Dinghy - What type?

[Tony B]

For general cruising on the ICW, Tenn-Tom, etc. which is the best type dinghy?

I am selling my sailboat and the inflatable dink goes with it - whenever that happens.

I am currently in the process of buying a trawler and it don't come with a dink. I am tired of repairing inflatables but I really like them for the stability. I was thinking about RIB's but not sure how well they will hold up banging against a pier or piling. Solid dinks are kinga heavy and unstable when getting in and out.

What do you use and in what conditions such as river, lake, bay?

*

Thanks in advance.

*

 

[Moonstruck]

Oh, TonyB, you have opened a whole can of worms.* It seems there are many different opinions as there should be.* For our cruising, a RIB with large diameter tubes fits the style.* There is plenty of info already posted if you care to do a search.** My opinion is that your choice of dinghy is almost as important as your choice of boats.



-- Edited by Moonstruck on Monday 8th of August 2011 08:34:17 AM


-- Edited by Moonstruck on Monday 8th of August 2011 08:35:00 AM

 

[FF]

Aluminum . that rows well , an electric trolling motor for the bride .

 

[Tom.B]

http://www.livingstonboats.com/ (new window)

This is going to be our next one. Made in NC. ;-)

 

[DCBD]

GonzoF1 wrote:
http://www.livingstonboats.com/ (new window)

This is going to be our next one. Made in NC. ;-)

I agree, we've had several dinghys over the years, the Livingston was the best fit for us.

 

[jleonard]

Moonstruck wrote:
Oh, TonyB, you have opened a whole can of worms.* It seems there are many different opinions as there should be.* For our cruising, a RIB with large diameter tubes fits the style.* There is plenty of inro already posted if you care to do a search.** My opinion is that your choice of dinghy is almost as important as your choile of boats.

*Since the can is open, here's another who favors the RIB inflatable with an engine that will plane easily.

 

[dwhatty]

jleonard wrote:Moonstruck wrote:
Oh, TonyB, you have opened a whole can of worms.* It seems there are many different opinions as there should be.* For our cruising, a RIB with large diameter tubes fits the style.* There is plenty of inro already posted if you care to do a search.** My opinion is that your choice of dinghy is almost as important as your choile of boats.

*Since the can is open, here's another who favors the RIB inflatable with an engine that will plane easily.

*And here's another.

 

[Larry M]

*...an electric trolling motor for the bride ...

We have seen more and more electric trolling motors and I have yet to talk to some one who truly likes it.* Unless you live on the dock, charging is problematic, over 12 hours on the Torqeedo.* If you spend anytime at anchor you need two batteries.* I'd rather have a small outboard for the money.


-- Edited by Larry M on Monday 8th of August 2011 05:42:45 AM

 

[Tony B]

Electric is out of the question for me. I definitely want an outboard.
I never owned a RIB inflatible and was wondering if the inflatible portion was MUCH tougher than the average inflatible.
In the late 1960's, I owned a 10' inflatible with a 25HP motor. That boat was indestructible. It was a neoprene rubber. They just don't make them that tough anymore. If they do, I'm unaware of them.

My last option is to build a 12' flat bottom dory from hardwood and plywood and glass it.

 

[Steve]

I have a Livingston and like it well I had some complaints about the hull drains but I understand the factory has improved it that.
It performs well with my 2 stroke 6 HP Merc.
Steve W.

 

[sunchaser]

It depends on how you intend to carry,*use and care for your dink. For us, a carried* on-the-boat-deck*rigid V *bottom inflatable (Avon) has done fine. It carries lots of people safely and does not require any paint or varnish. Cover it over *the winter and wash with soap, bleach*and water in the spring. With two of us it will do 30 mph with a 9.9 HP 4 stroke.

Intentionally, I do not bang it into pilings nor drive it onto barnacle encrusted rocks. For that kind of use,* I'd buy an unpainted Al fish boat with Al dinghy. They are all over the PNW.

 

[Capn Chuck]

We were in your same situation and here is our solution.

http://trawler-beach-house.blogspot.com/2010/08/new-dinghy-and-big-change.html

Chuck

 

[Tony B]

sunchaser wrote:

Intentionally, I do not bang it into pilings nor drive it onto barnacle encrusted rocks. For that kind of use,* I'd buy an unpainted Al fish boat with Al dinghy. They are all over the PNW.

*I think it would besafe to say that not many people do it intentionally. When I sail, we dinghy a lot and dont always have a choice in picking out the dock or landing that is ideal. I think we just hang with diffferent crowds.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Tony B,

Dorys are great but not good for dinghys. They have a very short WLL and need to be loaded for good stability. I don't like inflatables. I get my dinghys from <a>The Dinghy Co</a> in Mt Vernon Wa but that's not in your area. The only dinghy that I know of that is excellent is the Trinka 10. Maybe you can search that. Don is right. The dinghy is an important choice.

 

[sunchaser]

"When I sail ---" The same intentional use and care applies. I note is our marina there are both beat up and pristine dinghies on the*top deck*or back of sailboats as well as trawlers.

But, the "what kind of dinghy" question asked is specific to trawlers, no? Yes, that can be a different mind-set and crowd with lots more dinghy choices. I saw a 48 trawler the other day with a hard bottom*25 hp Whaler dingy on*the top and a 10 or so HP RIB on the swim platform.*

 

[healhustler]

I have to come down on the side of the Livingston as well. I have two dingys now, an inflatable bottom Achiles and a Caribe 9. The Mercury 9.9 moves either of these boats well. My first ride on a Livingston was from a guest here at the dock. The stability, bullet-proof construction and ease of maintenance were a plus, and even thought it might be more difficult bringing it aboard with a boom set-up, it tows well and is more versatile for our type of usage, including touring the shallows. The 2nd place finisher for us is the Portland Pudgy, which comes with it's own sail rig stored aboard, and doubles as a life raft. It's a bit more tippy getting out, but easy to bring aboard and store.

 

[Woodsong]

O the hours I have spent researching dinghys!!
We have a 9' RIB right now. It's ok but it has a couple of small pinhole leaks that for the life of me seem to be beyond my ability to stop leaking. This is irritating as we keep it on weaver snap davits on the swim platform and now that I have a rotating engine mount, keeping it inflated is even more important.

Long story short....we want a hard dinghy. I may just bite the bullet and buy a brand new livingston. We toyed with getting an aluminum jon boat but then I have to figure out how to keep it from scratching the hull, etc. I just need to pony up and buy a new livingston and be done with it.

 

[sunchaser]

Woodsong

I've seen some lovely Al dinghies* with a rubber rubrail around the top to protect the FRP mother ship.* In the PNW there is a strong cottage industry building*welded Al small versatile craft of all manner, I'm not sure if that exists in the SE.

Will a 9' Livingston carry the same weight as a*V hard bottom RIB - say 4 full size adults plus a cooler or two?

 

[2bucks]

My 8 foot Livingston that I bought for my daughter in 1979 still is in good shape and works well on my buddy's boat. My 10' Livingston that was bought in 1980 for my current boat is starting to develop a crack along the forward edge where the Weaver Snap Davit is attached. I suppose I'll have to put some reinforcement along there.

Longevity of Livingston is definitely a strong point, yet almost every dingy dock I go to, I'm the only Livingston and generally it's 15 or more to one, inflatables of all kinds vs. hard dingy.

Having said that, I think I want a fiberglass bottomed inflatable for the stability and carrying capacity. There would have to be alcohol or an emergency involved before I put 4 grown men and a cooler in my Livingston. IIRC the 11' AB Navigo is rated for 5 people (4 real people) and 25 HP.

 

[markpierce]

nomadwilly wrote:
... The only dinghy that I know of that is excellent is the Trinka 10. ...

I've been eyeing the Trinka 10 and 8 for several months.* ...* I want a dinghy that rows well as I want*to avoid the expense/weight/hazard/hassle of a gasoline outboard.

...*Passed by*a guy rowing a boat in the Carquinez Strait in a head-on meeting several weeks ago.* First I didn't think he noticed me, but then noted a front-view mirror mounted on the rowboat.

 

[Conrad]

We have a Portland Pudgy Rotomolded dink that comes in at 7'8" and is very stable. With a sail rig it provides a lot of fun in most anchorages. For power it will only handle a 2HP longshaft OB. Rows nicely and has the inside room of an equivalent 9' inflatable. Also have a 9' Livingston which has better real weight capacity and rowing characteristics.*

I'd recommend both, but if anyone is contemplating the Pudgy please PM me for further comments.

 

[Great Laker]

I'm am using a 10 ft Livingston with a 9.8 Nissan tilted up on a Sea Wise Davit System on my AT 365.*

Pros: It can be dropped and ready for use in a couple of minutes. The boat is very stable and roomy enough for 4 or 2 plus bikes or supplies. I can stand on one gunnel while the boat is emply and it will not tilt or overturn. It will plane off at about 16 mph with 2 adults aboard. It is unsinkable and has underway draining plugs on both hulls.*Can be used for fishing safely.

Cons: Although it has a rub rail, it might ding*another boat*if not tied off properly.

 

[Marin]

Tony-- Best dinghy I have seen to date is the Bullfrog. Has the floatation of an inflatable but has solid foam tubes with a tough coating. Since the tubes are not air filled fabric, the Bullfrog has the long life of a hardshell. Also, since the tubes are not inflated fabric they don't have to be round. So the insides are cut straight down which gives a lot more room inside the boat. Powered by a 15 hp motor they zip along very impressively with a good ride thanks to the V-shaped aluminum bottom. Also portions of the foam are cut out to make handy storage compartments inside the "tubes."

We have a Livingston on Weaver Davits on the swimstep, and while it is far superior in my opinion to a finite-lived inflatable or RIB the main drawback of the Livingston is its lack of freeboard when loaded. The larger ones are better in this respect but the 9' model we have has too little freeboard in our opinion. It's not the sort of boat we'd want to trust for a long run from an anchorage to town or in an emergency in rough water. It is, however, a great little shoreboat or for messing about or fishing in relatively protected waters.

The smallest Bullfrog is the 10' model, which is what our friend Carey has on davits on the stern of his lobsterboat. I've been in it a fair amount and was impressed with it from the start. Fast, carries a good load, good ride in choppy water, combines the benefits of an inflatable with the benefits of a hardshell without the drawbacks of either one.

Drawbacks to the Bullfrog is they are not inexpensive and they are fairly heavy. They are made in Bellingham so their availability is great out here. I have no idea what their distribution and dealer networks are like so I have no idea how common or available they are in your area. But when the day comes we are able to take longer cruises up north we will leave the Livingston at home and tow a 10' Bullfrog.

 

[sunchaser]

The 10' Bulfrog weighs about 340 lbs more than a similar sized Avon RIB. Weight and worsened stability*for a boat deck mounting would be a concern. With the vessel CG about 9 - 10' below the boat deck --------- topside weight is something to shed, not add. Since I do "big water" trips from time-to-time, I have found about 300 lbs of fly bridge stuff that can be located below.

Good RIBs are tough to beat, all things considered.

 

[Tony B]

sunchaser wrote:
...........Good RIBs are tough to beat, all things considered.

*I am starting to lean in that direction.

 

[Marin]

There is a fellow with a really nice Island Gypsy tri-cabin on our dock and not long ago I noticed to my surprise that he carries a 10' Bullfrog on Weaver-like davits (I don't know if they are actually Weaver, brand--- they look different than ours). This surprised me because a Bullfrog is not light and*his boat has the stock (and probably original) teak-strip swim step. He does not carry the motor on the Bullfrog when it is stowed on the boat. The motor is stowed on a mount attached to the transom of the IG.

I'm not a fan of stowing any sort of dinghy on the boat deck. I have seen a person seriously injured and a main cabin window smashed out during the lowering of a dinghy from the boat deck, and this was in an anchorage with little waves barey giving any motion to the boat.* In an emergency--- say a boat fire where you need to be getting off the boat right now--- lowering a dinghy from the boat deck may not even be possible. Add to this the fact that these sorts of emergencies rarely occur under ideal conditions but at night, in rough water with heavy pitching and rolling, and a dinghy on a boat deck could be virtually useless and may in fact elevate the seriousness of the emergency even more.

I never thought about this aspect of where to carry a dinghy until talking to a long-time cruiser about the Bullfrog he tows behind his boat. He described a few horror stories he'd heard or witnessed over the*years*involving boat-deck carried dingies, and this (and common sense) convinced me that it's a bad place to carry a dinghy. Better on davits on the stern-- of which there are a number of types and configurations to carry the dinghy either vertically on its side or hung horizontally-- or towed if the waters one cruises in are condusive to that.

But if we are ever in the position to have a boat with a "boat deck," like the GB36 Europa we looked over this weekend, we would never carry a dinghy up there. The weight issue Tom described is certainly one consideration, but more important to me is the fact we want our dinghy carried in such a way that it can be in the water almost instantly should the need arise. So for us, stern davits or towed are the only choices we will consider.


-- Edited by Marin on Monday 8th of August 2011 04:32:05 PM

 

[Larry M]

We have always tried to get the biggest dinghy that will fit the boat.* It's our (your) car.* We provision with it, get fuel, fish out of it and sight see.* It is not uncommon to have to travel several miles*for provisions in less than ideal conditions.* We had to rescue a fellow cruiser*who got caught in a squall on the way back to his boat.* He had a hard rowing dinghy and was being swept out of the anchorage.**He fortunately had a hand held VHF and was able to call for help.*

We have a 10.5' RIB with a 15 hp 2 stroke currently.* It will get up on a plane with 4 average adults and with Lena, Morgan and I, we can travel comfortably at planing speeds.* I think a lot of it comes down to what you are going to do with your "car" and the area that you cruise in.

 

[dwhatty]

Marin wrote:Better on davits on the stern-- of which there are a number of types and configurations to carry the dinghy either vertically on its side or hung horizontally-- or towed if the waters one cruises in are condusive to that [emphasis added].

But if we are ever in the position to have a boat with a "boat deck," like the GB36 Europa we looked over this weekend, we would never carry a dinghy up there. The weight issue Tom described is certainly one consideration, but more important to me is the fact we want our dinghy carried in such a way that it can be in the water almost instantly should the need arise. So for us, stern davits or towed are the only choices we will consider.

I agree completely.

We tow because our waters are relatively sheltered and our boat is a sheltered water coastal cruiser in any event and that is the type of cruising we do (if we don't get caught out, which we have been).

I would prefer to do a Seawise type arrangement when and if finances allow as towing has inherent risks and inconveniences, although we have had no problem in 25 years of towing (so far).

Our boat has enough weight aloft and does not need a heavy dinghy up there.

But paramount in my thinking is the ability to abandon the boat quickly and safely into the "lifeboat".

 

[sunchaser]

Provided your vessel's boat deck and CG**is designed and calculated properly, I'm not concerned about the need for the dinghy*to be*used as a liferaft. I have a liferaft for that purpose. That said, vessels less than 40' probably best use davits. But davits and big stern seas*can be*a poor mix.

On some vessels, such as the Tolly 43 and 48 and the aft cabin GBs and 36/40 Selenes, the boat deck is perfect for stability and designed to be so. Towing is a poor option for blue water work - I betcha more towed dinghys have been lost or props fouled than have been*needed as liferafts.

I perused the 65' Fleming "Venture" (Tony's boat) this past week in Ganges. It has traveled*the world with its dinghy on the boat deck. Nordhavns, Dashews FPBs*and Krogens too!

But, why tempt fate, go with the lightest dinghy you can. In big seas you can stow your outboard in the lazz or on deck to lower the CG. My RIB alone is only 130 lbs + 21/2 gal fuel vs 490 lbs for the Bullfrog.

 

[Per]

surprised no one suggested a Boston Whaler, comes in variety of sizes and configurations.
could definitively be mounted on davits in the plain configuration.

we recently got ourselves into a decent size RIB, it is not only a fun toy but is very stable in the water due the deep V.
it is too heavy for us to davit mount, so it will be a tow..
(could not afford the Boston Whaler btw)