Charter 2.9m airdeck dinghy and 2.3hp honda 4 stroke

liverpoold

liverpoold

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 Aug 2006
Messages
105
Location
Liverpool
Visit site
Hi everyone,
I am thinking of buying a dinghy/outboard package (as above) but wondered how easily it could be carried on my own?
I am a medium build woman (have a heavenly twins) and want a reliable dinghy and outboard, know this is quite large but will be transporting friends with children often to my drying out mooring this summer.
Will also be going to my boat alone, will I be able to easily get this dinghy from the car to the launch area etc?
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Selina
 
Hi Selina,

The Quicksilver airdecks come in at 30-40kg, not sure how that compares, I find that the weight is not so bad once they are fully inflated but it is still a fair weight.

Perhaps some folding wheels on the transom?

Have you thought of using a two-stroke? Not only lighter but less fussy about being moved and stored on it's side.
 
If you are looking at the mailspeedmarine package then a quick check of the weights shows; dinghy 43kg, engine 12.7kg, dinghy is probably boderline to carry yourself but don't forget the size and shape of the dinghy when packed makes it a pig to carry or lift from the car: 115 x 66 x 30cm when packed, and half as big again when you repack it /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

Get yourself an electric pump to inflate it as you will take an age to foot/hand pump a dinghy that size.
 
Hi,
Um, I have been told that 4 strokes are more/reliable/cheaper, as I am a novice with engines I want something that's not going to die in the middle of the harbour when the tides racing!
Selina
 
I have a 2.7 metre Quicksilver. I can lift it out of a locker with a struggle and can manage to manhandle it along side decks uninflated. I am a late middle-age (well OK, elderly) man reasonably fit. I can get the inflated boat on board but it takes a bit of technique to do it. Going ashore with the outboard on, my wife and I struggle a bit to carry it up a beach. Without the outboard it is an easy carry for the two of us. You could look at the bolt-on wheels that attach to the transom. They don't look great but they make life a lot easier.

Many years ago when I first bought a cruising boat, an experienced friend advised us to buy the biggest tender we could manage. We did so and have never regretted it. At one stage we bought a much smaller one for the convenience but sold it very soon as we never felt safe or comfortable with it. My advice would be to get the 2.9 metre despite the disadvantages that you will surely encounter. It will be more than worthwhile when you have a family or friends to transport in less than perfect conditions.
 
Do you think the 2.7m would be big enough?
(abit lighter!)
Or do you know of any other good reliable, cheap packages?
I am fed up of old inflatables that are too small, too slow and unstable in any waves! And outboards that die and I have no idea how to fix them!
Thanks
 
I would second (or 3rd) the idea of using fold-up transom wheels. The thermoplastic ones are good for running up shingle etc.
I have an old Avon which I struggled with on my own until I put some wheels on. I borrowed a friend's Seago with an inflatable floor. Despite being slightly smaller it was heavier than the Avon with its bed-slat floor.
 
Honda 2.3 is the lightest 4 stroke and is less than a kilo heavier than the smallest 2 strokes. Also would be fine for the use you intend to put it to.
Only downsides are that you have to lie the engine down in a specific way to stop oil spilling into the cylinder and they are a bit noisy. The small 2.5hp and 3.3hp 2 strokes - which weigh the same as each other - may not have a neutral gear nor a throttle on the tiller handle. Because of this they are rather more awkward to use. On the other hand they can be stored any way up in an onboard locker.

It really depends therefore on your own priorities.

Your suggested dinghy is quite heavy and unless you are very fit you would struggle to carry it very far. I've got a 2.2m Lodestar Ultralight which I can manage to lift up and carry on my head - inflatable floor makes this comfortable. Couldn't do that with the engine still attached though. In any case trying to carry a dinghy plus engine is going to be very heavy and very awkward, if you're on your own. Fold down wheels would be essential I'd have thought.

If you search the various manufacturers websites you can find out which are the lighter models.
Hope the above helps.

P.S. Suzuki now make a 2.5hp 4 stroke which is about the same weight as the Honda but is water cooled and may be a bit quieter. Have a look at www.suzuki-marine.co.uk and www.tohatsu-uk.net. Tohatsu make the 2.5/3.3hp 2 strokes that are also badged Mariner and Mercury and they are usually slightly cheaper than them.
 
Dinghy Dollies...

...guaranteed against grizzly bears & children - or so it says on the box.

I've had two pairs. One I bought in 1979 for a Hutchinson 3.1m dinghy which I retired in 1993 but kept the wheels buying a new Avon Rover to which a new pair of DDs was fitted. I sold this dinghy with the yacht in 2001. In 2005 I bought a new air-deck dinghy and re-fitted the 1979 Dinghy Dollies. They are going strong and make the dinghy dead easy to pull up and down greek beaches.

Fit them as low as possible with through bolts (5mm machine screws) backed with SS penny washers. To get them low enough to become effective you will have to drill the lower mounting holes through the area of floor fabric that is run up the outside of the wooden transom on the type of dinghy you suggest. This MAY give warranty implications which the importers of these "made in a Chinese, globally warming stink-hole" products may not like.

Steve Cronin
 
Re: Dinghy Dollies...

flip down wheels work very well, i have set of stainless steel ones, well worth the money, but of course the down side is it does not roll up at all now . . . .

you might want to considder leaving the dingy by the water side

some places are relatively safe, if it gets stolen once every ??? 2 years can you live with that

i lock mine, but next to mine are several unlocked ones, they have been there for years
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top