Show me your little Dinghy / Tender / what have you....

[s/v Faith]

sometimes it is a tender path we tread...

I should not have thought that a thread on tenders would turn political... ::)

  Anchoring maybe, but not tenders.  ;D

  My vote is that each be allowed to choose their own.  I guess I am more of a libertarian wTR the prickly tender issue.

  Unlike life and death matters (like one's choice of sealant) there is a tender out there for everyone, and I think they should find their own way.

  Well put Zen, is this your tender side? ;D ;D ;D

[Frank]

On the lighter side.....did Alberg ever design a tender??  on the political side all I have to add is  " I like eggs"

[s/v Faith]

 ;D

  Grog for Frank.

[Fortis]

And briefly jumping back to politics on a more global level...the European Union does indeed take a severe interest in private boat building. You are not banned fomr doing it...but the government will come along and rate and assess your boat whether you like it or not (well, kind of, an unrated boat will be considered a rowing dinghy even if it is 75 feet long and designed for the southern ocean.)

Those ratings will henceforth effect everything form the kind of insurance you can reasonably get to visas issued and resale advertising.

They did it with "mostly" good intentions, but the result is kind of the standard protectionist and biased hodge-podge of over-regulation that has lost sight of the initial safety goals.


And that is what happens when you decide to throw your safety and personal responsibility onto ANY government's errr... tender [/i] mercies.


Alex.

[CapnK]

The Flapdoodle - I like it! Really interesting design, it bears more investigation...

--------------------------------

The other "flapdoodle" (the political flapdoodle, particularly as it relates to the dominant parties here in the US, which our international friends could probably care less about...) well, there's plenty of other, more appropriate places to discuss it elsewhere on the interweb, that's my thinking.

We're sailors here, *not* politicians (yuk), so let's discuss sailing stuff, OK? :)

In other words: Don't make me start breaking legs, either left or right ones, capice? ;D

--------------------------------

Grog for Frank, too, even tho' I'm not a huge 'eggs fan'. :P

And with my twisted sense of humor, I had a great laugh at godot's post. Thanks! :D

Last, there is lots of dignity here at sailFar. I just saw some, over there somewhere. Hold on a sec, I'll get it...

Ah! Here it is! Oh, wait, that's an old sandwich... Hmm...

;)

[cal]

howdy!!  i bought a used, very, very old inflateable.  i live aboard for 3 months in florida every year.  that means a long hot off season for my boat.  i am scared that if i deflate my dingy and leave it in the hot cabin of my boat it will be ruined due to the heat and of course it will deflate in 9 months.  this year i hauled the thing home and kept it softly inflated all year. F_ _ _ that!  i won't do that again! anyone with any tips or experience with this???  thanks in advance.  Peace.

[s/v Faith]

Cal,

Welcome aboard!

I have owned a few inflateables, but can not say I have ever seen definitive storage advice other then keeping them out of the sun. 

  FWIW, both of the Avon's I had came with stowage bags, where they could be rolled up and stowed.  So at least Avon did not discourage doing this.  :-\

I have seen inflateables in racks that seemed to suffer from failures at the seams from being allowed to slowly deflate an transfer stresses where they did not belong.

  Anyway, mainly just wanted to say welcome aboard.  Feel free to post an introduction on the thread in the discussion forum.

Link ==> Introductions / How did you find sailFar.net?

[CharlieJ]

I have a 12 foot Achilles Sport boat I bought in 1981. Used it several years cruising and since about 84 or so it's mostly been stored rolled in it's bags. Seems none the worse for long packing to me. I think the secret is to prep the surface with something. When mine was new, the official recs were for Armor All. That has sorta fallen into disfavor lately but there are other brands of "stuff" you can use.

[Ol' Coot]

I'm considering an inflatable dinghy, due in most part to the great sale prices that are being pushed the last couple of weeks.

Mercurys seem to be the least expensive, followed by Walker Bays.  Have heard some disturbing reports on the Mercs, good things in general about the Walkers (roto-molded and blow-ups.)  Anybody have actual experiences that they can share?

Thanks,
Kevin

[Fortis]

If you buy either one, Buy or have made STRAIGHT AWAY a UV proof boat-bra cover type thing. Keeping off the UV and preventing the micro abrasions of sand and shell will dramatically extend the life of the materials these dinghies are made from. It is worth the extra money.


Alex.

P.S You can get nifty pockets and things sewn into the cover that allow good storage of various stuff in zippered and secured locations...better then having them flapping about.

[AdriftAtSea]

Kevin-

Also, make sure you get one made of Hypalon, as opposed to PVC.  Much more durable material than the PVC.

[Captain Smollett]

Also, make sure you get one made of Hypalon, as opposed to PVC.  Much more durable material than the PVC.

So, even with a 5-year warranty, you wouldn't consider this one by Aquastar; it would live most of it's life when not in actual use rolled in a locker (out of the sun).

I was just excited to see a 10 ft, 4 person for under $1000. (Haven't shopped around, yet, but this thread got me curious to do a quick check on some prices).

[s/v Faith]

Lot's of info on dingys, inflateable and otherwise in this thread;
Tenders/Lifeboat/dinghy and such

  I have owned 3 inflateables (4 if you count my mini).  I don't care much for them.



_{Edit to repair link.}

[Captain Smollett]

Lot's of info on dingys, inflateable and otherwise in this thread;
Tenders/Lifeboat/dinghy and such

  I have owned 3 inflateables (4 if you count my mini).  I don't care much for them.

Craig,

That link seems to be broken.  I looked around for the thread, but could not find it.

[s/v Faith]

Lot's of info on dingys, inflateable and otherwise in this thread;
Tenders/Lifeboat/dinghy and such

  I have owned 3 inflateables (4 if you count my mini).  I don't care much for them.

  Thanks John, it's fixed now.

Craig,

That link seems to be broken.  I looked around for the thread, but could not find it.

[Norm]

Dinghies!  Gotta have one.

A pal has a hard dinghy which he named "Paint Assasin."  In the areas I have cruised inflatables rule.  Possible exception is Maine where the classic yachts almost all tow a classic wood dinghy.  Maine is nice because that's how it is.

In the Caribbean, Hypalon is the required material and Yamaha is the preferred motor.  During my J28 time, I had a 2hp/4 stroke Honda on a little Avon softbottom.  Two people were just fine.  later, I skippered bigger yachts with bigger dinghies. The bigger dinghies had bigger engines, 15 hp Yamahas.  Heavy.

My requirement after two years of experience is that the motor must be easy to lift off the dinghy and onto the cruising boat on a choppy day.  I put up with the soft bottom/air deck inflatables because they are light, easy to bring aboard and stow, maintain, protect from theft.

The Sunbrella Bra for the dink is a SUPER thing.  Worth the money several times over.

Tips:  Make a bridle for the dinghy that allows it to be hoisted free of the water at night.  Usually we bring the dink up to the level of the toerail.  It doesn't get run over by some drunk, stolen, keeps the bottom clean, and has style points.  Pull the drain plug/install the drain plug.  Paint the name of your boat in large letters on the dinghy.  Reduces the "theft incentive."  Lock outboard to transom.  In the Caribbean, we have to chain+lock dinghies at public docks.  Probably a good idea in some high transient cruising areas stateside.  Sad but true.

Best, norman

[Frank]

A hard bottom is probably OK ..IF you can deck store it. I've never had a deck big enough. I replaced my VERY faithful (still)2hp ,23yr old yamaha with an end of run/on sale tomatsu (spelling?) 3.5hp....SAME wieght..29lbs!! Cruises at way less throttle and enough power to get out of its own way too if windy.Easy to put up on stern rail bracket I made. I use a rollup dingy..stores small for xings and fairly stable. It rows like I sing...NOT WELL! You simple can not tow a dingy offshore...OK ya can , but sooner or later ( I had 2 later experiences) it WILL bite ya.

[Norm]

Agree...
Hard bottom inflatables are for yachts with BIG foredecks.  We stowed a 10 footer on the deck of the Bendytoy 445.  Thank goodness for electric winches.  Otherwise electric winches are pretty much a pain in the ...

In Antigua, the hard bottom was stolen (later recovered and a story for a bar-meet).  A great guy loaned me a rollup Avon.  I bought a replacement Tohatsu 3 which Elizabeth/cubemonkey and I used on the rollup without complaint or incident.

Towing offshore.  Ha!  tried it.  Nothing lost because I quickly learned not to tow offshore.  My eye-opening experience was crossing the Anegada Passage, to windward in 20+ kts making 7 through the water.  (I had my 45 foot race-boat then.)  The Avon held up fine but I was a nervous wreck.  Afterwards, we stowed it on the foredeck or deflated and put it below.  Below is best.

A pal found a little 6 foot inflatable in Brazil which he uses on his MiniTransat 6.5 (21 ft) sloop.  Same motor for the boat and dinghy.  Cool.  He and his GF get around fine in it.

Best, Norm

[David_Old_Jersey]

When it comes to Dinghy stowage I would love to have room for a dinghy to be stored on deck. But apart from that I don't want a bigger boat.

My boating in Jersey has always involved boats kept on drying moorings, so a dinghy has always been required. Usually for trips of no more than 200 yards. But used to be for 1/4 mile or so. And when visiting places can be a lot further.

My "answer" is a 9 foot Avon Dinghy (Hypalon). The one I have was bought s/h (it came with a long since sold boat) about 10 years ago. and was probably about 10 years old. My father has two Avons. One he bought new in 1977. and another of around the same vintage he also acquired as second hand with a boat......he keeps the second one as a spare. Just in case  ;D

I appreciate that these are expensive to buy new, and they do need some care (a wash down with a hosepipe every now and then and by not leaving them semi inflated / submerged chained to a pontoon for several years..........but from my own experiance they do pretty much last a lifetime..........and no need to sell them when you dispose of the mother ship. Of course I do not know how they last in the Tropics!

[Frank]

When you're out cruising..it seems everyone wants more electronics?? Your boat becomes 'home'..your dingy is your car. Simply put....less electonics,biggest anchor you can carry(secure your home) and best dingy you can carry(safer car).On windy days, you will appreciate both much more than more electronics!!