Best inflatable to row

[Deben Sailor]

We don't want to get into carrying an outboard and petrol but do need an inflatable tender that can safely get us ashore under muscle power. Our current one has been nicknamed "HMS Bouncy" and the position of the rowlocks relative to the wooden thwart means serious surgical modification would be required to make it possible for the oarsman to generate really effective propulsion! Grateful for guidance.

 

[choppy]

I asked this question a while back. - An inflatable keel helps greatly (Nearly bought a lodestar as suggested, then there are all the cheapies that do the job then you throw away at some point~ which grates a bit. New Avon expensive & probably nickable) But all the fixed paddle on a pin types seem to involve dabbing rather than rowing which is (of course) fine but not what i was after-

Ended up with an £ 85 Redcrest in great nick (had to look a bit) & propper 6ft oars which does well for me (& family or friends) I can make against a fair tide &/or a moderate wind then carry by myself with no other cr*& to worry about. Simple.

Hope helps

 

[vyv_cox]

Our Quicksilver 270 with airdeck and inflatable keel rows extremely well. I rarely use the outboard, even for longish trips. Last week I 'rescued' a yachtsman who had been blown downwind when rowing his tender and was quite unable to make progress back. I was able to tow him around 200 metres back to his boat. I add that I am well into retirement and a long way from being an oarsman!

We bought our Quicksilver after studying a YM test, probably in 2003. The Suzumar came out top, slightly better that the Quicksilver, but none was available in the whole of Europe. It also was reported to row well and looking at one recently I can see that it is very similar to the Quicksilver. Airdeck and inflatable keel is now much more common and I would not consider a tender without. The main reason that my 'victim' was having such problems (apart from being French and not having been taught to row properly) was that his oars were constantly coming out of the rowlocks. The ones bolted to the tender, as with both that I have mentioned, work well.

 

[Kelpie]

Rowlock design is pretty important. I have a small Bombard with very puny captive rowlocks and I wouldn't dare put full force on them. My avon has indestructible rowlocks and you can really put your back into it and row as hard as you like- however I have no floor in it so it's not perfect by any means. Being a roundtail it also has zero directional stability which you can get used to, eventually, but it's a bit of a pain. The Bombard, being a transom type dinghy with a slatted floor, seems to have better directional stability.

I think most people would agree that a rigid dinghy is the way to go for rowing. Whenever I get the chance I borrow my mate's 8ft plywood pram dinghy which goes like hot snot. He's managed to maintain 4kt with it which I thought was pretty impressive!

 

[r_h]

Ended up with an £ 85 Redcrest in great nick (had to look a bit) & propper 6ft oars which does well for me (& family or friends) I can make against a fair tide &/or a moderate wind then carry by myself with no other cr*& to worry about. Simple.

This was always my preferred solution - the proper oars make a huge difference - although for the boat in Greece I now have an ageing Avon 2.85m tender with bigger tubes and solid transom, which surprised me by being a lot better to row, although the 6ft oars are on the short side, and its load-carrying ability is great.

I reckon Vyv and Choppy must be right about the benefits of the airdeck and inflatable keel, but when I last replaced a dinghy they were out of budget.

 

[greenalien]

Adding a rigid floor to an Avon dinghy makes it much easier to row, better under power as well, and it's no longer like owning a floating trampoline - I made mine from 9mm WBP ply, bought from B&Q. Provided it's well painted, it'll last for years and cost very little. Making it in 2 parts, front and rear, makes it easier to fit and remove - don't forget the holes for the seat toggles!

 

[alahol2]

For years we had an Avon Redstart, try putting the seat tube lengthways rather than across the boat, it gives it a kind of keel that improves directionality somewhat. We now tow a hard dinghy which we can row, motor or sail, 100 times better.

 

[25931]

A tatty looking Honwave 2.5m (alloy floor & inflatable keel) came with the boat & I was surprised to find that rowing an inflatable could be enjoyable.

 

[knightvision]

Very happy with our Tinker Tramp. Good to row. nice to sail, good oars and lots of space.

 

[Mariner69]

I have the Honda Seawave thingy with air deck. Goes really well when rowed. When driven by the 5 HP outboard it is relatively slow as it doesn't get up on the plane. Needs a 10 HP at least for that. Suprisingly the rowing is easy with fixed oars and a good seat.