and pet step from the swim step to land--it should work the same form the stern of the C Dory, but the C Dory draws more..It would be something to consider for boarding etc. For example if we were bow to a bank, we would put the pet step down for the dog to come up onto the boat over the bow. (we also developed a "pet elevator" with the davit for our dogs as they aged)

Regards,

I would cons
 
Lori Ann":1d2vhb5r said:
=
...New sub-topic #1: Assuming that the outboard employed is only 2-1/2 hp, is there any reason not to get a donut-style dinghy such as the Achiles which you can see at http://www.achillesinflatables.com/dingdetail.cfm?ID=1 I can understand why one would want a sportboat configuration if one had a bigger outboard but am unclear on the disadvantages, if any, of this type of boat. Seems to me it would be easier to maneuver when stowing, etc.
...
Click to expand...

We have one of those. Got it years ago. It works OK, but it is not
really a good choice in a harbor. Quiet coves are fine. We had a
3.3 Evinrude on it...the kind without a transmission - not even
neutral, if I recall. If you gave it too much throttle, the motor could
bend the transom and nearly submerge the motor.

I actually like rowing it, and find that almost anywhere the motor
is suitable, rowing is fine. And if you can't row fast enough, the
motor wouldn't have worked anyhow. So, after a few years of
messing with the motor (and watching a friend unfamiliar with
the "start in gear design" nearly flip it), we lent the motor to a friend
and that was that!

We had a 45lb dog most of those years. She had decent claws
and was very active. The only damage the boat suffered appears
to have been from a cigarette butt that hit a tube.

I too have a disability - either one or two canes, depending on
terrain, so we'll try it since I own it (disability came after I was
last in it). But, I don't anticipate standing in it per se. I'll find
something on the boat or dock to grab hold of before trying to
get out.

Hey...the color of the inflatable will kinda match the CD-22 we
have an offer in on! (The Achilles is yellow and gray, CD-22 gray trim).

Glad we didn't get a green CD-22.

Mike
 
Bob Austin wrote:

"Another item I would consider is what I call the poor man (or C Dory's) Passerelle (the gangplank used on fancy yachts). This is the "pet step II" We have had one for 4 years and it is great on the C Dory 22--we will be taking it on the TC 255. It is 70" long, folds to 35", weight 18lbs and carries 500 lbs!"

BOB-

IS THIS THE PETSTEP II YOU'RE REFERRING TO?


THANKS,

JOE.
 
My solution to the problem of where to carry the dingy on Discovery was to build a bracket over the swimstep. We have solar panels on the cabin roof. The bracket is high enough to see under the dingy from the helm, makes backing up easier.

Dianns_BC_pix_120.sized.jpg
 
Probably a better descripiton from the manufacture:
http://www.petstep.com/

But the item appears to be the same on the link you posted. I hesitate to say it is because sometimes these things are counterfit. My father made our first one for a 125lb lab we sailed Calif. To Europe with. The sides were made of 1/8" high quality plywood, as was the bottom. 1x2, were the railings, and also cross cleats with carpet for the dog's paws. It was narrower, but still wide enough for us to use, and to roll our motor bikes over. We also had a spreader bar from the top of the mizzen mast halyard, and so we had lines on each side--with rollers on the dock end--and lashed to a couple of sail cars on a track on the top of the transom for the deck attatchment--heck it worked!
 
Bob-

I love the pop-up video of the black pig on the leash going up the ramp!

Care to sail to Europe with a pig?

Sorry, unfair question.

No answer required.
 
Lori Ann

The dingy bracket is 60" wide and centered on the swimstep handrails. The aft corners are unobstructed and still have plenty of room for fishing. I have recessed rod holders in the aft corners, and regularly troll with the dingy in place. I am getting Scotty 1106 downriggers that mount on the stainless rail, in the aft corners. They to will clear the dingy fine. The only obstructed area is between the motors.
 
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