Saona 47: Mangeable tender weight

[Muaddib1116]

So you're beaching your dinghy and then dragging it half a mile depending on the tides?

[Montanan]

If you are going for a heavy tender with a large outboard [20hp is huge] then you will need inflatable beach rollers to aid in pulling up a beach and a pump to inflate them when you get to shore, or to preinflate them and tie to the rail of your tender as if they were horizontal fenders. Of keen issue is that such devices need to be secured from theft or by floating away if the tide comes in or a wake runs up the shore. You will only be able to move the tender if there is no or very modest wave action and if the beach is not steep as gravity will overcome your pulling capacity.

An example: https://www.inflatableboats.com/Infl...5-13191259.htm

[slug]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

If you only ever intend to go between marinas and well developed shore facitities with floating pontoons then your big RIB with big motor is the way to go.

However if one wants to frequent a broad range of landing places such as beaches subject to tides then your small light dingy with wheels is the only way to go.

There are places in Australia with 30' tides where the water advances half a mile or so with marine life partial to the odd human snack. Unless you are happy to time all your movements of the tides a small, light dingy with wheels is a must.

Same with rocks, Coral ..hard shorelines

Wheels or ingenuity are needed to move the tender. To the safe zone

Always best to be a lightweight

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by Muaddib1116

So you're beaching your dinghy and then dragging it half a mile depending on the tides?

Yep, if you don't have wheels. Some places only have boat ramps and you need to be able to haul the dingy up into the car park. Also it's handy to be able to go up into shallow creeks and be able to drag it over sand spits. I have even used mine like a trolley to carry groceries, water and fuel containers where the car park was a long way from the ramp and once towed it to a work shop behind a push bike to have work done on it.

Once you've had a full set of really good big wheels on a dingy it's pretty well impossible to go back to not having them.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by Chrishorseman

I'm in process of purchasing a used Saona and have had a quote for a Highfield 360 with a 20hp electric start Honda engine and centre console. Our previous dinghy was a Seago 320 inflatable floor plus 8hp Yamaha 2 stroke - total weight 70kg plus fuel. The new setup will weigh (guessing) 150kg. With the Seago we could use a squirt of power to run it onto a beach and then drag it clear of the surf line. It took effort but was doable. Has anyone got experience with a similar weight setup to the Highfield and can one person get it up the beach? Would dinghy wheels (The kind you fit to the transom and flip down) help? Our cruising plans involve between two and six people on board plus two Cocker spaniels. The electric start and centre console are to make it a less intimidating and more car-like experience for a very important crew member (that I am married to) who seldom attempted driving the previous dinghy. Any measures to make driving it easy would be completely defeated if it can't be used to run up a beach to walk the dogs. I am open to other ideas for the "car".

You're talking about dragging 320 pounds up a beach. If you must have that center console, I'd suggest attaching a light Danforth style anchor with a 50' rode to the front so you could just plant the anchor in the sand and not worry about dragging that beast too far up the beach. Remember the farther you get it up the beach the farther you'll need to drag it back

[GRIT]

RaymondR

Could you post photos of your wheel setup, or a link to a website, please? We have Beachmaster wheels, and they work great, but bigger is usually better, when it comes to wheels.

Cheers.
Paul.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by GRIT

RaymondR

Could you post photos of your wheel setup, or a link to a website, please? We have Beachmaster wheels, and they work great, but bigger is usually better, when it comes to wheels.

Cheers.
Paul.

The two on the back are 10" and the two on the front 8".

The front ones telescope up but are still about half in the water. I considered making the rear ones fold up but decided I could use a bit more flotation there and since I only have a 3 hp outboard they don't slow me down much.

My previous dingy was alloy and had a similar arrangement except I could pull all the wheels off by pulling three pins. It had a 9.8 hp two stroke outboard and it was positively scary at full throttle. I am now at the stage in life where slow is OK as long as it's lighter to haul up slopes.

[RaymondR]

Ugly little brute but the reduced cockpit now self bails and won't hold enough water to tear the davits out of the deck if I get pooped. The large rear deck and wide sides allow me to sit on them and swing my legs into the cockpit instead of having to climb in. The handle is the front wheel tiller and also has proven very handy as a brace to lean back against. The steerable telescoping front wheels have proven very handy running in on a surf as they hit bottom first and you can steer it straight down the front of the following surf then twist 90 degrees to stop getting washed backwards in the backwash.

I'm fairly happy with it but if I need another one I will build it all myself and incorporate A few more ideas in it. I have a cunning design for one with an inboard motor, a jet drive unit and powered wheels.

[slug]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Ugly little brute but the reduced cockpit now self bails and won't hold enough water to tear the davits out of the deck if I get pooped. The large rear deck and wide sides allow me to sit on them and swing my legs into the cockpit instead of having to climb in. The handle is the front wheel tiller and also has proven very handy as a brace to lean back against. The steerable telescoping front wheels have proven very handy running in on a surf as they hit bottom first and you can steer it straight down the front of the following surf then twist 90 degrees to stop getting washed backwards in the backwash.

I'm fairly happy with it but if I need another one I will build it all myself and incorporate A few more ideas in it. I have a cunning design for one with an inboard motor, a jet drive unit and powered wheels.

Cute little Warthog

Looks like it get the job done

[GRIT]

Those wheels will certainly get the job done. Very creative front wheel setup, I like it. Though I don't see it going mainstream in the near future.

Thanks for the pictures, I'd be interested to see what you come up with in the MKII version. I think that should be it's own thread. Well done.

Cheers.
Paul.

[Muaddib1116]

How heavy is that thing?

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by Muaddib1116

How heavy is that thing?

I don't know. I hoist it on a davit using high gear on the sheet winches but I have no problems hauling it up the steepest of boat ramps and across dry sand beaches.