Inflatable Dinghy vs...

[Hasbeen]

I found that when I had a dinghy that was harder, or took longer to launch when making an overnight stop I sometimes didn't bother, & perhaps missed some interesting spots.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by BNorthern

....why not fiberglass boat? Maybe a 14'...15' skiff to fish off of when at anchor in "the spot".

There are a few considerations here.

1) Many dinghy docks limit boats to 12 or 13 feet. Pulling a large skiff into a dinghy dock is frowned upon is some places.

2) solid boats are heavier. This means they may not be able to be hauled and must be towed.

3) Heavier boats required larger engines with higher fuel consumption.

4) Heavier boats slow down the tow vessel.

4) Inflatables bounce off of everything (almost)...short of sharp objects.

5) Hard boats bounce off of nothing (almost)...short of soft objects.

However....

Fishing from an inflatable involves sharp hooks and even sharp fish around your inflatable. hard boats are better to fish from.

You see plenty of folks in trawlers dragging Boston Whalers and skiffs all the time.

[rslifkin]

Not all hard dinghies are necessarily slow or heavy. My fairly beamy (4'9") aluminum 12 footer is rated for a 15hp (which would be likely be good for 20 kts with 2 people + dog) and only weighs 150 lbs empty, as an example.

[goboatingnow]

The overriding factor is :

Any dinghy of any nature must be capable of being brought on deck or at least onto davits. Even with davits offshore passages will require you to take it off the davits.

This requirement determines everything. You have to have a handling system to bring the dingy on board including handling removing the engine. ( engine crane etc. )

Then you need space to store it on the deck , or deflate it and have sufficient locker space etc.

This is what will drive your decision not what type of bottom , or format of the dinghy.

After that the storage issue has been resolved , the rest is really down to personal predilections.

Over the years my dinghies have got smaller as I get older. The latest is a 2.4m inflatable with an air floor and a 3.5hp mariner. I can attach and remove the engine on by own. I can easily haul it on deck with the the spinaker halyard and store it on the foredeck or deflate it for longer multi day journeys.

During short day trips I tow it with the engine removed.

[kiwin]

I always wonder at people who go offshore with a dinghy on the davits. Have they not thought this through?

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by kiwin

I always wonder at people who go offshore with a dinghy on the davits. Have they not thought this through?

The risk involved depends on the boat and davits in question. A boat with a wide, buoyant stern and davits that lift the dinghy up good and high is at far less risk of taking a wave into the dinghy than boat with a traditional narrow stern and lower hanging davits.

[kiwin]

I used to think that. On 65ft ketch in the gulf stream, sometime in the late eighties. High freeboard and strong davits. We took a rogue wave and were quickly left with one davit folded up and ripped out of the deck, the dinghy and davit now trailing in the wake with the remaining davit looking like it was also about to go, and a hole in the deck. I had to cut the dinghy loose. And then spend two hours butchering a floorboard and screwing it down onto the deck to seal the hole.
I have never sailed with a boat in the davits again for any distance.

[team karst]

My RIB oars far better than i would have imagined. The issue for me is the floor is not flat, and requires some imagination as far as the seat goes. OTOH, paddling a rib or rollup inflatable is truly ridiculous

[SVTatia]

No one mentioned the dinghy’s lifespan in the pros/cons, and that goes together with costs.

Many have mentioned that they have owned several inflatables, that’s got to be a reason. What would be the lifespan of an inflatable in the tropics, 5 years perhaps? A hard dinghy could last forever. Well, almost…

[team karst]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

No one mentioned the dinghy’s lifespan in the pros/cons, and that goes together with costs.



Many have mentioned that they have owned several inflatables, that’s got to be a reason. What would be the lifespan of an inflatable in the tropics, 5 years perhaps? A hard dinghy could last forever. Well, almost…

I run a 1976 3 meter Avon. I’m only in the tropics. I bought it used sometime in the late ‘80’s after a 4 year old pvc 12’ grand raid zodiac almost sank during a dive.
And i run it hard with a 15hp. 3 equipped cave divers in sometimes less that a foot of water.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

No one mentioned the dinghy’s lifespan in the pros/cons, and that goes together with costs.



Many have mentioned that they have owned several inflatables, that’s got to be a reason. What would be the lifespan of an inflatable in the tropics, 5 years perhaps? A hard dinghy could last forever. Well, almost…

My selva hypalon rib (rotomoulded ABS Hull) is now 20 years old with more then 10 years in the med.

A cheap pvc will last about 5 years correct but it cheap to buy. Many people just see them as disposable.

Hard dinghies are heavy , hard to lift onboard and difficult to stow. More unstable in small sizes then any inflatable. No one rows more the about 100 metres anymore. Everyone has an outboard.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by kiwin

I always wonder at people who go offshore with a dinghy on the davits. Have they not thought this through?

With davits you can decide to bring it aboard instead. SO likely 90% + of the time it's handy to use. Then when you decide to cross the pacific, you deflate and bring aboard.
It ain't brain surgery.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

No one mentioned the dinghy’s lifespan in the pros/cons, and that goes together with costs.

Many have mentioned that they have owned several inflatables, that’s got to be a reason. What would be the lifespan of an inflatable in the tropics, 5 years perhaps? A hard dinghy could last forever. Well, almost…

People change boats mostly for other reasons than the boat sinks.

I had an old Achilles blue Hypalon that was made in '93. I still used it in 2012 and someone bought it to use then.
In 1999 I bought a cat that came with an AB RIB that was 1992. It never failed until I sold the cat with it. It has spent it's entire life in FL and the Caribe sun.

[cr180]

All depends on your cruising style. If short duration close to home, most anything would work and hard aluminum or fiberglass skiff that you tow may be a great choice. But, if long distance cruising, with even some offshore, recommendation is to have davits to stow dinghy under way. And as others have said the inflatable is lighter weight, may even ride better, be more stable, and less likely to skuff up mothership.

In either case recommend a dinghy with engine that has enough horsepower to plane with payload including number people you desire. Translating probably 10 hp for two people, twenty hp for four people.

[jt11791]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Hard dinghies are heavy , hard to lift onboard and difficult to stow. More unstable in small sizes then any inflatable. No one rows more the about 100 metres anymore. Everyone has an outboard.

My OC hard dink is lighter (like half) than same length RIBs. It's not unstable. It rows well, but you are right, I never row it. It stores easily in the davits or on the foredeck of my boat.

Nobody deflates their RIB intentionally (though they sometimes deflate unintentionally). So storage issues are the same, except the RIB weighs double.