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

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