dinghy passenger capacity

[mikemc]

I'm about to buy a dinghy as a tender on my 26ft yacht.

Stowage is obviously a major factor and I've considered the 1.8m although I'm currently leaning towards a 2.3m possibly Wetline or Seago.

I'm unclear about passenger capacity. Many of the on-line advertisers have different capacities quoted even for the same boat - presumably arising out of errors (if so, then this is pretty irresponsible).

Wetline's own brochure quotes Max 3 persons. Max load 350kg for the 230 roundtail. That's 3 rather large people. 4 medium build people would still be within 350kg so would I be unwise to have 4 such people in the dinghy? We always have to think about what's right first and foremost, but we also need to think of legal consequences if things go wrong. Hence my interest in knowing what other people's views are on this point.

It's also interesting that the 230 slatted floor version with a flat transom is rated by Wetline for "2.5" people (presumably two adults and a child). I wonder what it is that determines these ratings for there to be a difference between two virtually identical boats?

Incidentally, according to the brochure, the roundtail now has a stainless steel outboard bracket - thus removing one problem refered to in a recent thread on Wetline boats.

 

[geoffatstanpit]

If it's just for you to get out to your boat so you can bring it alongside for loading up then the smaller the better. I suppose you could row a 2m dinghy half a mile on your own. It's almost impossible to row properly in a transom dinghy unless the passenger sits on the edge of the transom! If you need to take more than one person at a time it's better to take an oar apiece and paddle "Hawaii five-o" style. That would bring the maximum range down to about 100m before serious recriminations start about who's not paddling hard enough.

My dinghy is 2.5m long and my mooring is 100m from home. 50m over land and 50m afloat. There isn't a jetty nearby I can bring the boat in to load up so I row the luggage out on my own (bags and boxes don't get in the way of rowing half as much as people's knees). Then come back for the crew.

With an outboard, you could carry 4 in a 2.5m dinghy but someone has to get wet and muddy up to the knees pushing out till there's enough water for the prop.

Geoff

 

[Gin]

EU rules dictate what a manufacturer can claim for load capacity.

Can't say exactly what any inflatable can carry but when I was looking for a rigid tender recently I was puzzled, just like you, to find that a particular, well known, 8ft dinghy with high freeboard and good beam was quoted as suitable for two adults.

When questioned the manufacturer said"that is the maximum we can quote but it will easily carry 4 adults and some kit.

Enquiries of owners, confirmed these comments and so I bought one. It does indeed easily and safely carry 4, so I would recommend you speak to a number of experienced users of what you intend to buy to help you make up your mind.

 

[fireball]

We use a 10ft walkerbay. I think it is limited to 3 people, but we can get 4 in ok, with luggage if it is suitably calm... we do use an outboard though. It is all dependant on your crewsize and conditions you expect to use the boat in. The longer the distance, rougher the water the bigger the boat...
Not tried inflatables, but we want to get one, probably will go for a small one just to stow onboard for use whilst out and about....

 

[Guest]

Small is nice, few more cms is better ....

Stowage dictates small is best ... but then you have to accept the restircted carrying ... average 1.8m will carry 2 well + couple of overnight bags. No bags - you can squeeze 3.

I have a Redstart which I guess is 2m ... and 4 can do it - but 2 get wet arses and no rowing. 3 is comfortable and allows a couple of small bags.

The main thing about inflatables .... forget the ones with no stiffening arrangements on floor .... go for pump-up floor or slats .... once you experience a flubber with unsupported floor and the balancing act .... you soon look for a sheet of ply to fit !!
My Redstart - previous owner cut to fit a sheet of ply ... it is exact fit and takes a while to insert into dinghy etc. but once in and pumped up - the difference is amazing. It literally becomes a RIB .... Problem with solid floors like that are stowage ... Slats are a good compromise ..... but cannot take the weight so well ... mine snapped one by one over time and I weigh 100kg ....

Get the biggest you can and try to get with some type of floor - you'll thank me for that in the long run ....

Tip ..... if going on a run that takes you well away from shore etc. ..... you can deflate the dinghy enoughto then fold it enough to stow on cabin top etc. There is enough air in it then to hold it up in water with you in .... allowing you to pump it up to finish .... Some dinghys are split chambers fore and aft or port / stbd ... so you have to look and decide what is best for you ....

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[Talbot]

[ QUOTE ]
It's almost impossible to row properly in a transom dinghy unless the passenger sits on the edge of the transom!

[/ QUOTE ]
Perhaps you should try a different dinghy. My Zodiac 260FR rows brilliantly, and that includes having a passenger sitting on a tube at the stern, or even sitting in the bows. The deep V, airdeck and underwater vanes make rowing a delight, and it goes well under power as well.

 

[Stemar]

Re: Small is nice, few more cms is better ....

I would think the reduction in capacity for the transom version compared with the roundtail is because of the reduction in flooded buoyancy.

I'm strictly a cruiser, so I tow my 2.4m Zodiac everywhere. Using a bridle arrangement, I almost never have any problems. On a 24 footer, I'd struggle to stow it, even fiully deflated; since it doubles as a liferaft, I much prefer to have it ready to jump in.

As Nigel says, get one with a floor. I'd certainly go for the inflatable type if the budget can stand it - they plane much easier and you're far more likely to keep your feet dry if there's any wind or chop. I got a sletted version. I wish I'd spent a bit more and got the inflatable deck

 

[charles_reed]

Dinghies for a 26\'

Manufacturer's now have to conform to CE rules, these tend to be somewhat conservative, but are good for fairly long trips in roughish water. The carrying capacity should be plated on the tender.

Rubber dinghies are not designed for rowing - in any wind most skid downwind at an alarming rate - a tender outboard is a must with an inflatable.

You'll be hard-pressed to get anything above a 2.1m dinghy into a 26' - this should be good for 2 with full luggage.

Best to have some form of keel - there are many small RIBs available which row well and motor even better. You'll have to carry such a dinghy on your foredeck so those dimensions are important. Next best is an inflatable keel with an inflatable floor, these are just rowable and can be planed without too much angst, the smallest of these I know of is the 2.6 Plastimo which is too large for your boat.

Any dinghy without a "hard" floor should be avoided. Unfortunately this rules out most of the old Avon range which are almost indestructible but as practical as a coracle (but wetter).

If you insist on trying to row the thing a round stern is best - a hard transom is better for ouboards but tends to need more stowage space.

Towing a dinghy is OK in sheltered waters and for short trips but not for serious passagemaking, best to bring it aboard using the spinnaker halyard and stow it inflated on the foredeck if you can't get it into a locker.

A word of warning - in 2001 a new harbourmaster at Olhau fined everyone overloading a dinghy, most of these transgressors were Brits and he was charging the equivalent of £200 a go.

 

[William_H]

Re: Dinghies for a 26\'

I advocate and use an old dinghy of F/G or ply for cummuting to the boat on a swing mooring. In my case always rowed. Yes it is not so easy to get into and out of but it is chained up o the beach (20 years so far.) The dighy is left tied to the swing mooring when we sail. In your case if you need a dinghy for going ashore at a destination then look an inflatable which can be stowed semi permanently on board. have an inflator. For any distance inflatables of course must have a motor. So consider two dinghies one for each role. As for seating capacity. It depends on distance to go water conditions (especially temperature) depth and the ability and confidence of the passengers to swim. regards olewill

 

[jamesdestin]

Met a chap the other day who was building a folding dinghy for use on a 25 footer. The commercial ones I've seen look Ok, not sure about inbuilt bouyancy though.

 

[graham]

I stow a 2.3 m XM inflatable in the forepeak of my 22 footer(transom type).

Personally I wouldnt consider a smaller dinghy.This one barely carries 1 adult and 2 kids.

On Passage I sometimes put it half inflated and folded in half lashed on the foredeck.This leaves it ready for instant use as a life float.

 

[Guest]

Most compact will do the job ...

The point about the floor can in fact be sorted in a lot of cases by cutting and fitting edged ply. The Redstart I have was supplied with optional slatted floor .... previous owner fitted full floor ...

Rubber's of 1.8 - 2.1m are good enough for serving short distances as tender .... before the Redstart - which was secondhand WITH Johnson 4HP ... at £175 .... I had a Narwhal 1.8 with rigid transom .... it rowed ok'ish ... never tried in anything over mod wind ... carried 3 with limited other stuff ...

But beware of older Narwhal and similar .... they had terrible glued joints that give out and are literally unrepairable. If buying secondhand ... try to stick to Avons / Zodiacs etc.

For simple tender work ... the small ones are fine ... for serious work eg boat at anchor outside harbour .... then bigger more work serious is called for ...

26ft boat is the limiting factor for stowing the thing .... I have 25ft and I do this :> (I keep meaning to stitch up a cover !!!)

Look closely just aft of the mast .... I don't have a great deal of romm on the foredeck - being an older design without the wedge style coachroof .... only problem here - is I cannot follow my own advice of having it part inflated ....

 

[bedouin]

Re: Most compact will do the job ...

[ QUOTE ]

Rubber's of 1.8 - 2.1m are good enough for serving short distances as tender .... before the Redstart - which was secondhand WITH Johnson 4HP ... at £175

[/ QUOTE ]
You've put a 4HP on a Redstart? How did that work out.

I've got a pair of 4HP Yamahas but haven't dared try one on the redstart - I thought they would be just to heavy - and powerful - and I'd end up flipping the dinghy

 

[charles_reed]

Re: Most compact will do the job ...

I'd agree with all three of Nigel's points - it depends on how frequently you're going to anchor a mile or so from the landing-point.

If you'll be doing that the CE standards are entirely accurate.

In your position I'd recommend getting a second-hand Redstart, despite it's minute tubes which will ensure you get wet going from boat to landing and that it's virtually unrowable. Avons are easily the most long-lived of rubber boats. That will give you an opportunity to decide for yourself the constraints you're prepared to accept.

As their now part of Zodiac, I can't vouch for their latest offering being as rugged, but the zodiac range is good, if expensive.
Annex are far cheaper in France than the UK and the choice is considerably wider.

Why not take a trip over there and have a look around? Feasible enough in a 26'.

My 2.6m with inflatable keel is really too large for a 31' boat, but is great for ferrying a weeks shopping, 45l of diesel and 50l of water from quay to boat or 4 people when I have visitors and wife on board.

My previous 2.1m was great for 2 people but one had to make multiple trips when there were more than 2.

PS Anecdote re Redstart 1979
Return from Marais Hall after excellent (mainly liquid) supper. Springs LW Braye. Steps ended 2m above sealevel.
2 x 18 stone crew asked to get aboard Redstart, carefully, 1 at a time.
Both jumped at same time.
All 3 of us landed in harbour, Redstart bobbed around with a grin on its bow.
Finally rowed back (engine waterlogged).
Following am @ LW mask on, dinghy towed by very overhung crew found glasses in 6m of water.
Recovered, without aqualung (but using stone as ballast to get down there).
Apparently several natives walking dogs swore off alcohol (until that evening).

I've still got that Redstart in my garage - outboard bracket, totally inadequate totally rusted away. Hence changes.

 

[Malcb]

I carry a 2.4 Plastimo with slatted floor and transom. It is stored in the cockpit locker on my 23 foot Voyager. I have to take 2 of the 4 slats out to get it's packed thickness down to 25 cms. When I inflate it I just drop the sprayhood and inflate it on top of the cabin roof.

 

[Guest]

I assume its a redstart ...

Has the 'orrible metal frame to lock onto the arse end tube, rusted nearly through of course !!

It has one sausage seat to pump up and 4 loop and bobble tie-downs ..... it's about 2m ...... but its all painted by previous owner in battleship grey rubberised paint etc.

The 4HP .... never a problem .... made the arse sit a bit ... but it never was a flyer of an engine anyway ... the Mariner 2.5 does it fine now .... 4 is in shed waiting someone to clear out the blocked waterways !!

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[charles_reed]

Hard and Soft

When I had a mooring on the Dyfi I had just that arrangement. Hard dinghy out to mooring and inflatable for beaching.

Unfortunately neither ply nor GRP were tough enough for the environment and I ended up with a cheap Ukranian aluminium dinghy, with lots of foam buoyancy (from memory that was 3.5m long) rowed superbly and could be moved quite well by the 2hp outboard I used for the inflatable.

Mending the holes was not too difficult after I got some 2mm marine aluminium plate and a few rivets.

Having a hard dinghy (or a large RIB) is OK on a boat >13m when you can hang it on davits or upturned on the coachroof, but on anything much smaller the hard dinghy is so small as to be of doubtful value and it's probably unfeasible on a 26'.

 

[billcowan]

Re: Hard and Soft

I have tried various inflatable types on various boats of various sizes over the last 20 years, and have decided that for small to medium sailing yachts there is only way to go:

AVON Redwing, the bigger size doughnut. big fat tubes. sqashies into any shape in any locker. Lightest to carry, dont bother with the floor. can be heaved onto foredeck single handed.

Regularly carries 4 people (rowing 200 yds), 6 people motoring. 2HP yam, lightest OB available. The RECORD capacity was once TWELVE people standing up, but they were dingy sailors already wet.

Doughnut is also less atractive to theives as it cant mount a big OB

The bracket, new ones £50 or so, but you can usually buy the whole shmeer for £200 on e-bay It doesnt matter if its 40 years old, it will still outlast crappy PVC offerings.

 

[FullCircle]

Can recommend the 230RT for two people, but with 3 you start to get wet in all but flat weather.
I used to stow all the dinghy in its constituent parts in the lazarette of my 22 footer. If you suck the air out when deflating, and fold it sensibly, its remarkable how small you can make it, then lash it together with the bow and stern lines like a giant parcel.
Will have to acquire one of thise stainless brackets though!

 

[snowleopard]

Re: Hard and Soft

Agree on most of the points about the Avon doughnuts but I've just sold mine. After a while as a liveaboard it became very inconvenient to get wet feet and shopping so we switched to a hard floor job. The weight is less convenient but it stows very nicely on davits. It's a horrible muddy yellow colour which I'm sure is less attractive to thieves.