cavalamb himself wrote:


What qualities make for a good crusing dink?



I'm a bit surprised about the RIBs as I didn't suspect they would
be that popular. Something to think about.

And the porta boats too.

Thanks all.

Richard

On Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:09:16 -0600, cavalamb himself
wrote:

I'm a bit surprised about the RIBs as I didn't suspect they would
be that popular. Something to think about.

One of the nice things about RIBs is the ability to beach them without
tearing up the bottom. That's important when you are cruising in the
boondocks and want to go ashore.

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:27:27 GMT, Jere Lull wrote:

On 2008-02-21 21:34:10 -0500, said:

When you look at what a lot of cruisers are using, RIB's are very
popular. We chose not to go that route and went with a porta-bote
instead. It rows decent, it has positive floatation, it's lighter than
RIB's, it doesn't require a dinghy davit, it's more tolerant to abuse
and it's cheaper. The last quality is that it's so ugly no one will
want to steal it. It meets most of Wilbur's criterial, although it's
not GRP and it stows even better than a hard dinghy.

I second this viewpoint, particularly the "ugly" safeguard. It looks
and "feels" too flimsy to last, but ours is probably a dozen seasons
old now, and still is the rendezvous "taxi" when people need to ferry
about. Only the 55-56 foot powerboats have dinks that can ferry 5
adults at once -- and keep them dry.

And as a backup to the "rows decently": In many anchorages, most
PortBote folks don't hassle with the outboard, but just row around.

I'd add my vote as a happy porta-bote owner. I was on the fence before
ordering
a Pota-bote rather than yet another RIB. I would not be on the fence if I
had to
make the choice agin. I doubt I'll ever need to make that choice has the
Port-Bote gives every indication that it will outlive me.




Not if you stay out of the mosh pit... LOL


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:09:16 -0600, cavalamb himself
wrote:

I'm a bit surprised about the RIBs as I didn't suspect they would
be that popular. Something to think about.

One of the nice things about RIBs is the ability to beach them without
tearing up the bottom. That's important when you are cruising in the
boondocks and want to go ashore.

I have a wooden dinghy and I am just about to order a RIB.
What is your take on a single hull vs. the double hulled RIB
Hypalon is a better material but this new German made PVC looks promising,
what do you think.

wrote in
:


"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:09:16 -0600, cavalamb himself
wrote:

I'm a bit surprised about the RIBs as I didn't suspect they would
be that popular. Something to think about.

One of the nice things about RIBs is the ability to beach them
without tearing up the bottom. That's important when you are
cruising in the boondocks and want to go ashore.

I have a wooden dinghy and I am just about to order a RIB.
What is your take on a single hull vs. the double hulled RIB
Hypalon is a better material but this new German made PVC looks
promising, what do you think.

I much prefer a double hulled RIB to a single hull. My first dinghy (which
was stolen in Honduras) was an Avon with a single hull and since then I've
had 2 double hulled ones. The weight of the double hull makes it ride
better and the double hull provides a bottom which is much more amenable to
humans.

All of the dinghies have been Hypalon and have held up very well in the
Caribbean sun. I've seen a lot of PVC ones that haven't held up as well.
My current dinghy is an AB and I like it a lot. It rides well and is much
drier than most.

-- Geoff
www.GeoffSchultz.org

Hypalon is a better material but this new German made PVC looks promising,
what do you think.

Where are you going to be using it? And how are you going to be storing it?
If you're not in the caribbean and are going to put a cover over it then
you're fine with PVC. If it's going to be sitting out in the blistering sun
365 days a year then you can't go wrong spending the extra money to get one
made of hypalon.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:09:16 -0600, cavalamb himself
wrote:

I'm a bit surprised about the RIBs as I didn't suspect they would
be that popular. Something to think about.

One of the nice things about RIBs is the ability to beach them without
tearing up the bottom. That's important when you are cruising in the
boondocks and want to go ashore.

Who wants a RIB as a tender? If you beach on a rocky shore you are forced
to drag it unless there are enough of you to lift its weight. And unless
you have a yacht big enough to have dinghy davits you will soon get fed up
with getting the thing aboard even if you have enough people to get it over
the guard rails, plus the deck space to stow it and still be able to set
your sails above it.
If you are big enough to have davits an ordinary rigid dinghy is a much
better solution and much cheaper with less depreciation..
If you get a hypalon inflatable such as an Avon you do not need to drag it
up the beach. You can turn it on its side, hook your shoulder under the tube
and just walk up the beach with it. Plus it can be partially deflated when
stowed on the deck to allow you to set sail above it yet it will still have
enough buoyancy to be useful in emergency But inflatables come with lousy
oars and you will not be able to set an anchor out to windward with one if
your rode is all chain unless you have an outboard.

On Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:31:54 -0400, wrote:


"Wayne.B" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:09:16 -0600, cavalamb himself
wrote:

I'm a bit surprised about the RIBs as I didn't suspect they would
be that popular. Something to think about.

One of the nice things about RIBs is the ability to beach them without
tearing up the bottom. That's important when you are cruising in the
boondocks and want to go ashore.

I have a wooden dinghy and I am just about to order a RIB.
What is your take on a single hull vs. the double hulled RIB
Hypalon is a better material but this new German made PVC looks promising,
what do you think.


Hypalon is the gold standard for durability, wouldn't have anything
else, and I agree with Geoff on the double hull.

To those who say don't get a RIB, be aware of what you are not
getting: Seaworthiness, load carrying ability, redundant flotation,
drier ride (by comparison) and speed - not necessarily in that order.

There is a reason why Navy SEALS use RIBs and not FoldBotes.

On Feb 22, 10:54 am, Geoff Schultz wrote:
... I much prefer a double hulled RIB to a single hull.
... The weight of the double hull makes it ride ...

Performance wise weight is a terrible thing in a planning boat.
Heaver boats need bigger engines and more fuel and that makes them
heavier still and you get a vicious cycle. I've got a very light
aluminum RIB with large diameter tubes. It is very much more seaworthy
than the my old Zodiac 285 air floor but not much heavier... It will
plane with two full sized adults or three small sized ones using an
8hp motor. As everyone keeps pointing out, though, best depends on
context. If you've got a mile to travel with your laundry upwind into
stiff trades you want a big powerful boat but if you are paddling ten
yards to the beach small and light is better... In the best of all
possible worlds the support team would arrive ahead of you with a huge
anchor, tons of chain and a powerful longboat...

better and the double hull provides a bottom which is much more amenable to
humans.

I put heavy duty dry deck style rubber tiles in the bottom of mine.
They keep the bags dry and you can sit on them in the rough stuff...

All of the dinghies have been Hypalon and have held up very well in the
Caribbean sun. ...

PVC is not nearly as good as Hypalon, but my 2000 Zodiac is still
functional and has spent virtually all of its life outside in the
tropics. After about 5 years in the sun it gets hard to get glue to
stick to PVC though.

-- Tom.

" wrote in
:

On Feb 22, 10:54 am, Geoff Schultz wrote:

better and the double hull provides a bottom which is much more
amenable to humans.

I put heavy duty dry deck style rubber tiles in the bottom of mine.
They keep the bags dry and you can sit on them in the rough stuff...

I was speaking of the shape of the hull. With a single hull you have to
deal with the floor being in the V shape of the hull. With a double hull
the flooring is flat, which is much nicer to get in and out of.

-- Geoff
www.GeoffSchultz.org