The perfect dingy?

[Frank]

There are few items as important as your dingy while cruising. They are your 'car'. You visit with it, fish, dive, get supplies and darn near everything else in one.

Hard bottoms are easier to row, don't deflate, but are less stable on the in-outs.

Inflatables are extremely stable, easy in-out, don't row well and are prone to leaks over time.

My current dingy was a Zodiak zoom. Great design, big tubes, nice solid floor and very easy in-out. DO NOT buy one.....junk!! They live up to the 'deflatable' Nick name.the seam welds are awful!!

I've owned a few different inflatables and inevitably they all cause grief

In search of a trouble free dingy I came across these..

All the stability of an inflatable but wider floor, lower seats, built in storage and heavily roto molded. You'd have to really do a no no to puncture the hull.
They are heavier at about 130lbs but I don't lift mine on deck.
Tired of the dingy dance....I have one on order. With luck.....it will last a long time and have the benefits of a hard dingy with the stability of an inflatable.
A sailing club in the Toronto area use them and find them extremely rugged and stable. Only issue was poor rowing....typical of an inflatable shaped hull

[SailorTom]

" Only issue was poor rowing.."
In my book this is THE issue. After having the outboard die and trying to row against a mild 6kts or so of breezes in an inflatable all I could think of was what if the breeze was offshore. Then reading the story of the fellow who was blown out of the anchorage to then drift at sea for days...... Well, I'll NEVER own a poor rowing dink again.
My last dink was a CLC Passagemaker 12ft. It rowed great but even that needed to be rowed from the front station with about 40lbs in the stern to get the bow transom low enough not to get horribly blow off course in any head wind and the skeg giving some grip.

[Frank]

Yep...dingy's, like all boats are compromises ...

I remember being anchored near Peanut island close to the Lakeworth inlet last year. Just had a shower and rowed into a closeby bar/restaurant about a quarter mile away for dinner and to check weather on their internet for the crossing. Well....the tide was going out and the bar was 'up stream'. By the time I got there I was a sweat ball.... So much for the shower beforehand.
Great exercise tho  :o

[CapnK]

Having a good anchor system is as important to a dinghy as it is to a larger vessel, if not in some cases more? :) If being blown out to sea, fer instance... get a hook in before you leave the harbor, and wait 'er out - or yell for help. :D

I have always wanted to give a shot at building a foam-hulled/cored catamaran, say 10' LOA, one whose hulls would break down into 4 pieces, two pieces making one hull, bridged with aluminum tubing or maybe PVC, fabric or mesh 'tramp', small o/b mountable...

[CharlieJ]

ALWAYS have an anchor in the dink. One of those "don't leave home without" things

[Captain Smollett]

The perfect dinghy is the one you have.






...................................................{ducks}

[sharkbait]

One thing that I noticed on both coasts, is that singlehanders have kayaks. Draw  your own conclusions.

[Frank]

Shark bait.....have used an inflatable kayak with trailer sailors for about 10yrs now. They paddle far better than expected. Not good down here for bigger loads and supplies tho.

Capt S......

This is my current "loaner". A 6fter....I look like a Shriner in a parade in it. Never had my picture taken in a dingy before....or as often. Sure makes people smile seeing me pass by. Glad to have loan of it! Kinda makes the lil 2 hp look like a 20  ;D  its a wet ass dingy in anything more than a very light chop.

[SeaHusky]

One thing that I noticed on both coasts, is that singlehanders have kayaks. Draw  your own conclusions.

My experiment on the subject.

[sharkbait]

I did Cali and Mexico with a 12' Cobra fish n dive. Here on the East coast Ive got a Pelican Strike 120.
Couples almost always have inflatables and singlehanders are about 75% Kayaks.
To be honest I would love for someone to donate a Zodiac with a 15hp motor to me but until that happens I'll muddle along in my kayak

[Seadogdave]

I'm pretty happy with my Sea Eagle inflatable kayak I bought several years ago when I cruised the Chesapeake Bay with my son.  We towed it behind the whole trip (a month), and it towed well overall even in choppy conditions.  I have one that fits 2 people and our dog.  It inflates with their foot pump in about 12 minutes.  It's great to paddle, very stable (not like a hard kayak), can stand up in it,  and supposedly is good in big rapids.  The wife even likes it!  I've taken several river trips with it also.  I was pissed off when a mouse ate a nice hole in it a couple of winters ago, but was able to patch it up as good as new.  I can also stow it on deck deflated in front of my mast (Catalina 27).  It's still a little bit heavy but manageable, and I can throw it in the back of the car.  I know everything is a compromise, but I think this has worked well.  I doubt I'll ever get stuck not being able to paddle back to the boat, as it's easily paddled, especially with a little rudder, providing directional stability.

[lastgreatgeneration]

I'm thinking about getting one of those fiberglass puffin finches made in Maine. They row really well and I suspect more durable. I currently have a 8'7" inflatable and it's a dog to row. Sometimes I power it with a 3hp 2 stroke, most of the time it's easier to row than to bother starting the engine.

[Owly055]

     To my eye, the inflatable kayak has the best of it, though I've never been in an inflatable kayak.   I've owned several conventional kayaks, and with the long double paddle, they go better and faster than any other man powered boat except a rowing shell.   I don't personally consider any open boat a kayak....  They really are a canoe in my book.  A kayak should be completely enclosed with a spray skirt to keep the water out.

     One thing to consider about an inflatable is that they can be lashed down on the cabin top in that sudden violent storm providing additional positive stability in a knock down, something a plastic dink doesn't do at all.   

     On long passages, a person doesn't get enough exercise... paddling or rowing is a good way to help get back in shape.   I always wanted some kind of row boat with a sliding seat so you could use all your muscles effectively. 
                                                                                                      H.W.

[ralay]

I've met at least one cruisier who said having 2 inflatable kayaks had saved his marriage.  I can believe it. 

I need to find a second dinghy for the summer.  We're going to be on a island about 1nm from shore and 3nm from the free dinghy dock in the inner Harbor.  I need something that'll plane and our Portland Pudgy ain't it.

[Captain Smollett]

   
I don't personally consider any open boat a kayak....  They really are a canoe in my book.  A kayak should be completely enclosed with a spray skirt to keep the water out.

For the record: There are closed deck canoes.  They are less common but popular with white water canoeists.  Canoe vs Kayak has to do with some details in hull shape and how it's sat in (kayak being sat in on one's bottom with feet out front and canoe is say in on knees...generally at least).  Also, canoes usually use single blade paddles.

While inflatable kayaks have become quite popular in general (not just as dinghies), I can't say I've ever seen what I'd call an inflatable canoe.

Our canoe is 17'4" LOA, a mere 5" shorter than our trailer boat!  It's bear to handle in wind when alone, but can safely carry a whopping 1500 lb of personnel+cargo.  On that basis, it would make an "okay" dinghy ... on flat water at least.  Stowage of the boat on board would be ... problematic.   ;D

[Owly055]

   
I don't personally consider any open boat a kayak....  They really are a canoe in my book.  A kayak should be completely enclosed with a spray skirt to keep the water out.

For the record: There are closed deck canoes.  They are less common but popular with white water canoeists.  Canoe vs Kayak has to do with some details in hull shape and how it's sat in (kayak being sat in on one's bottom with feet out front and canoe is say in on knees...generally at least).  Also, canoes usually use single blade paddles.

While inflatable kayaks have become quite popular in general (not just as dinghies), I can't say I've ever seen what I'd call an inflatable canoe.

Our canoe is 17'4" LOA, a mere 5" shorter than our trailer boat!  It's bear to handle in wind when alone, but can safely carry a whopping 1500 lb of personnel+cargo.  On that basis, it would make an "okay" dinghy ... on flat water at least.  Stowage of the boat on board would be ... problematic.   ;D

    A rigid canoe would be pretty impractical on a sailboat.   I've owned quite a few canoes over the last 45 years or so...... currently a 17' fiberglass one.   My first was a wood and canvas one I built in 6th grade in school shop from plans and parts kit I purchased.   I've built two cedar strip canoes, and owned a number of aluminum ones.  They just seem to progress from my hands into someone else's.   My preferred craft is a kayak as they are extremely fast and maneuverable, at least the small displacement ones I've owned.  You can't really go upstream on a river in a canoe, but you can in a kayak.   
     I learned the J stroke the first day I ever paddled a canoe..... a stroke that allows you to paddle on one side and go straight for those who don't know....    But I never take a canoe out without a kayak paddle anymore, and haven't for many years.  It's far more efficient and much faster.

                                                 H.W.

[CharlieJ]

Decked, or English canoes- my two-

Not really suitable as dinghies-m hard to get in and out of

B and B Yacht Design Birders- 12 feet, 32 pounds

[CharlieJ]

My current dinghy. A B andB Yacht Design MiniPaw. 6'6", and 60 pounds. No sail facility

Here with several hundred pounds of load- 275 pounds and 165 pounds)

[Captain Smollett]

You can't really go upstream on a river in a canoe, but you can in a kayak.   
   

Sure you can.  Not sure why you'd say such a thing as a general statement.  Depends on the river, of course.  There are rivers you can't paddle upstream in a kayak, either.

There is nothing inherent in the design, hull shape or paddling techniques of canoes that precludes going upstream.  If you can paddle x knots through the water (we have hit 4 knots as measured by GPS), it does not matter if the water is moving or not.  If it's moving downstream less than x knots, you can sure paddle upstream.

If you can paddle x and the stream is moving y<x, you can make x-y knots upstream.

Now, back to dinghies.  My comment about using a canoe as a dinghy was tongue-in-cheek.

[ralay]

For the folks using inflatable kayaks:  what do you do to haul stuff besides yourselves? We usually roll into town needing at least groceries, laundry, and water.  If those things are more than 2 miles away, I usually take my folding bike.  Can you carry that sort of stuff in an inflatable kayak?  If not, how do you take care of those needs?