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Harvey Porter
 
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Default What's the best dinghy for cruising and why?

Have a look at these dinghies =
http://www.activewatersports.com.au/...cts/boats.html
"DS King" wrote in message
...
Bob wrote:

Have a Westsail 32 and need good recommendations about which is the
best dinghy to use on a cruise starting out in the Caribbean and maybe
beyond. Past experience with other boats always was with a hard dink
but for snorkeling its too hard to get back in to without swamping.
If you have cruised on a small boat and have a strong recommendation I
want to hear from you. Tired of reading all the ads in catalogs.
Also mention the size and make of engine you found successful.


IMHO "best dinghy" and "outboard" are mutually exclusive.


"J. Amgine Neilson" wrote:


I've cruised on small and very small boats. For the dinghy I generally
prefer a hard one, but you're right about them being less than ideal for
snorkeling. We swim from our sailboat, but there's no skindiving in our
current waters.


Right. Another thought along those lines, if it's too difficult to get

into
the water / back aboard the main cruising boat for swimming/snorkeling,

how
in the world are you ever going to cope with a crew overboard? How do you
get in and out of the dinghy from the deck?

From what I've observed, most people would rather have clumsy unworkable
arrangements, waste lots of time & effort fiddling with cantankerous
outboards, and have the hazard & smell & mess ofoutboard mix, so that they
can buzz around the harbor in a thief-bait inflatable. But then, if common
sense were really common, the world would be a different place.




The most innovative design I've seen for snorkeling was a boat in the
PNW. They had a teak cockpit grate which they would throw overboard with
fenders under it, making their own floating dock. The dinghy was always
tied to this, rather than trailing behind. And, of course, it made a
great swim raft, floating only a couple inches out of the water. On the
other hand, I don't think too many people could be on it before it
started swamping.


That's a great idea, thanks Amgine!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King




  #2   Report Post  
Over40pirate
 
Posts: n/a
Default What's the best dinghy for cruising and why?

If we had enough room on the fore deck for a 9' Boston Whaler, that would be my
choice, with a 15 hp motor. I was in a friends, and he and I (est. 475# total)
got up on a plane easily, and it was a dry ride!
Our Avon 10'er is nice but wet in anything but calm conditions.
My .02
  #3   Report Post  
Louis s/v Synergy
 
Posts: n/a
Default What's the best dinghy for cruising and why?

As a sympathetic owner of a Westsail 32, myself, I would discourage
you from even considering any of the Walker Bay products that were
previously recommended. Although their boats are very affordable,
they will only provide you with years of frustration. After owning a
new 8' WB, we sold it for pennies on the dollar just one month after
we bought it. It was more unstable than the proverbial pschyzophrenic
and totally useless in anything above a very light chop. Besides, any
WB of adequate size will occupy a lot of real estate on your deck and
is cumbersome to deploy and recover from the Westsail's deck.

My wife and I are back to using our Avon inflatable. It stores easily
enough in the fo'c'sle and provides a wonderfully stable platform for
snorkeling and diving. The only disadvantage, of course, is with
rowing, which is why we tried the WB. If you still consider it, be
sure to try the one with the inflatable collar. I hear that it
resolves some of the problems I mentioned and still provides good
performance while rowingl; always a plus when cruising.

Good luck on your search!

Louis
s/v Synergy
Westsail 32 #679

"just me" wrote in message news:TEgYa.83823$YN5.60652@sccrnsc01...
I my opinion it simply depends on space and weight.
I personally use an 10' air floor Zodiac. It weighs 65#.
I use a 10hp 2 stroke merc. It weighs 75#.
I can pretty easily lift, move, stow it by myself without much trouble.
Rigged a 4 point lift and use a halyard if I want ot put it on deck.
It ain't perfect, but what is!

"Over40pirate" wrote in message
...
If we had enough room on the fore deck for a 9' Boston Whaler, that would

be my
choice, with a 15 hp motor. I was in a friends, and he and I (est. 475#

total)
got up on a plane easily, and it was a dry ride!
Our Avon 10'er is nice but wet in anything but calm conditions.
My .02

  #4   Report Post  
Parallax
 
Posts: n/a
Default What's the best dinghy for cruising and why?

"just me" wrote in message news:TEgYa.83823$YN5.60652@sccrnsc01...
I my opinion it simply depends on space and weight.
I personally use an 10' air floor Zodiac. It weighs 65#.
I use a 10hp 2 stroke merc. It weighs 75#.
I can pretty easily lift, move, stow it by myself without much trouble.
Rigged a 4 point lift and use a halyard if I want ot put it on deck.
It ain't perfect, but what is!

"Over40pirate" wrote in message
...
If we had enough room on the fore deck for a 9' Boston Whaler, that would

be my
choice, with a 15 hp motor. I was in a friends, and he and I (est. 475#

total)
got up on a plane easily, and it was a dry ride!
Our Avon 10'er is nice but wet in anything but calm conditions.
My .02



With our 28' S2, we use a 8' Nautilus hard dinghy with oars. It can
only handle two adults when being rowed or two adults and a kid but it
really rows well. It is dificult to get back aboard but I use the jib
halyard and have gotten s sort of system to do this. It stows on the
fordeck over hte hatch and in the summer causes some sort of draft
where the V berth is considerably cooler than the rest of the boat.
Now that we have another child, and bigger kids, we have tried using
an inflatable kayak along with the Nautilus with limited success. The
Nautilus tows very poorly so we dont do that. The Nautilus can be
rigged for sailing but we have never done that while cruising as its
sailing performance is poor at best.
I suspect I will eventually go with an inflatable with lower hp
engine. How long does it take to onflate one of these?

DBO
"Ragtime"
  #5   Report Post  
Keith
 
Posts: n/a
Default What's the best dinghy for cruising and why?

This is what I have, with a 25HP Yamaha.
http://www.bossboats.com/default.asp?Page=Yachtsman_10
It's a RBB, rigid buoyancy boat. Built like an inflatable, except the tubes
are fiberglass. Stowage in the tubes, no worrying about air pressure, works
well for me.

--


Keith
__
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt
so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a
hunter came along and shot him... The moral: When
you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut." - Will Rogers
"Parallax" wrote in message
om...
"just me" wrote in message

news:TEgYa.83823$YN5.60652@sccrnsc01...
I my opinion it simply depends on space and weight.
I personally use an 10' air floor Zodiac. It weighs 65#.
I use a 10hp 2 stroke merc. It weighs 75#.
I can pretty easily lift, move, stow it by myself without much trouble.
Rigged a 4 point lift and use a halyard if I want ot put it on deck.
It ain't perfect, but what is!

"Over40pirate" wrote in message
...
If we had enough room on the fore deck for a 9' Boston Whaler, that

would
be my
choice, with a 15 hp motor. I was in a friends, and he and I (est.

475#
total)
got up on a plane easily, and it was a dry ride!
Our Avon 10'er is nice but wet in anything but calm conditions.
My .02



With our 28' S2, we use a 8' Nautilus hard dinghy with oars. It can
only handle two adults when being rowed or two adults and a kid but it
really rows well. It is dificult to get back aboard but I use the jib
halyard and have gotten s sort of system to do this. It stows on the
fordeck over hte hatch and in the summer causes some sort of draft
where the V berth is considerably cooler than the rest of the boat.
Now that we have another child, and bigger kids, we have tried using
an inflatable kayak along with the Nautilus with limited success. The
Nautilus tows very poorly so we dont do that. The Nautilus can be
rigged for sailing but we have never done that while cruising as its
sailing performance is poor at best.
I suspect I will eventually go with an inflatable with lower hp
engine. How long does it take to onflate one of these?

DBO
"Ragtime"





  #6   Report Post  
Andre Venter
 
Posts: n/a
Default What's the best dinghy for cruising and why?

I don't think that there is a "best dinghy" for the simple reason that we
all have different ideas about cruising. I like small and spartan, you might
like big & fancy. My perfect dinghy is a simple 9 ft pram with a 3hp motor
small, easy to row and ugly enough not to be a thiefs first choice.
"Keith" wrote in message
...
This is what I have, with a 25HP Yamaha.
http://www.bossboats.com/default.asp?Page=Yachtsman_10
It's a RBB, rigid buoyancy boat. Built like an inflatable, except the

tubes
are fiberglass. Stowage in the tubes, no worrying about air pressure,

works
well for me.

--


Keith
__
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt
so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a
hunter came along and shot him... The moral: When
you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut." - Will Rogers
"Parallax" wrote in message
om...
"just me" wrote in message

news:TEgYa.83823$YN5.60652@sccrnsc01...
I my opinion it simply depends on space and weight.
I personally use an 10' air floor Zodiac. It weighs 65#.
I use a 10hp 2 stroke merc. It weighs 75#.
I can pretty easily lift, move, stow it by myself without much

trouble.
Rigged a 4 point lift and use a halyard if I want ot put it on deck.
It ain't perfect, but what is!

"Over40pirate" wrote in message
...
If we had enough room on the fore deck for a 9' Boston Whaler, that

would
be my
choice, with a 15 hp motor. I was in a friends, and he and I (est.

475#
total)
got up on a plane easily, and it was a dry ride!
Our Avon 10'er is nice but wet in anything but calm conditions.
My .02



With our 28' S2, we use a 8' Nautilus hard dinghy with oars. It can
only handle two adults when being rowed or two adults and a kid but it
really rows well. It is dificult to get back aboard but I use the jib
halyard and have gotten s sort of system to do this. It stows on the
fordeck over hte hatch and in the summer causes some sort of draft
where the V berth is considerably cooler than the rest of the boat.
Now that we have another child, and bigger kids, we have tried using
an inflatable kayak along with the Nautilus with limited success. The
Nautilus tows very poorly so we dont do that. The Nautilus can be
rigged for sailing but we have never done that while cruising as its
sailing performance is poor at best.
I suspect I will eventually go with an inflatable with lower hp
engine. How long does it take to onflate one of these?

DBO
"Ragtime"





  #7   Report Post  
djmarchand
 
Posts: n/a
Default What's the best dinghy for cruising and why?

As others have said, there is no best dinghy as it depends on your
circumstances. But here is what we use and why:

Caribe 9X with 9.8 hp Nissan with flat pitch prop and Doel-Fin

We cruised the east coast and Bahamas last year and needed a dinghy that
could go reasonable far and fast and carry two adults, a 40 lb dog and some
groceries/laundry/etc. The above rig will do that and plane with all of the
load. It wouldn't plane with all of this stuff without the flat pitch prop
and Doel-Fin.

We carry the dinghy on aft davits so the short length is a plus. If this is
not an issue I would go up to 10 feet- it will plane easier. The Caribe is a
bit heavier than some but it is built tough- look at the heavy molded rub
rail for example. And it is hypalon which is essential for long term storage
in the sun. The X version indicates a double layer floor. The lighter RIBs
have no floor but we used one like this for a while and found that walking
on the sloped floor was difficult and the double layer floor was well worth
it. If I had to manually haul it up regularly I might go with the lighter
models, but on davits an extra 20 lbs or so is tolerable.

The Nissan is one of the lightest 10 hp outboards and has a bullet proof
reputation. I have also used the Yamaha 10 hp. It is much heavier but I
think is better built. I particularly liked the front mounted shifter.

David


  #8   Report Post  
Florida Keyz
 
Posts: n/a
Default What's the best dinghy for cruising and why?

Just to show the other end of the spectrum, we use a 17 ft. Key West center
counsel with a 90 yammy. Best of Both worlds. Trawler and go fast.

Sterling
  #9   Report Post  
James Johnson
 
Posts: n/a
Default What's the best dinghy for cruising and why?

On 16 Aug 2003 17:20:35 -0700, (Parallax) wrote:

"just me" wrote in message news:TEgYa.83823$YN5.60652@sccrnsc01...
I my opinion it simply depends on space and weight.
I personally use an 10' air floor Zodiac. It weighs 65#.
I use a 10hp 2 stroke merc. It weighs 75#.
I can pretty easily lift, move, stow it by myself without much trouble.
Rigged a 4 point lift and use a halyard if I want ot put it on deck.
It ain't perfect, but what is!

"Over40pirate" wrote in message
...
If we had enough room on the fore deck for a 9' Boston Whaler, that would

be my
choice, with a 15 hp motor. I was in a friends, and he and I (est. 475#

total)
got up on a plane easily, and it was a dry ride!
Our Avon 10'er is nice but wet in anything but calm conditions.
My .02



With our 28' S2, we use a 8' Nautilus hard dinghy with oars. It can
only handle two adults when being rowed or two adults and a kid but it
really rows well. It is dificult to get back aboard but I use the jib
halyard and have gotten s sort of system to do this. It stows on the
fordeck over hte hatch and in the summer causes some sort of draft
where the V berth is considerably cooler than the rest of the boat.
Now that we have another child, and bigger kids, we have tried using
an inflatable kayak along with the Nautilus with limited success. The
Nautilus tows very poorly so we dont do that. The Nautilus can be
rigged for sailing but we have never done that while cruising as its
sailing performance is poor at best.
I suspect I will eventually go with an inflatable with lower hp
engine. How long does it take to onflate one of these?

I have and Avon Redcrest inflatable. About 5 minutes to pump it up. About the
same to deflate using the pump in reverse at the end to get the last of the air
out.

JJ



DBO
"Ragtime"


James Johnson
remove the "dot" from after sail in email address to reply
  #10   Report Post  
Jere Lull
 
Posts: n/a
Default What's the best dinghy for cruising and why?

Andre Venter wrote:

I don't think that there is a "best dinghy" for the simple reason that we
all have different ideas about cruising. I like small and spartan, you might
like big & fancy. My perfect dinghy is a simple 9 ft pram with a 3hp motor
small, easy to row and ugly enough not to be a thiefs first choice.

I forget whether I got "in" on this conversation, so apologize if I'm
repeating, but I'm a real fan of the PortaBote. Folds up to the size of
a 8, 10 or 12' surf board, folds out to 5' wide and rows and powers
almost as well as a proper hard dink. A 4 HP engine drives it at 12-15
knots with 200 or so pounds onboard, an indication of how easily it's
driven. Handles 5 full sized adults in comfort and they don't get wet at
speed, so it's usually the raftup's taxi of choice. Our 12.5 patiently
sits on the side of the foredeck for whenever we need it, but
essentially takes no space (except the seats, which we can comfortably
stow well out of the way in the engine compartment).

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

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