Advice on dinghy/tender

[FinallySailing]

So I am thinking about buying an inflatable dinghy as tender to accompany "Rockhopper" on our adventures. I have no experience with inflatables whatsoever. So where do I start ? Size, its four of us (2 adults, two kids 8+10) ? Used or new ? If used, what to look out for and which manufacturers should I avoid, if at all ? Are there any differences at all ? Small outboard or is getting max 25 meters from boat to pontoon ok to do with oars ? If you tow your dinghy, how long should the tether be ? Size/strength ?
Really value your thoughts on this.

[Catigale]

I like hard dinghys, they row better and don't get punctured ...

Buy used

If you can, find a sailing dinghy so you have another thing for the kids to do

Tow with dock line....not a lot of load

For a 25 meter mooring, oars are far superior than motor....

[Mac26Mpaul]

I dont do inflatables after a dangerous situation involving a seam popping and my young family onboard. After that I asked around and heard stories of similar from guys with cheap Chinese jobs right through to Zodiacs that were not very old. They seem to pop regularly in the Whitsundays, so I guess its the heat that the glues cant handle. Perhaps that means they are perfectly fine in the UK?

Although you say you only want to go a short distance to the wharf, there will be times when you see a nice creek you want to explore, or perhaps you will need to get to a chip shop thats half a mile from, where you are anchored ( I had to do just that yesterday in my tender!)

We sometimes just take the oars, but also often take my old (about 1985) 2hp suzuki. They only weigh 10kgs, have plenty of power for the job, go forever, and can be picked up on Fleabay for a song.

A nice shapely fibreglass tender is a joy to row and you can comfortably row a surpising distance where as an inflatable is more a chore to row any distance...

I'd go for at least 2.6mtr (bigger if you want to keep the family happy) , cant help you on brand, just dont get the silver marine made one I had!

Get one that has an inflatable V keel section as they tow and row better.

Get one of the boardless inflatable floor models which will allow you to deflate it and pull it aboard to roll it up in an emergency.

Length of tow line will depend on conditions, your speed etc. You will work it out. I use one of the cheap polypropelene ski tow ropes to tow with.

[Nautek]

I agree with both previous comments hovever
If you go a hard dinghy you will need around a 9 to 10 foot minimum and hard dinghies are usually very unstable at a small size especially with kids
Although inflatables have problems if you get a named brand then you should be ok
I suggest a 2.7 meter air deck would be ideal although you could get away with a 2.4 meter at a pinch
I tow mine close with the motor on usually using two lines of 8 mm each
I tow from 3 points on the bow to spread the load with the middle point as a moveable hitch to spread the load
If you don't leave it in the weather when you are not using it, it will last a lot longer and the biggest problem is people overinflate these dinghies and that causes seam problems
I am very happy with mine although not a great fan of inflatables they have their place and they don't damage the topsides like a rigid dinghy
The other option is a rigid inflatable

Allan

[Catigale]

Watertender 9.4 is our weapon of choice on Cape..very beamy and very stable...I have grossly overloaded it on occasion without I'll effects. Indestructible polyethylene flotation hull

We use Optimist sailing prams For tender if there are two of us...if there is any wind we use sails, otherwise rows nicely

Both boats under 100 pounds so can be car topped or deck topped easily (lift with vang for force)

Dilemma with inflatables...hard inflation needed for rowing, but this needs to be adjusted for the temperature changes

Your usage may very, but I think a lot people buy the inflatable dinghy on the advice of armchair blue water wannabes, where our boats frankly never go. If I ever got into seas so rough that I worry about towing the hard dinghy, I cut it off and call the insurance company when I get home....

[Sumner]

The only experience with hard side dinghys was....



...rescuing the couple above when their battery went dead half way across the sound at Key Largo.

If something happened to our Zodiac we would buy another in a heart beat. With the large 16 inch tubes I have yet to be in a situation where I felt endangered and that includes being in it in 40+ mph winds. Now saying that I would go no distance with the oars. The inflatable is very hard to row in any kind of wind and in some wind you just aren't going to row it. In high winds if I've gone ashore to adjust lines with out the outboard I keep a line back to the Mac for safety just in case I got swept by the wind down-lake away from it.

If we were say crossing Florida Bay or someplace else out of sight of land and for some reason the Mac headed to the bottom the inflatable would become our life raft.

Ours does have the inflatable "V" bottom and it has a hard floor. I would not want to try and break it down or set it up on the boat. We had thought about and air floor for the next one, but I do like the hard floor when we go for supplies and are carrying water containers and other large objects. If you don't plan on towing it get an air floor and the V bottom.

We looked at some of the less expensive inflatables and I just don't think they are made as strong. We bought the Zodiac used for about what one of the cheap ones would of cost and feel we got a safer boat. Twice we have trapped the Zodiac between the boat and an immovable object and I was sure it was going to explode, but it didn't. They are very strong and seem to be the choice of most cruisers we see.

On the Endeavour we have it up on...



...davits. With the Mac we tow it everywhere with a towbar...



http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... de-17.html

..which is the ladder and we now pull it from the transom, but not backwards. More on it a ways down this index...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... index.html

We've towed it over 600 miles with no problems and if something major happened it would be cut loose,

Sum

===================================
Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[Catigale]

Rockhopper....remember your tender doesn't have to be sized for all of you for short tending duties...the kids are perfect age to tend crew in 2-3 shifts of 25 metres!

I tow the skiff using my boarding ladder as a solid tow bar..thus giving it the required three functions....(swim ladder, land boarding ladder, and tow bar) to be installed on my boat.

Full disclosure...8 years of Cape cruising ( not full time) have turned me off inflatables...my observation in that venue is that no one deflates them, so you don't get the advantage of space storage due to inconvenience. No rowing and have to have a hard floor to move stuff (like 7 gallons fresh water in hard container!!)

Sum is one of the few non-armchair blue water sailors whose advice I heed. If I were going offshore I woud think about. Portland Pudgy...pricy but upgradable to a full offshore safety life raft, sailing kit, you name it. No that much more than a Zodiac actually

http://www.portlandpudgy.com/

[Sumner]

Florida where....



...inflatables rule . The picture above, not mine, is one of the two dinghy docks at Marathon in Florida.

But I cheated as they kind of segregate the hard side from the soft sided dinghy's. Here are the two sides...



...Still there are way more inflatables than hard sides there. There are a number of locals that live on their boats in Marathon (Boot Key Harbor) and work ashore. They tend to have the hard sided boats as they leave them in the water all of the time as is evidenced by the barnacles and other growth on them. The cruisers that are visiting almost all have inflatables and yes most don't inflate them as their boats have davits and of course aren't trailer sailors. Even with davits a lot of them will pull the dinghy up on the foredeck if making crossings but still not deflate them since they would be available quickly if needed. Also a lot of those are RIB's with inflatable side tubes and a hard bottom. If we were younger and going to have the Endeavour for some time we would buy a RIB and leave it in Florida with the boat. Since we aren't the Zodiac will be used with both boats.

Besides the dinghy docks above at Marathon the city has a second...



...set at the same facility (Boot Key Harbor). Still mostly inflatables.

Cat I don't think there would be a problem carrying a water container in a dinghy with the high pressure floor I personally just like the hard floor and Ruth wanted something that felt real 'solid'. We didn't get an inflatable to inflate and deflate on the trip, but got it after a friend suggested that it would be best for what we wanted to do. He had a lot of sailing experience (quite a bit far off shore on boat deliveries) and we had none.

I can see both fitting different needs. Someone has to weigh how they are going to use their boat and the dinghy and make a decision and you have what is best for you. How do you carry yours when towing? That is one time I'm glad that we can deflate ours and roll it up and put it in the back of the Suburban.

One last story. The first time we took the Zodiac out to the local lake to see how to set it up we had it almost all set up after a struggle not knowing how the floor went in only to find that we had trapped one of the valve caps under the floor. So we were in the process of deflating it enough to get it out when some local kids showed up with a mini-pickup and a beat-up jon boat on a little flatbed trailer. They backed down near the water. Picked the boat up and threw it into the water. Jumped in with their fishing gear and were off. Ruth turned to me and said "why don't we have a boat like that" . Luckily, for me, we can now set it up or take it down (on shore) in about 10 minutes,

Sum

===================================
Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[restless]

sailng round the uk we soon left the tender at home. So rare that we needed it, and for the odd time that something would come in handy we got a beach blowup with a 12v electric pump. It all stows to nothing, quick to inflate and does the job for short shore jobs on oars. Plus is cheap as chips. Well handy.

However, in greece we rely on our tender masively, use it every day, so it tows behind where ever we go. It is a 2.65 big fat tubed air vee deck job with an 8hp on the back. Been totally brilliant. It is a chunky beast! Still, we dive from it, it planes 2 up plus stuff (though not with 2x full scuba gear!). With the 4hp it planed 1 up.

our spare is an avon red crest floppy bottom. It wraps up very well, and it'll take a 2hp. But you always end up with a wet backside and it is impossible to tow.. it sucks into the water in a way no anchor can.

when we bring the boat back eventually, I think we'll go back to the beach blowup again, with some waders tucked away. Space is so paramount in these boats, and towing rigid tenders a royal pita when coming into a marina, let alone trying to squeeze onto the foredeck to add to the windage...

[NiceAft]

I was holding off on adding any comments until the real experts have had a say.

I have had an inflatable for eight seasons now. It is not towed anymore simply because I don't have the need under current use of my .

I purchased a 9' Achilles with a 6HP Mercury four stroke in 2005. It has an inflatable keel, and an inflatable floor. I aggressively researched, and then checked out in person the Zodiac and the Achilles. I was sold on the Achilles. I felt its construction was not inferior to Zodiac in any way, and I was not being charged more money because Jacques Cousteau used that brand. I must tell you that I can not say enough good things about that dinghy. I have towed it. I have used it for ten mile trips. I have used it for lake fishing, and I have used it to transport back and forth from Nice Aft while anchored. It inflates easily with the foot pump that came with it, and it deflates/folds away easily. I have had only one problem, and that was when I over inflated the keel tube once. It was too much pressure for it, and a leak ensued. My fault It was repaired, and I have not had the problem since.

My Achilles is rated for an 8hp motor, but the fellow who sold me the dinghy recommended a 6HP. He said that the 8 would be too heavy to load off and on. The six HP four stroke weighs about forty pounds. The six can get the dinghy up on plane with two adults on board. When up on plane that sucker moves I mean it really zips across the water . I have had four adults on board, and it handles it well. It has oars that work well, but I only use them for short distances, i.e. boat to shore and back, but I would not want to row for a long distance.

I have no financial stake in Achilles, nor do I have any interest in posting this other than to inform that there is a very good inflatable manufacture out there which is not as pricey as Zodiac. That being said, I have not priced or checked into quality of the Achilles in many years. Today, maybe they are as costly as Zodiac I don't know. Do your own due diligence. This site was a good start.

Ray

P.S. The 6HP Mercury four stroke is also holding up like a champ.

[Sumner]

.... I aggressively researched, and then checked out in person the Zodiac and the Achilles. I was sold on the Achilles. I felt its construction was not inferior to Zodiac in any way, and I was not being charged more money because Jacques Cousteau used that brand. ..........
I have no financial stake in Achilles, nor do I have any interest in posting this other than to inform that there is a very good inflatable manufacture out there which is not as pricey as Zodiac. That being said, I have not priced or checked into quality of the Achilles in many years. Today, maybe they are as costly as Zodiac I don't know. ....

I hope that I didn't give the impression that a Zodiac was the only way to go if you were looking for an inflatable. There are a lot of good ones out there and Achilles is just one. We got what we did as it was recognized as being a good brand and were able to get it for $600 used, but in very good condition just a couple years old. If we wouldn't of found it we might of ended up with an Achilles or another well made inflatable.

If you are going to use an inflatable for more than just a short distance to and from the boat in good sea conditions then I would not recommend one of the under $500 (new price) inflatables you see, which at the time we seriously considered. They don't seem to be made of better/thicker material and their tube diameters are often not very large. The larger tube diameters really pay off in choppy water. They also usually don't have a 'true' wood transom that you can mount a 4 hp or up outboard on.

Ours is PVC and they won't last as long as Hypalon if left in direct sun. There again if we were looking a younger we would probably look for a hypalon inflatable. I'm hoping that the dinghy chaps we made extend our inflatable life's to the point where we might not need a new one. Also the PVC isn't a big deal for most trailer sailors as it isn't going to be used all year like one on the back of a full time cruiser's boats.

There is no best or worst dinghy just ones that might or not be best for you,

Sum

===================================
Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[Catigale]

See Sums post above...two observations which will make you think he is my straight man..

THe second picture (hard dinghy dock) has my three favourites on the left corner...Walker Bay, Portland Pudgy, and Watertender 9.4 !!

The first picture I found really interesting - every single of the inflatables has left her/his engine down - against mfg recommendations, but correct seasmanship at a tender dock....leaving your prop in the water protects your neighbors tender from getting punctured of course...

[NiceAft]

Sumner wrote:

I hope that I didn't give the impression that a Zodiac was the only way to go if you were looking for an inflatable.

Sum, not at all. In fact I am sorry if you, or anyone thought that my post was targeting anyone. I just felt that as a long time owner of an inflatable, my experiences on this subject might be as useful as yours, which are always good. As stated in my finish, everyone should do their due diligence. These are not small investments. I hope my insights are helpful.

Ray

[Mac26Mpaul]

Must admit, the main reason I wanted an inflatable over a nicely shaped and good rowing hard tender was the ability to deflate and bring it aboard easily. Can now say that the only time I took it aboard was when it popped and we only just made it back to the boat. The transom collapsed just as I pulled the 4hp from it, and I jumped aboard the Mac. I then pulled the deflated mess aboard with a boat hook. For half of that 800 mtr or so trip to the boat, my wife was holding the seam closed on a half deflated boat with her hands while I was driving, My two very young children were quite scared... ( put it on Fleabay not long after ).

My inflatable was inflated as per the manufacturers recommendations on pressure..

As to brands, I know of 2 people with Zodiacs that have done the same, one being my next door neigbour.

Not intending to get in any arguments over which is better, as plain and simple, there are pros and cons on each type and which is superior could only probably be worked out based on how you are intending to use it.

If you only ever really forsee yourself doing that 25 mtres to the wharf, then, I'd probably say the inflatable is best, but exploring further afield, I hear your water is pretty cold over there so I'd take a nice hard tender any day, especially if rowing! Just my subjective views based on my own experiences of course As pointed out, theres more sausage boats about now so they must be best, and certainly what the "real experts" would use

If you were going a hard dinghy, dont go the tiny 1 metre beam ones, they are just too unstable,, Get at least 1.4mtr beam. Our current dinghy is about 2.7mtr, 1.4 beam, rows beautifully and of course, looks a whole lot better than any sausage boat. It cost about 150 pounds in your boat money, and that included the old 2hp Suzuki motor that doesnt miss a beat

I enjoy rowing a decent row boat about around the anchorage and I like exploring creeks or whatever away from the boat, if I were only going to do 25 mtrs or so to a jetty, I'd just get a cheapo blow up boat as mentioned, just make sure to get one that will allow you to keep a dry ass..

[Catigale]

Portabote is another option....a foldable dinghy.....check web