foldable or fold up dinghies

[Mike C]

looking for a very small dinghy to store in the car back sesat or trunk or in the the fore peak ot under bunks when not in use, any suggestions. No motor needed

[winthrop fisher]

Hi Mike, i saw west marine came out with a 6' by 3'6" inflatable, 2 man, cheap i was going to get one for the ty, it looks good....winthrop

looking for a very small dinghy to store in the car back sesat or trunk or in the the fore peak ot under bunks when not in use, any suggestions. No motor needed

[Mike C]

Withrop,
The best one I've seen looks like a small box with in a small box. You take the inside box and snap it to the outside of other box and put in the water, serves as a storage box with cover when not in use. So you end up with a 3 by 7 boat (approx) ready for oars. It looked factory made. But I did not get name or company before the owner hauled aboard and sailed away . No bigger than a old sportyak.

[rtbates]

We've been using an inflatable 2 person kayak that we got from WM. Paddles great even in a pretty good cross wind. Much much better in high winds than a traditional inflatable ever thought of being. Even when I'm solo, either in the front seat or the rear seat I can paddle it in a straight line and it's tendency to have the bow blow off is surprisingly nil.

[mike hunter]

I've got a tinker that folds up and I store aft of the mast under the boom tied down. I've had it there from San Diego to Australia so you can rest assured it'll stay there fine. they're a bit of money but very tough. has a sailing set up and liferaft conversion as options.

[Pete]

A friend of mine is looking at building a mini-paw (a Catspaw in two halfs). It is a small tender that comes apart in the middle and stores within itself. Takes up only a little space on the foredeck.

Their web site:

http://www.bandbyachtdesigns.com/cpaw.htm

The plans for a Mini-paw is really neat. I have seen a full sized Catspaw, it is sturdy, stable, and cute!

Pete

[Joe Myerson]

Hi Randy,

Could you be more specific about this inflatable kayak?

Like so many boaters here in New England, I keep Creme Brulee on a mooring, and I row a hard dinghy (an 8-foot Walker Bay from WM) to get from the local dock to the mooring.

Since I've got a 25D, I'd be hard-pressed to keep a dinghy onboard when cruising. I've been towing this little dink, but that can be a problem, especially in following seas.

I've been toying with the idea of using a relatively inexpensive tandem kayak for that purpose, as I hate trying to row an inflatable, and I don't see the need to buy an outboard motor. A colleague warned me that the inexpensive inflatable kayaks deteriorate quickly in the sun. But I'm not sure what "quickly" means, especially if you keep the thing deflated and under cover except when you're cruising.

Since you've got a lot more sun in Texas than we have in Massachusetts (especially now, but that's another subject), do you have anything to add to this caveat?

According to their web site, WM carries two types of inflatable kayaks. One has a metal frame. The other, significantly cheaper, doesn't. Which one did you buy?

Thanks,

--Joe Myerson

[Guest]

hey randy.. i'm curious too. i've been toying with the inflatable kayak idea also.. my biggest concern was the ease of which to board the kayak from the boat?.. i've gotten in some sea kayaks from docks and it wasn't easy.. too cold to go swiming right now.. if you could shed some light on this it would be great.. i've been looking at the Innova series of boats built in eastern europe.. quality boats but costly.. take care....volker