Need New Dinghy...Rigid or Inflatable?

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

First, Livingston cat dinghy’s are 160lbs which is too heavy for most davits with and added 60 lbs of engine. Their not a performance Cat dinghy at all and there hulls are very narrow as you stated.
I started out talking to them about a lighter performance cat dingy and they told me to go pound sand.

My Cat dinghy is 85 lbs and designed for both rowing and planning and the hulls are almost 14 inchs wide at the floor, so no worries with big feet. I do not have any problems steering at all.

What started me down the Cat dinghy trail was when my three year old inflatable needed to be repaired as it would not hold air for more than three days. Even when holding air, it’s always a mushy tube in the morning until the sun heats it up later in the day.

My next problem was at Block Island on a 20-25 knot windy day and my engine dyed as I was coming from the beach to the mother ship. Even though I could see my boat a ¼ mile away it still took me an hour to row to it. Rowing and inflatable into wind and waves is nearly impossible.

I row the cat dinghy and it goes 30 feet before I have to give it another row. Rowing a Cat dinghy is so effortless.

Cool. Is it plywood? I think ply is very under-rated for dinks....

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Cool. Is it plywood? I think ply is very under-rated for dinks....

I was wrong the Livingston 9 foot cat dinghy is 160lbs. The livingston 10 footer is 210 lbs.

My 10 foot 85 lbs Cat dinghy has 1/8 inch fiber glass panels on the sides.
It has a flat bottom floor.
The chine is 3 layers of fiberglass over a foam core that was cut with a hot wire. You can build dinghys very light if you want to.

[Boatguy30]

Please pm with any more details you're willing to share.
Where did you get that fiberglass sheet? Production sheet is normally very heavy and I would expect a standard sized sheet of 1/8 to weigh around 50 lbs or so.

That thin Home Depot bathroom stuff is at least 25 lbs.

[eyschulman]

I have the same problem hard or soft boat? The answer I came up with is one of each. This only works with a large enough mother ship. On my 48 ft boat I carry a 15 ft hard and a fully inflatable soft with HP air floor. On longer legs I deflate soft boat and store in larger dingy. on short trips both boats deployed. Soft boat is light and I can tow or tie on swim platform. I carry a electric pump for the soft boat.

[darylat8750]

I'm interested in your cat dink also. Are plans available?

[Sulaire]

We have a trinka 8 we store under the boom on a 41footer

We sail it , motor it and it rows like a dream. I would'nt change it for anything!

Oh and it comes with a rope style bumper so no problems with damage to the big boat, also towing is very easy as its hull shape is so efficient.

Take a look on their website?

Charlie.

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by darylat8750

I'm interested in your cat dink also. Are plans available?

I have 3D cad models and drawings, but have no plans to give or sell them.
I may end up makeing a mold and building a few in the near future.

[Rocketman]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

I have 3D cad models and drawings, but have no plans to give or sell them.
I may end up makeing a mold and building a few in the near future.

Catemar

You have peeked a lot of interest in your dinghy design, including me. Did you build and design this dinghy? Can you explain its components and where you got them? Would you be willing to share or sell us plans so we can make one ourselves? I have built canoes in the past, and would love to have a dinghy cat.

[Boatguy30]

Not looking to bust your chops, but if the waterline is 8' you have a length to beam ratio of less than 7:1. Pretty fat for a cat so you would have to truly plane to exceed hull speed. I fins it hard to see how you can exceed that with an all up weight of say 750 lbs and a 6 horse single cylinder motor.

I can work with cad.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

Not looking to bust your chops, but if the waterline is 8' you have a length to beam ratio of less than 7:1. Pretty fat for a cat so you would have to truly plane to exceed hull speed. I fins it hard to see how you can exceed that with an all up weight of say 750 lbs and a 6 horse single cylinder motor.

I can work with cad.

Boat guy the Spirited range of cat foam sandwich dingys ranges from 50lb for 2m to 90lb for the 3.6.

Whilst available in kit form plans can be purchased.

Cheers

[Cotemar]

No worries. I get all kinds of comments.
The first guy I showed my Cat dinghy to in my shop said. "Looks like you need two people to row it". I hopped in and sat down and grabbed the oars to show him and then all of a sudden he understood.

On my maiden rowing voyage a group of yachties watched me as I rowed around and the boat just kept gliding on its own. Of course I spent the rest of the afternoon letting them have a go at it for them self’s rowing all around. I could have sold a few boats that day if I had some.

Kids really think it's cool because they have never seen anything like it.

The first time you go head on into heavy wind and waves you instantly know something is different from a RIB inflatable. You do not slow down and wait for the splash as it all stays in the tunnel, you just give it the throttle and go.

The first time I turn it hard over, I was waiting for the typical RIB inflatable slide sideways, but no not this time. It just turned on a dime. Later I found out that it turns on a time at any speed.

[Rocketman]

Originally Posted by downunder

Boat guy the Spirited range of cat foam sandwich dingys ranges from 50lb for 2m to 90lb for the 3.6.

Whilst available in kit form plans can be purchased.

Cheers

Now that is a pretty boat!!! Did you make it? and can you tell us a little about it? What size is it? What motor does it take? How much are the kits, where do you get them and how satified are you with the kit?

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by downunder

Boat guy the Spirited range of cat foam sandwich dingys ranges from 50lb for 2m to 90lb for the 3.6.

Whilst available in kit form plans can be purchased.

Cheers

I agree. These Spirited cats are a real nice design and they sell the plans.
Most built one of these kits before they attempt to build a larger catamaran. It's a great way to practice and get a nice Cat Dinghy for the mother ship in the process.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Rocketman

Now that is a pretty boat!!! Did you make it? and can you tell us a little about it? What size is it? What motor does it take? How much are the kits, where do you get them and how satified are you with the kit?

Ask Spirited for a study plan for the size you are interested in.

Spirited Designs - Home of the Spirited 380 by Craig Schionning

Spirited Designs - Home of the Spirited 380 by Craig Schionning

One mate is building a 3.6m as fishing tender for his 45ft Brady powercat and another is going to build a 4.2m after looking at the 3 being built in Hervey bay. He reckons it looks extremely seaworthy and will make a great coastal/reef fishing boat.

Can be built with Ply, foam or balsa.

Very little power as they are so light. Recon a 15hp on a 3.6m would be good but would get away with 9.8. Kits vary from 2,500 for 3.6 to just under 5,000 for the 4.2 (a large boat). Haven't priced smaller. Foam slightly more expensive than balsa and ply. Ask for a study kit on size you are interested in and it has the prices of the various kits (come with all tapes and resin).

eg
3 .6m Ripple Tender
SPECIFICATIONS
Try your hand at composite building with this ideal entry level
project. The perfect tender or family explorer. For more sizes in
the Ripple Tender range please contact us.
The 3.6m Ripple Tender
3
LOA 3.62m / 11ft 9 ”
BOA 1.2m / 3ft 9 ”
DRAFT 105mm / 4.1 ”
DESIGN DISPLACEMENT 55kgs / 121 pounds
BRIDGEDECK CLEARANCE 155mm / 6.1 ”
PAYLOAD 350kgs / 771 pounds
MAX ENGINE SIZE 25hp
ESTIMATED BUILD HOURS 85 (basic standard finish )
DUFLEX BALSA KIT COST AU$2545.00 excl. gst
PLAIN FOAM KIT COST AU$1660.00 excl. gst
GABOON PLYWOOD KIT COST AU$1375.00 excl. gst
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL COST
TO COMPLETION
AU$400.00 excl. gst
( excl. cost of outboard


Cheers

[Rocketman]

Thanks for the advise, I sent a request to spirited designs and they have responded already. Very fast. Do you know if they will ship a kit to the USA? It seems like there would be a market for there boats here but shipping could be a problem.