What Type Dinghy / Tender ?

[GordMay]

What type of dinghy/tender do you use? Tell us a little about your dink - what you like (or don't like) about it, how it's powered, how you transport it, or any other interesting features.
[You may select multiple choices]

FWIW:
Over the years, we’ve used a 10' Soft-Bottom Inflatable (Zodiac Yacht-Line), then a 10' PVC Rigid (Water Tender), and a 13' Fibreglass (Boston Whaler). We towed the Water Tender, Towed (or stowed deflated) the Zodiac, and left the Whaler in the Bahamas.

From “Pacific Yachting” magazine: http://www.pacificyachting.com/
What kind of dinghy/tender do you have?
Wood: 4.86 % (45)
Fibreglass: 31.21 % (289)
Soft-bottom Inflatable: 34.23 % (317)
Rigid-hull Inflatable: 24.08 % (223)
Other: 5.62 % (52)
Total Votes = 926

Homemade wooden dory, supposed to have a cat rigged sail - but haven't got that far yet, so just oars for now

[CSY Man]

Avon 9'3" Redcrest, 1995.

Slow boat it is, 3.9 knots (4HP) max due to soft floor.

The best feature is that it last a long time and that it is all paid for.

[Jon D]

Caribe 9X with a Yamaha 15. Will plane with me, wife, dog and supplies. It's the SUV for us on the water. Take us and our stuff wherever we need to go.

[BC Mike]

10 1/2 foot Zodiac, ply floor, inflatable keel strip, 8 hp Suzuki OBM will plane with two people and fishing gear and large ( 25 pound ) salmon on board.
Thinking of building a John Welsford designed Tender Behind.
Michael

[witchcraft]

We built a little wooden dingy ( bolger design). We added little rails of oak and ash. She is nice to row. After the first year we sail rigged her with a standing lug rig. She is fun to sail as well.
We have been carrying her, on the cabin top of Witchcraft. This is not ideal, but nicer than towing. We are currently having davits made. Which will be nice for the current sailing we are doing. On longer voyages, with more rough weather likely, back to the cabin top she will go.
Cheers
Witchcraft

[Cool Change]

10'3" Avon Inflate floor type, 4HP Yamaha 4 stroke, will plane with me on groceries.
Hung on S/S davits.

[Vasco]

When I started cruising a 8-10' rubber dink and an 8hp outboard was regarded as the top of the line. Now it seems you need a 10-11 ft RIB (hypalon of course) and a 15 hp Yamaha . For my new boat I got a 10' 6" AB Rib and a 15 hp Yamaha. The AB's are really gaining in popularity. The one I got is a "lite" version and sits very well hung from the arch with the motor mounted. ( about 250 lbs. all told).

[Wahoo Sails]

9'2" Avon with a roll-up floor & 8 horse Nissan ... our sports car!
Bob & Lynn

[David W]

We have a WB8 that we happily row around our anchorages. Works fine for us.

[boredinthecity]

I have a 10' Soft-bottom Inflatable but I am building a 10' (3part) stackable dingy so that i can row it properly -standing up, as well as using a 4hp outboard.

Paul

[Talbot]

Zodiac 2.6m Fast Roller (inflatable keel and airdeck) - rows well and is stable under the outboard (much better than the previous slatted floor zodiac of the same dimensions.) I have fitted a canvas cover to it to protect the material from UV (the last one died after 20 years due to the UV destruction of the material)

Sits well on the davits (and comes with davit rings included on the bow end) and works well as a tender, but I do have a couple of quibbles - deep V which makes performance in bouncy sea so good means that it is almost impossible to empty water out of the dinghy following rain, without turning the beast upside down. In its normal position in the davits (somewhat bow up) you get abt 15 gallons in there before it starts to pour out of the drain at the bottom of the transom. secondly it satates max engine is 4hp, and it will not plane one up under a 3.5hp (goes great with a 5hp but that adds to the weight!)

[watercats]

Hi, This is my first post and I wanted to tell everyone about our new dinghy, the Bluewater Baby. My wife and I cruised and lived aboard for over 20 years and in that time used probably 10 different dinghies. After we built our new boat, a 46' catamaran, I wanted to find a dinghy that was better than the others we used over the years. I just couldn't find one that was just right, so we built one. It turned out so well that we started making and selling it last year. I don't mean to turn this into a commercial post, but I'm so proud of the boat that I just wanted to tell everyone about it. www.bluewaterbaby.com

[GordMay]

At a Length of 11', and a weight of 380 lbs without engine, the “Bluewater Baby” is certainly at the larger end of the dinghy scale.
Nice looking “Whaler” type boat.
What are they selling for?

[Talbot]

380 lb dinghy and a catamaran! does this seem very likely? OK its a big cat, but even so, surely you would have to watch the weight , or does such a large cat have such a weight carrying capability that it can disregard this?