We had a 9'+ Avon with HPI floor and a 4hp/4-stroke. The rig itself
was terrific although the hp was a tad low. Towing, seaworthiness,
ingress/egress, etc. was excellent. HOWEVER, I was constantly paranoid
about dropping the engine off the sailboat and through the HPI floor.
The instability of the floor didn't help either and I nearly went
overboard with the engine several times. Consequently, the heavy
engine tended to stay on the boat and the boat in the water, neither
of which gave me comfort.

So I sold the Avon dinghy/motor and bought a used Walker Bay 8'
plastic, disposable boat. It rowed well solo, towed poorly last year
but gave me peace of mind. The solution to it's ills this year is to
retrofit it with WB' PVC multi-chamber tubes, a self drain plug and
3.3 o/b. The combo is less expensive than a RIB, more durable and
better balanced than the HPI, provides 'get home' assurance and more
flotation.

I read somewhere recently (Sail Magazine I think) the retrofit tubes are
available in three sizes, thin (not much more than a fender strip), Medium &
Thick (making the Walker Bay look almost like an inflatable and able to
carry a bigger payload but making it harder to row??). So you've got lots
of choices for the retrofit.
--
Ken Heaton & Anne Tobin
Cape Breton Island, Canada
kenheaton AT ess wye dee DOT eastlink DOT ca

"Morris40" wrote in message
om...
We had a 9'+ Avon with HPI floor and a 4hp/4-stroke. The rig itself
was terrific although the hp was a tad low. Towing, seaworthiness,
ingress/egress, etc. was excellent. HOWEVER, I was constantly paranoid
about dropping the engine off the sailboat and through the HPI floor.
The instability of the floor didn't help either and I nearly went
overboard with the engine several times. Consequently, the heavy
engine tended to stay on the boat and the boat in the water, neither
of which gave me comfort.

So I sold the Avon dinghy/motor and bought a used Walker Bay 8'
plastic, disposable boat. It rowed well solo, towed poorly last year
but gave me peace of mind. The solution to it's ills this year is to
retrofit it with WB' PVC multi-chamber tubes, a self drain plug and
3.3 o/b. The combo is less expensive than a RIB, more durable and
better balanced than the HPI, provides 'get home' assurance and more
flotation.

I read somewhere recently (Sail Magazine I think) the retrofit tubes are
available in three sizes, thin (not much more than a fender strip), Medium &
Thick (making the Walker Bay look almost like an inflatable and able to
carry a bigger payload but making it harder to row??). So you've got lots
of choices for the retrofit.
--
Ken Heaton & Anne Tobin
Cape Breton Island, Canada
kenheaton AT ess wye dee DOT eastlink DOT ca

"Morris40" wrote in message
om...
We had a 9'+ Avon with HPI floor and a 4hp/4-stroke. The rig itself
was terrific although the hp was a tad low. Towing, seaworthiness,
ingress/egress, etc. was excellent. HOWEVER, I was constantly paranoid
about dropping the engine off the sailboat and through the HPI floor.
The instability of the floor didn't help either and I nearly went
overboard with the engine several times. Consequently, the heavy
engine tended to stay on the boat and the boat in the water, neither
of which gave me comfort.

So I sold the Avon dinghy/motor and bought a used Walker Bay 8'
plastic, disposable boat. It rowed well solo, towed poorly last year
but gave me peace of mind. The solution to it's ills this year is to
retrofit it with WB' PVC multi-chamber tubes, a self drain plug and
3.3 o/b. The combo is less expensive than a RIB, more durable and
better balanced than the HPI, provides 'get home' assurance and more
flotation.