Who bought Alaska Series dinghies at the SBS?

D

Doryman

New member
The Alaska Series booth at the SBS seemed like a mini-Brat convention at times. I bought an 8'10" tender in Kodak Yellow and I saw several other Brats ordering them as well.

So, who bought one, what size and color? What kind of motor are you planning to use (size and make)? I am undecided about an engine. Jim King recommended the 2 hp Honda because he says it's easier to pick up, and because of that you will use it more. However, I am leery of underpowering the dinghy. So I may get a 3.5 hp Tohatsu/Nissan and use a Garhauer Davit to help me get it down to the dinghy.

Incidentally, other Brats told me about the new German electric motor that was on display upstairs. Very interesting but at least 50% more expensive than a gas motor, plus I'd have to run the genset to recharge it, which would be kind of like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Warren
 
Warren
I took a good look at the Alaskan series, as did most of the C-Brats. I decided on the Bombard X3. Made by Zodiac. More of a traditional dinghy with a transom. The wt. is 49lb.
I liked the coating on the bottom of the Alaskan, but I wanted a true transom. Also, it was about half the cost. :thup
 
Lori Ann-
Cathy and I ordered a 7'10" grey Alaskan. Yes they are more money but I've destroyed a couple cheap ones. The green offered was not a good match with the green on our boat. Now I can paddle around the south sound in stealth mode when its foggy.
 
Heck with the inflatable.... I have a Avon.. but what I want is one of those keen Sportyak kayaks....da ones with the 9.9hp motor.....yeow those would be fun....25mph..an runs 4 hrs on a tank of fuel.... boy could I cause hate and discontent with one of those......

Joel
SEA3PO
 
Pat and Patty bought a 7'10" Alaskan Series, ordered grey but just changed order to yellow (I think), Patty will correct this if I am wrong...we will power it with our Mercury 2.5 hp always in go forward mode outboard.
 
Warren, We talked to Jim about one of his boats. We are interested. His father has a TC255 and of course the Alaska dinghy. I sure would like to see pictures of the inflatable atop the Tom Cat. I probed him for info on launching and retrieving the dinghy on the TC. I am looking for a stable, light weight boat that I can muscle on the TC by myself. We may be able to rig a pulley and strap that can be operated by Gene from the cockpit as I guide the boat onto the roof from the bow. When do you expect delivery of your new dinghy? The Honda 2hp looked good and I was able to lift it without trouble. Also am interested if it would have enough power.
Margaret
 
My experience is that 95% of the time that the Honda 2 hp (or other 2 hp) will have enough power--but I worry about the 5% it may not (heavy wind). I have used dinghies to put kedge anchors out, or retireve lost objects (blown away)--so there may be times when you will use the dinghy when it is windy. In our case there were the dogs, who really wanted to go ashore--even after they had been "boat broken".

The Garhauer davit is a work of art and is great for lifting motors or even dinghies. We are working on a mount on the cabin side, so it can lift a dinghy from the cockpit to the cabin roof.

We use a 43 lb thrust trolling motor at least once a week on a 12 foot aluminum boat--we power it with two Trojan 105 golf carts (not practical for a dinghy)--and it will push the skiff at about 3 knots--although we keep it down to 1 to 2 knots most of the time. silent electric power is really nice. If you don't use it much, you might consider a smaller battery (Like U1, with solar pannels--expensive, but a great way to go).
 
What a coincidence. I just put a deposit on an Achilles today. As they say, great minds think alike, Here's hoping that we all got the right one!
 
We purchased our grey 7'10" Alaskan Series at the 2006 SBS. Fits in my van or on top of R-Matey without any problems. We have yet to power it but have been looking at the 2HP Honda.

Ruth and Joe
R-Matey
 
Ken, no I did not give up on the kayak. Robbin wanted something with a motor and could not figure out how to put one on the kayak. I will still use the kayak but not when Robbin is aboard. Not sure if the dingy will fit of the 16. I'll try it when we get it in May.
 
I looked at them on Saturday. He said that he'd already sold 7 of them to C-Dory owners. I thought about it for several days and placed an order today for an 8'10" in Kodak yellow.

We have a 7'11" Mercury and it was too small for more than two people. I also like the protection from barnacles on the bottom of the Alaskans. Our 7'11" is around 45 lbs and the Alaskan is 50 lbs. That is about the maximum that I want to get on and off of the roof of a 25.

We have a 2 hp Honda and I like it for it's ease of getting on and off of the boat. I think it's around 27 lbs. I also like the integrated fuel tank, although I take a small container of spare fuel with me in the dinghy. If you're going to get a 2 hp Honda to go on an Alaskan, be sure that it is a long shaft.
Lyle
 
Larry, I beg to differ.

Larry Q wrote:
The green offered was not a good match with the green on our boat
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I think the Green Alaska Series dinghy we bought from last year's show looks just fine. 8)

DSCF1951.thumb.jpg

Peter

P.S. I'm just having fun with you. To each his own... :wink
 
Rock-C, does the Zodiac have an inflatable floor?

Adeline, I was very seriously considering the Achilles LT-4 but at the end of the day, one of the reasons I finally spent the premium $$$ for the Alaska Series was that it has an inflatable floor. Several people assured me that it, when pumped tight, would provide a much more stable platform than the 3 wide slats of the Achilles. That is an important factor for someone of my size and agility.

Margaret, I didn't know that Jim King's dad has a TC255. Would have talked to him more specifically about the fit. What ideas did he give you for getting it onto the cabintop?

Thataway's idea for the Garhauer Davit on the cabintop is intriguing. My epiphany for getting the dinghy on the cabintop came when I was looking at the C-Ranger 25 at the boat show. They had Yakima kayak rollers mounted on the stern rail and on the Yakima rack (if you weren't there, they displayed the CR-25 with a kayak and 2 bikes on a top Yakima rack.) What I am going to investigate is the feasibility of putting a couple of those rollers on the forward cabintop railing and on the cabintop side railings. May not be necessary at all, but between the rollers and the davit, I am sure something can be worked out to help get that boat up on the cabintop.

The dinghy will be delivered in May to Inflatable Boatworks in Ballard. I will be dinghy-less in Seattle (OK, Anacortes) until then.

Warren
 
an inflatable floor. Several people assured me that it, when pumped tight, would provide a much more stable platform than the 3 wide slats of the Achilles
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I agree. I opted for their LSI 77. It too has an air floor. It also has a conventional transom.

Achilles_LSI_77_Grey_2007.sized.jpg
 
I think you all went a bit 'dinghy' on us at the SBS. I hope you post some pics on the different ways you're gonna get those on the cabin tops.

John
 
C-dancer
After seeing your picture I may have to call and change my order, that looks good!
I may not be color blind but definitly color challenged.
 
I hope you post some pics on the different ways you're gonna get those on the cabin tops.
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This is the question that has vexed me as I considered inflatables. After carefully examining the photos here and visiting the boat shows I was still uncertain. I decided that the only way to know was to throw some onto the roof and see how they fit. So I dragged Adeline over to "Northwest Inflatable Boats" in Portland. My goal was the biggest Hypalon raft that I could single-handedly muscle from the water. The first boat I mounted was an Achilles LEX 88 (8'8"). Hypalon with 3-piece wood floor and 66#. I got it up there w/o much trouble but immediately saw a problem. The C-Dory roof is curved and the wood floor is flat. So it rocked side-to-side. The next was the LSI 88 (8'8"). Hypalon with an air floor, inflatable keel, and 63#. After I deflated the keel it settled onto the roof nicely. The air-floor had enough "give" in it to follow the curvature. No rocking. Sitting bow forward the sponsons protruded about 18" over the cockpit. At 6'0 they just barely brushed the top of my head. By reversing it the sponsons straddled the mast light and the bow barely extended over the cockpit, high up. No problems. The first four pictures show an 8'8" boat atop a 22' Cruiser sitting both ways. The fifth image has had 13" removed(photoshopped) out to show a 7'7" boat. I put a deposit on the 77 but I may yet settle on the 88. Still considering.
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LSI_88_Forward_10_o_clock_View.sized.jpg

LSI_88_Backward_Port_View.sized.jpg

LSI_88_Backwaed_10_o_clock_View.sized.jpg

LSI_88_shortened_13.sized.jpg
 
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