Inflatables may offer a solution to the dinghy stowage problem but the
require a motor that requires gas and mounting th emotor on the dinghy
when you set it up, etc. Many of us like rowable dinghys because we
think we need the excercise but existing inflatable simply cannot be
rowed. Why cant an inflatable be made with an inflatable skeg so it
can be rowed. Why cant it be made with a better shape for better
rowing?

wrote in message
oups.com...
Inflatables may offer a solution to the dinghy stowage problem but the
require a motor that requires gas and mounting th emotor on the dinghy
when you set it up, etc. Many of us like rowable dinghys because we
think we need the excercise but existing inflatable simply cannot be
rowed. Why cant an inflatable be made with an inflatable skeg so it
can be rowed. Why cant it be made with a better shape for better
rowing?


They could be. But my guess is the market may be to small to make it worth
while. Why don't you build some and see. :-)

Capt. Bill

In article .com,
wrote:

Inflatables may offer a solution to the dinghy stowage problem but the
require a motor that requires gas and mounting th emotor on the dinghy
when you set it up, etc. Many of us like rowable dinghys because we
think we need the excercise but existing inflatable simply cannot be
rowed. Why cant an inflatable be made with an inflatable skeg so it
can be rowed. Why cant it be made with a better shape for better
rowing?

I must be missing something. I have found inflatables great for rowing.
They are so light and the better ones (Achilles, Avon) have such decent
oarlocks so that I have found rowing to be easier on my inflatable than
with many solid dinghies I owned. I use rowing to get around on ours.

Most folks use engines because in harbors, moorings are often a country
mile from the dock and if the purpose is to get ashore...

h

--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?

wrote:
Inflatables may offer a solution to the dinghy stowage problem but the
require a motor that requires gas and mounting th emotor on the dinghy
when you set it up, etc. Many of us like rowable dinghys because we
think we need the excercise but existing inflatable simply cannot be
rowed. Why cant an inflatable be made with an inflatable skeg so it
can be rowed. Why cant it be made with a better shape for better
rowing?

Most modern inflatables have microcellular inflatable floors and are
excellent for rowing. You must be talking about the sixties or earlier.


Dennis.

On 20 Jan 2006 06:15:14 -0800, wrote:
Inflatables may offer a solution to the dinghy stowage problem but the
require a motor that requires gas and mounting th emotor on the dinghy
when you set it up, etc. Many of us like rowable dinghys because we
think we need the excercise but existing inflatable simply cannot be
rowed. Why cant an inflatable be made with an inflatable skeg so it
can be rowed. Why cant it be made with a better shape for better
rowing?

I have a ten year old Avon roll up with aluminum floorboards and an
inflatable keel which locks the whole thing together into a rigid
assembly.

It rows fairly decently but it's a lot more fun with a 15 hp Merc on
it.

wrote:
Inflatables may offer a solution to the dinghy stowage problem but the
require a motor that requires gas and mounting th emotor on the dinghy
when you set it up, etc. Many of us like rowable dinghys because we
think we need the excercise but existing inflatable simply cannot be
rowed. Why cant an inflatable be made with an inflatable skeg so it
can be rowed. Why cant it be made with a better shape for better
rowing?

O Hara, why does it _always_ seem (to me, at least) that you entered the
world 2 days late and about $350 short?

Just about all of your inquiries elicit responses that you could easily have
uncovered with even the slightest effort. This is not to mention the fact
that the subjects you discover (!?#) were beaten to death here when the Dead
Sea was still sick.

Is this an Irish thing?

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.comcast.net

dbohara wrote:
Inflatables may offer a solution to the dinghy stowage problem but the
require a motor that requires gas and mounting th emotor on the dinghy
when you set it up, etc. Many of us like rowable dinghys because we
think we need the excercise

And because oars are reliable, quiet, inexpensive, not as
tempting to thieves, and much quicker & easier to put into
operation from stowed.

... but existing inflatable simply cannot be
rowed. Why cant an inflatable be made with an inflatable skeg so it
can be rowed. Why cant it be made with a better shape for better
rowing?


Because "shape" is not the only issue, and putting a skeg on
an inflatable would only add drag.

Dennis Pogson wrote:
Most modern inflatables have microcellular inflatable floors and are
excellent for rowing.

Really? They may be "excellent for rowing" but they're very
poor for actually getting anywhere under oar power.

Given decent oars (which very few have) and half-decent
oarlocks (ditto) the power of the stroke is still lost in
collapsing the air chamber. Then there's the drag of the
hull, which is very considerable compared to a good rowing
boat. But inflatables are very much more stable, which is
nice, and those crappy plastic oarlocks don't gouge up your
topsides the way real rowing dinks tend to. Everything's a
trade-off.

Fresh Breezes- Doug king

On Fri, 20 Jan 2006 06:15:14 -0800, dbohara wrote:

Inflatables may offer a solution to the dinghy stowage problem but the
require a motor that requires gas and mounting th emotor on the dinghy
when you set it up, etc. Many of us like rowable dinghys because we
think we need the excercise but existing inflatable simply cannot be
rowed. Why cant an inflatable be made with an inflatable skeg so it can
be rowed. Why cant it be made with a better shape for better rowing?

Relatively few people deflate their dinghies often to stow them. Most buy
inflatables for stability. The width that provides this stability is what
makes them lousy rowboats. A more rowable inflatable would have to be
narrower and therefore less stable, eliminating most of the market.

I use a 10' inflatable with an aluminum bottom, and it rows pretty well,
especially compared to the roll-up inflatables I used before (which were
practically un-rowable). But it's nothing like a dedicated rowboat.

Matt O.