Inflatable Dinghy Floor

[hoaglandr]

Anyone replace the Baltik 8.5 wooden floor with an air floor? I'm tired of fighting with the wooden one and it appears that the replacement air floor will also work with the wood floor model. Are they interchangable?

Russell

[Crikey]

I didn't know you could retro-fit an inflateable floor? Could you post a picture?

Ross

[hoaglandr]

Haven't done it yet, just thinking about it!

Found replacement floor at http://www.affordableinflatable.com/est ... ucts_id=66 and asked them if it could be done.

Just wondered if anyone here had tried it.

Russell

[hoaglandr]

Heard back from affordableinflatable.com. They say you can change out the floors, you just need to order the air floor ($160) and the support board ($30) that goes with it (free shipping). Now I just have to decide if I want to spend the money. Dang. Wish I had ordered the air floor to start with.

Anyone had experience with both? Is it worth the convenience?

Russell

[aya16]

yes, best thing I did to my 8.5 wood floor baltic. found a baltic inflatable floor on ebay 100 bucks new a couple years ago.
The only thing is you would need a pump capable of 11psi for the floor, that hand pump that came with the boat wont do the job.

I bought a two stage pump, again on ebay to handle the extra press.
Mike

[hoaglandr]

Thanks for the info Mike!

Russell

[Sea Wind]

Could you guys please elaborate on the need for replacing the wood floor?
I am considering the wood floor model mainly for the use/abuse that it will be exposed to from kids and gear plus durability. Besides the extra 27 pounds or so, is it really that difficult to deal with the floor? Is it particular to Baltik dinghies or all wood floors are a PITA?

Also, for those of you that replaced the floors, did you see any performance difference?

Thanks a lot,

Sea Wind

[Sumner]

Could you guys please elaborate on the need for replacing the wood floor?
I am considering the wood floor model mainly for the use/abuse that it will be exposed to from kids and gear plus durability. Besides the extra 27 pounds or so, is it really that difficult to deal with the floor? Is it particular to Baltik dinghies or all wood floors are a PITA? Sea Wind

I believe that our next dinghy will have an air floor. The present....



....Zodiac has one and we don't like putting it in. Every time I think I have the procedure figured out then we struggle with it. Some of the problem is we only put it in at the start of the trip and take it out at the end and since there are only a couple trips a year we don't get much practice. Now saying that we fight it for a couple minutes and it is in, so really not that big of a deal I guess and I'm making more out of it than what it is. We wanted davits on a larger boat and the Endeavour has them, one reason we bought it. So most of the time with that boat the dinghy will be hanging off of the stern.

With the Mac we tow the dinghy everywhere which makes a difference. If we stowed her then for sure we would want the air floor. Also if we day sailed or weekend sailed a number of times a year and the dinghy was being inflated and deflated all of the time I'd for sure want the air floor.

There also might be differences in the air floors between manufactures and models. We have the dinghy with us as much as for safety as convenience getting ashore and if that is the case get a good one. I don't think you will regret it.

The guys in this picture...



...were crossing the bay at Key Largo in there dinghy and the battery went dead. I went over....



...and towed them into shore. The water was a little rough, but not that bad, but still I felt much safer in the inflatable than I would of in their dinghy. I was riding a lot higher out of the water.

Overall I'd recommend a 'high pressure' floor, but if you are having lots of equipment and kids and other things in the dinghy then maybe the hard floor would be a better choice,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

[Terry]

I am not entirely sure an airfloor by itself is the answer. I have a 9'9" Maxxon/Titan with airfloor and inflatable keel. It is the inflatable keel that helps the dinghy track better under power or tow. The air floor merely pushes the keel down further so that it works more efficiently. My air floor has always had a micro air leak that is almost impossible to find, it showed up when I painted the floor and tubes with inflatable boat paint and a tiny bubble started to form, actually 3 of them showed. So I tried to smother them with paint & glue for the temporary solution but will have to patch later. The floor is a bit of a pain that way and it is anoying to have to re-inflate every few days. Since I always tow the dinghy with a 5hp engine on the transom I think that the next dinghy will be a rib, hard floor with inflatable topside. The soft floor is just too fragile and vulnerable to damage. It is also a real chore to inflate the big dinghy on the 26M deck then lower it to the water and mount a 5hp engine and gas tank. Towing it is the only way to go.

[hoaglandr]

I have not yet pulled the trigger on replacing the wood floor with an air floor.

The reason I was contemplating it was that in my limited experience assembling it it has always been a struggle. At this point I haven't really needed to use it yet so I have decided to wait and see if it gets easier with practice.

Russell

[Sumner]

...t is the inflatable keel that helps the dinghy track better under power or tow. The air floor merely pushes the keel down further so that it works more efficiently. ..

We also have the inflatable keel and that would also be a must-have item. Other than the setup I like the hard floor and on further thought considering how we use the dingy it is probably the best deal....for us. It is handy hauling water, fuel and groceries and such. Thanks for making me think about it more ,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

[Catigale]

The boat in your pix looks like my Watertender 10 footer..it is a great cheap hard shell dink but the freeboard is low. I would love to "Ruth up" a small sunbrella bow shield to keep us dry in choppy water....maybe someday that Sailrite machine will land in my Xmas stocking

[Sea Wind]

Thanks guys.

Part of my rationale is that every single air mattress that I have owned, either for camping or guests in the house eventually develops air leaks, regardless of how careful I am. An air floor makes the set up easier, but if I am constantly going to be worried about it, then wrestling with the wood floor and then getting “some” piece of mind does not sound like a bad deal for me; unless there is something else that I am missing...

Sea Wind

[Divecoz]

I have the US Boat 9.9 with the wooden floor..( so its not the manufacturer, as it appears we ALL have the same issues with the 3 pc. wooden flrs. ) Mine too is a PITA to install.. However.. Its only done on occasion.. In The slip? Once a year .. otherwise, it needs to be inflated and deflated for travel concerns and, it is a pain..( I look like a Monkey with a football ) As has been said ... There just seems to be No (IMHO) good alternative for having a dink on board a Mac.. Yes , it takes up a lottttttt of room on the fore deck..and its in the way, for everything.. It seems really heavy and awkward to pull aboard....BTDT.. Ive not seen a set of davits I liked the looks of, for carrying it off the transom. I cannot even imagine trying to install the 3 boards while being on the boat..
Could the answer be? Run the 3 sections of floor through a table saw and add three splines ? ( Can Splines be bought) Would adding those splines allow for too much flexing side to side and front to back?
Most , if not all the sailboats I see that haul dinks off the transom? Don't haul them as high in the air as we need to because of our large outboards.. or they have swim platforms and haul them there.. There is also concern for where and how to transport a motor for your dink. If Your Not Dragging it ..
Yes, you can row an inflatable.. If ....There Is No WIND...No Tide... No Current ... to contend with BTDT Too. Towing / dragging it under sail, slows your boat boat down and under power, at more than a few miles an hour has proven for me? To be another potential PITA! I also had issues with following seas and my dink.. There can be as well Issues.. when docking with a trailing dink.. In Spite of all the Issues /Concerns.I did manage to tow my dink for 5 + weeks.. I was most often glad I had it along..I was only.... Unhappy with it ? When it was causing me issues or problems.. It must have been worth all its issues because? I would do it all again.. I would still Drag Her Along.. We use ours, on Multi-day trips living on the hook.. a LOT! It would have cost me a lot of money Not To Have her along and I would have missed out on a lot I did and saw if I didn't have her along..
In Conclusion. We Tow them.. An Air Floor allows it to be stored on deck or Maybe.. down below.. But there are issues with The Motor.. and IMHO a 2 or 3 HP is just too small to push a dink with two aboard if there are any issues..

[mastreb]

Been extremely satisfied with the RU-260 and it's rollup plastic slat floor. Inflates in a minute with the foot pump and stores rolled up in the port side v-berth after drying out on the focsle. We have to be able to trailer it so it must store inside the boat and must be reasonably easy to inflate and takedown as primary criteria--comfort and speed are secondary concerns. We aren't trying to plane it--we get as close as possible with the Mac and use the dinghy for the last few hundred yards.