Tell me about your dinghy and what you like about it

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Benz

I hate inflatables: they're splashy; they don't row; they fall apart untimely; they're expensive, and heavy, and ungainly. So when I was building my cruising boat I built a 9-foot rowing/sailing dinghy out of vinylester and fiberglass.
Fits the family of five, carries vast cargoes, rows super-nicely.
Fast forward some years of cruising, and that dinghy had been smashed by a speeding panga, repaired in the wild, dragged up endless beaches, dismasted--but still going strong. It was rather heavy, though, so I faired it, pulled a mold off of it, and built a carbon/kevlar/epoxy dinghy in it that we still use today. It's light, it's stiff, it rows great, and cost less to build than an inflatable to buy: if I ever get into an inflatable again it'll be too soon.

I'm curious what your 9 foot carbon/kevlar/epoxy dinghy weighs out at?

[Benz]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I'm curious what your 9 foot carbon/kevlar/epoxy dinghy weighs out at?

I haven't put it on a scale, but it's less than 100lbs: I can easily carry it by getting under it like a turtle, and to stand it on its transom and then tip it over to carry is really easy.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Benz

I haven't put it on a scale, but it's less than 100lbs: I can easily carry it by getting under it like a turtle, and to stand it on its transom and then tip it over to carry is really easy.

I would love to see pictures of it and if you ever have time and a scale, I'd like to know it's weight.

[Jammer]

Well, I used to have an 8' fiberglass rowing dinghy that was insufficient in terms of capacity and seaworthiness, so I sold it.

Now I have:
- A modified Chameleon (Danny Greene) nesting dinghy
- A 14' aluminum utility boat with a Honda 9.9.

The Chameleon I built myself. It's plywood and fiberglass, but I've substituted foam and carbon fiber construction in certain areas to save weight and kevlar reinforcement in certain areas for durability. It is 10'4" and takes a 3 hp motor, and rows and sails well. The hull weighs 101 pounds by the scale (see photo), motor is 31 pounds, foils and sails are around 15 pounds. It will float if swamped even with the motor, and the 2" foam bench seat is extremely floaty. It tows well and disassembles to fit on the foredeck, though with my Tartan it will fit in one piece too. Recently I built a center cart. It rows well. It motors OK but does not plane. Absent theft or tragedy, and with proper maintenance, it will last 100 years and can be repaired anywhere with epoxy and cloth.

I anticipate the Chameleon will work well for us in the Great Lakes and Eastern Seaboard areas where dinghy rides tend to be short. I can row a couple miles before I get tired and frustrated with it so in many cases I don't need the motor. The sailing rig is more for enjoyment than utility although it is compact enough and easy enough to use it may come out more often than I anticipate.

With the center cart it can be wheeled down roads, docks, sidewalks, used as a shopping cart, etc. I'm tempted to rig a hitch to my folding bicycle. I am thinking of redesigning the center cart so it will fold for storage since at this point it is bulky and awkward.

For the aluminum boat, the hull is about 220 pounds plus seats, motor is 105 pounds, battery is 40 pounds. There are air chambers so that it floats if swamped. It is really too large to be a tender but we use it that way anyway at times in fair conditions, either towing it on a rigid towbar or having one of our crew follow us with it. The hull is 60 years old but has new paint and portions have been rebuilt.

I have oars for the aluminum boat, and while it is a heavy boat to row, I am confident that I could row it several miles or more if necessary to get home in the event of engine troubles.



I am thinking of building a GV-10 dinghy as a future project. It is a 10' long pram designed to plane. I would think it ideal for the Bahamas.

[Chotu]

What about this zodiac?

It looks like zodiac’s answer to the same highfield.

My dinghy is now finished. The entire transom is delaminating and leaking and not even safe for a single trip at this point.

https://defender.com/en_us/zodiac-al...2-z11212-r0090

It seems to have everything exactly the same as the Highfield 290 and 260. Even the same five year warranty and German welded PVC Ann recommended. But it’s about $1000 less.

PS: I finally got a good look at the port a boat. It is much much heavier than I had expected. It weighs too much for this application. I had really thought it was going to be lighter than the ribs.

[Bruce K]

I'm totally over inflatables, wet, no room, fragile. I've had a Quintrex Explorer 350 for years. First Yam 15 2st, then Merc 15 2st, now Suzi 15 4st. Planes easily with 4 onboard. 25kts one up.

[rslifkin]

It's going to be tough to beat the weight (or weight capacity) of a single floor RIB. But we're still quite happy with our cheap aluminum skiff. Not quite as light as a RIB and it's a little big, but it's pretty comfy (you'll run out of weight capacity before it gets crowded), it's fast enough, and more importantly, it's very durable (ours was built in 1967). And it cost under $500 from Craigslist, plus attaching some fenders and a coat of paint.

[malbert73]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

It's going to be tough to beat the weight (or weight capacity) of a single floor RIB. But we're still quite happy with our cheap aluminum skiff. Not quite as light as a RIB and it's a little big, but it's pretty comfy (you'll run out of weight capacity before it gets crowded), it's fast enough, and more importantly, it's very durable (ours was built in 1967). And it cost under $500 from Craigslist, plus attaching some fenders and a coat of paint.

I’m sure it’s more durable than your topsides [emoji51]

How do you tie up to the mothership?

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by malbert73

I’m sure it’s more durable than your topsides [emoji51]

How do you tie up to the mothership?

We permanently attached fenders along the sides and padded the bow area as well, so it's pretty friendly to the mothership. We typically just bring it sideways behind the boat and get on/off via the swim platform and then hoist it in the davits, so it's typically not left banging against the boat anyway.

[Chotu]

Found one!

Might just be the saddest ad for an inflatable I have ever seen. Ha ha.

This was really from one of the ads. It said BYOP. Bring your own pump.

And I actually stumbled across an old dinghy that I used to have that I really liked. A Caribe L 10. It’s an old one. But if I can get it super cheap that sounds like it might do the trick. They are indestructible. It’s really old looking. It’s really ugly. I like those characteristics in a dinghy. I don’t want people looking at my dinghy thinking it’s a good thing to steal. Plus, I will move construction materials in it, bicycle. You name it. I will beat up any dinghy that I own so I might as well get one that’s already beat up

[senormechanico]

Bought an Avon 3.10 RIB new in 1991. It survived 4 years in Mexico without any sun guard chaps, and back in the PNW ever since. It looks like heck mostly from grunge growth just sitting on our dock, but that plywood floor is still in fairly good shape.
I'd buy another if it went missing.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Chotu

What about this zodiac?

It looks like zodiac’s answer to the same highfield.

My dinghy is now finished. The entire transom is delaminating and leaking and not even safe for a single trip at this point.

https://defender.com/en_us/zodiac-al...2-z11212-r0090

It seems to have everything exactly the same as the Highfield 290 and 260. Even the same five year warranty and German welded PVC Ann recommended. But it’s about $1000 less.

PS: I finally got a good look at the port a boat. It is much much heavier than I had expected. It weighs too much for this application. I had really thought it was going to be lighter than the ribs.

If I don’t get that old, beat up Caribe, does anybody have any experience with this zodiac or similar? Or experience in general with zodiac?

They have the kind of PVC that Ann talked about upthread.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Found one!

Might just be the saddest ad for an inflatable I have ever seen. Ha ha.

This was really from one of the ads. It said BYOP. Bring your own pump.

And I actually stumbled across an old dinghy that I used to have that I really liked. A Caribe L 10. It’s an old one. But if I can get it super cheap that sounds like it might do the trick. They are indestructible. It’s really old looking. It’s really ugly. I like those characteristics in a dinghy. I don’t want people looking at my dinghy thinking it’s a good thing to steal. Plus, I will move construction materials in it, bicycle. You name it. I will beat up any dinghy that I own so I might as well get one that’s already beat up

Something cheap and used is probably the right answer for now with all of the other work you've got going on. And if it's cheap enough, you can probably sell it for what you paid later if you find a different dinghy you'd rather have instead.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Something cheap and used is probably the right answer for now with all of the other work you've got going on. And if it's cheap enough, you can probably sell it for what you paid later if you find a different dinghy you'd rather have instead.

100% agree. Trying to work something out with the caribe guy right now.

Most people talk about a dinghy like it is their car. A nice, reliable, sharp looking thing they can feel good going to dinner or pulling up to a dock in.

To me, it’s like that old pick up truck that’s kept in the yard that you use to move rocks around and haul cordwood. And that you also use to take garbage to the dump. You drop loads of dirt in it from a bucket loader that cause the wheels to rub the wheel wells. The bed is mangled.

It’s more like a work boat for me. No matter how Yachty I am, or the mother ship is, I destroy dinghies.

[bensolomon]

Chotu,

I know you have a ton of work on the mothership, but I had a West Marine pru3 dinghy and the transom head delaminated. With a heat gun, and some MEK I took the wooden transom out, used it as a pattern, cut a whole new one, painted it and with two part cement re-glued the transom into the boat.

I then drilled out an epoxy the attachment points for the davits. That dingy continued to work great and at the 10-year mark, I bought an Achilles just because I thought it was time to get a new dinghy.

Always wishing you well,
Ben