Dinghy

[nosara]

We are trying to decide on a Dinghy. It needs to fit on our boat (CD30) and tow well. We cant decide on Inflatable or rigid. Any thoughts on the issue are appreciated.

[Steve Laume]

Have you kept your boat as a cutter rig?

If so, and you want to haul the thing aboard the choices are limited. Maybe a nesting dinghy and other than that an inflatable. I would love to hear about a better solution.

Raven has a CD-10 for trips where towing is advisable and an air floored inflatable for offshore trips.

The inflatable sleeps in the bunk next to me, Steve.

[John Martin]

According to WM, there are 3 things to consider for any dinghy: portability, durability, and performance. Some examples, RU (roll-up) inflatable dinghies are very portable. Vinyl is usually portable, but not as durable as some other materials. Wooden, plastic, RIB's have good performance, but usually not very portable. Towing a dinghy will usually reduce your boat speed by about 20%. Also consider, propullsion (motor, oars, paddle, sail). What is the sea state where you are boating? Are you sailing off-shore, or are you on very protected and calm waters? Do you have to contend with rocks, coral, sand, mud, or tree branches sticking up just below the surface of the water? How many people do you need to move from boat to shore?

The question you have to ask is, which of the 3 is the most important, what is second? You usually cannot find a dinghy that meets all three requirements. On CARINA, we use the self-tacking boom and stay-sail, so, we do not have a fore-deck for dinghy storage. We use two single-person-kayaks that we stow on the side decks when sailing, and they tow very nicely while motoring in calm water. Also on Carina, we have used a Fold-a-boat and stowed it on the side deck. The fold-a-boat has a big, flat, wide bottom and is a 'drag' to tow (pun intended).

Sailing with Leo (on a CD30K) to Block Island one year, we found the Walker Bay 8 just fit on the fore-deck, and covered the fore-hatch from spray and rain. It did not carry 3 people very well. So, to get to shore, it was always the three-person-shuffle.

This is a tough question to answer for each and every boat/boater. There is no one right answer.

John,

[Ken Cave]

With our CD 28, we have towed a 6 ft. Quicksilver dinghy with much success. As I have limited capacity in
getting in and out of a dinghy at anchor, I just step on one of the sides, and slide in. No problem with tipping
over. It holds two easily, although we have had four in a pinch (not recommended) and I carry a 3.5 HP two
cycle Mercury outboard that does a great job in getting around with two adults. The engine weighs approximately
26 pounds, and the only thing I have had to do to is is rebuild the carb about every other year-about a 20 minute job.

The only drawback is that the bottom is not a hard bottom, so one must be careful in running one up on a beach.
We usually wear boots and step off before landing, protecting the engine as well as the boat. As the deck is
made out of plywood, I have a "V" bottom which is actually one of the tubes that you blow up.

We two it approximately three feet in back of our CD and have been in seas that have broken into the cockpit
and over the dodger. Not fun, but we survived as well as the dinghy.

Hope this helps

Ken Cave
CD 28 Dragon Tale
LaConner, WA

[Klem]

We have a 30k which has its mast about 1' further forward but we find that a dinghy fits nicely between the mainsheet traveler and the mast on the cabintop. We used to have an inflatable up there but I don't like how they row and I didn't like carrying an engine. We now have a cheepo Walker Bay 8 on the cabin top. I put the bow just to starboard of the mast. It would probably fit with a cutter but you would really have to have the bow off to one side. I was originally looking for an 8' Puffin dinghy but couldn't find one used at a good price. With the inflatable, we put it stern first so that the ends of the tubes actually straddle the mast allowing you to get a much bigger boat up there. If you do keep a boat on the cabintop, beware that you have a height restriction from the boom.

Personally, I don't like having anything on the foredeck on such a small boat as it makes things like picking up a mooring really difficult and sometimes dangerous.

[nosara]

Great answers all. Our boat is still a cutter. No changes. We like the small roll ups. Has anyone used any KL boats, I think they make the rigid from west marine. I think around seven feet would do us well. Ors first but plan to add a 2.5 hp. I'm interested in the new Lehr propane , no carbs.

[Sea Hunt Video]

I believe the subject of dinghies was discussed at length on this board a few months ago with a lot of interesting and helpful suggestions. I tried doing a search for the thread but as most folks know I am "computer challenged". Sorry. If you do a search I am pretty sure it exists.

I am old, fat and out of shape. A soft sided dinghy with a hard bottom are my no. 1 and no. 2 requirements. All else is negotiable.

[Joe CD MS 300]

Where will you be using the dinghy that will make it necessary to keep on deck? In many many years sailing both on the Chesapeke and Maine I have always towed the dinghy. Most of that was with Rib's with the outboard on. Never had the slightest concern about it flipping. This was all coastal crusing never long passages. The one season with a soft bottom inflatable was a different story. Usually kept the outboard off but I could see one of those flipping easily. Had a Dyer Dhow for a while but never used it on any long trips like the way it rowed and looked but it was pretty tippy after being use to a Rib.

[Dick Barthel]

We now have a cheepo Walker Bay 8 on the cabin top...Personally, I don't like having anything on the foredeck on such a small boat as it makes things like picking up a mooring really difficult and sometimes dangerous.

I've always used the larger Walker Bay with the inflatable kit for getting to my mooring and a roll up for cruising. It is very stable. The WB 10 is great for rowing which I like to do but it's to big to tow any distance behind a 25D (it's also ugly!). If you keep it at the dingy dock, you can't get bottom paint to stick on the plastic so you need to scrap it once a month. Good news is the the mess comes right off.

The roll up I either tie bow tight up to the upper stern rail so only the tips are touching the water or deflate it and keep in on deck for longer runs. Bad thing about a roll up is they aren't good for rowing. Several times this year while cruising we decided to stay on DW because the dock was to far or the wind was blowing a little to much.

Some one gave me an old Walker Bay 8 so I'm going to try that for everything this year. It's going to be tippy but as Steve pointed out you just have to be careful getting in and out. Years ago I was in Leo's WB 8 with Leo, Clay & a motor. We made it where we were going although I did feel like we were in a floating seashell. But rowing with two passengers I suspect should be ideal. Another nice thing is that the WB oars are two-part for easy storage. I keep them in my trunk so I can never forget them.

As always with a dingy thread we discover the options are many.

Dick

[Joe Myerson]

Dick et al:

I've had a Walker Bay 8 for many years now. I use it to get to and from the mooring, and I've towed it on long trips, including last week's solo harbor-hop to Block Island. The boat does slow my 25D down and, when rushing downwind in a heavy sea, it has slammed against the stern rail, which is not fun at all.

But this is the second year in a row that I've applied bottom paint to it. It does flake off a bit, but the paint does prevent the build-up of gook and barnacles that I used to experience every season. I just use some of whatever I have left over from painting the boat, which has been Pettit for the past few years.

--Joe

[Kevin Kaldenbach]

I tow a Portland Pudgy behind my CD31

[karonoko]

I did this same research last year and settled on Puffin. It is handsome, well built, not tippy, holds a lot of cargo, tows like a champ and fits on my foredeck overturned on my CD27. It rows very well and tracks well behind. I have had her behind Scotia in 4-6 footers on Lake Superior with no issues. Best of all, it is made in Maine, my. Home state and where I fell in love (wife and Cape Dory...not in that order). I bought mine from Hamilton.

[tjr818]

I did this same research last year and settled on Puffin. It is handsome, well built, not tippy, holds a lot of cargo, tows like a champ and fits on my foredeck overturned on my CD27. It rows very well and tracks well behind. I have had her behind Scotia in 4-6 footers on Lake Superior with no issues. Best of all, it is made in Maine, my. Home state and where I fell in love (wife and Cape Dory...not in that order). I bought mine from Hamilton.

What length Puffin do you have? I too have a CD27, Sláinte and I am looking for a dinghy. Can you give me any more information on the Puffin?

[pete faga]

Tim. I second the puffin. Had one for about 15 years that towed nicely. I believe they are still made in Maine around the Belfast area.The 8 footer is a looker.

[barfwinkle]

Info on the 7' 6" Puffin

Fair winds

http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse. ... ,9203.html