What qualities make for a good crusing dink?

"cavalamb himself" wrote in message
...

What qualities make for a good crusing dink?


1) it should be easy to row.
2) you should be able to row out the bower, kedge and a shot of chain even
in rough seas.
3) you should be able to get it aboard and stowed lashed amidships under the
boom.
4) it should be made out of GRP and have positive flotation.
5) inflatables are a joke if only because you can't row them and sooner or
later that reliable motor will die.
6) if you have to ask here then you aren't doing enough reading of good
cruising books.

Wilbur Hubbard

"cavalamb himself" wrote in message
...

What qualities make for a good crusing dink?


At first I wondered what a *crusing dink* was and a Dingy???? But then I
noticed you even failed to spell cavelamb right so I guess you're either
stupid or illiterate. But, I took pity on you and answered your lame query
anyway. I'll wager nobody will provide a better or more accurate response.
It's obvious the store of cruising knowledge around here is quite limited.

Wilbur Hubbard

On Feb 21, 5:41*pm, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:
"cavalamb himself" wrote in message

...



What qualities make for a good crusing dink?

1) it should be easy to row.
2) you should be able to row out the bower, kedge and a shot of chain even
in rough seas.
3) you should be able to get it aboard and stowed lashed amidships under the
boom.
4) it should be made out of GRP and have positive flotation.
5) inflatables are a joke if only because you can't row them and sooner or
later that reliable motor will die.
6) if you have to ask here then you aren't doing enough reading of good
cruising books.

Wilbur Hubbard

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.

On Feb 21, 1:19 pm, cavalamb himself wrote:
What qualities make for a good crusing dink?

Where and what and how many of you are cruising? I've got a 10'
aluminum RIB with an 8hp two stroke, dingy wheels and decent
oarlocks. It's a workable compromise for two folks who occasionally
need to transport laundry or groceries over a bit and makes an
adequate dive boat and holds its own in the rough and tumble of the
dingy dock... I've lived with an 8' high pressure floor dingy with a
2.5 hp engine, but was cold wet and slow in open water.

-- Tom.

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.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:13:36 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

Where and what and how many of you are cruising? I've got a 10'
aluminum RIB with an 8hp two stroke, dingy wheels and decent
oarlocks. It's a workable compromise for two folks who occasionally
need to transport laundry or groceries over a bit and makes an
adequate dive boat and holds its own in the rough and tumble of the
dingy dock... I've lived with an 8' high pressure floor dingy with a
2.5 hp engine, but was cold wet and slow in open water.

We've had good experiences with both a 12 ft Avon roll up with
aluminum floor and inflatable keel, and also an 11 ft Caribe RIB. We
have used a 15 hp Merc in the past but presently have a 20 hp Honda.
They will plane off at 15+ kts with 3 people on board but struggle
with 4. They both require a hoist and a fair amount of deck space for
storage.

On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:41:51 -0500, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:


"cavalamb himself" wrote in message
...

What qualities make for a good crusing dink?


1) it should be easy to row.

Why not use an engine? Even the lifeboats carried on ships no longer
have oars. A properly maintained engine fails about as frequently as
an oar breaks.

2) you should be able to row out the bower, kedge and a shot of chain even
in rough seas.

Anyone that has to set a second anchor in rough seas is not paying
attention. Given the availability of radio weather reports in this day
and age anyone who doesn't know what the weather is doing isn't
listening.
The time to set a second anchor is before the wind gets up.

3) you should be able to get it aboard and stowed lashed amidships under the
boom.

Bad! Behind the mast interferes with the vang and main sheet. Forward
of the mast!

4) it should be made out of GRP and have positive flotation.

Wooden boats are no longer usable I guess. Or perhaps Willie doesn't
know about wood boats.

5) inflatables are a joke if only because you can't row them and sooner or
later that reliable motor will die.

Just flat wrong! Perhaps you can't row a rubber duck into the wind but
I can. It is just a matter of technique. As for a motor "dying", just
maintain it and it won't.

6) if you have to ask here then you aren't doing enough reading of good
cruising books.

Right! Don't bother to go sailing; just read a book about it!

Wilbur Hubbard


Willie-boy, I really feel sorry for you - a guy that spends all his
time reading sailing magazines and books rather then going sailing -
and thinks it makes him a sailor. Pitiful!


Bruce-in-Bangkok
(Note:remove underscores
from address for reply)

On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:57:32 -0500, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:


"cavalamb himself" wrote in message
...

What qualities make for a good crusing dink?


At first I wondered what a *crusing dink* was and a Dingy???? But then I
noticed you even failed to spell cavelamb right so I guess you're either
stupid or illiterate. But, I took pity on you and answered your lame query
anyway. I'll wager nobody will provide a better or more accurate response.
It's obvious the store of cruising knowledge around here is quite limited.

Wilbur Hubbard

It certainly seems to be on your side of the fence. What makes you
think that you are a sailor?

Just what sailing have you actually done? You talk a lot but I think
that most of it comes out of YACHTING or The Wayward Sailor. Tell us
what sailing you have actually done Willie. Inquiring minds want to
know.

Bruce-in-Bangkok
(Note:remove underscores
from address for reply)

Bruce in Bangkok wrote:

Anyone that has to set a second anchor in rough seas is not paying
attention. Given the availability of radio weather reports in this day
and age anyone who doesn't know what the weather is doing isn't
listening. The time to set a second anchor is before the wind gets up.

I guess I am going to have to study up. I have had one or more (probably
more) instances of having to take out gear in the dink for security or
weather reasons. Maybe I have just been in places where the weather
reports, such as they were, weren't too reliable.

I have both hard and soft little boats, but in the cases I recall where
anchor and chain had to be set from the boat, the hard boat with oars was
the one actually used. I probably would have been a little intimidated
about having to toss a patent-style anchor into a rubber boat in the dark,
or with a sea making up. No such fears about the hard boat, and in fact the
rig performed quite well.

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