Hard dinghies vs inflatables

[sailorgirl]

...after a week of ownership aluminium seems to be the way to go. Our inflatable gave up the ghost under the tropical sun so we bought a hard dinghy on arrival in Australia.. So far apart from learning it's not so well behaved hanging astern and needs to be tied alongside all seems good, it even seems to relatively easy to hoist on to the foredeck ready to set sail.

 

[GHA]

How easy is it to get back into after snorkeling?

 

[temptress]

How easy is it to get back into after snorkeling?

We don't know yet. We are in Crocodile country, signs on all the slips and beaches warn against swimming.

We have to wait until we get out into the Barrier ref to try that. Probably harder than the inflatable but looks like it should be fine.

 

[GrahamM376]

We don't know yet. We are in Crocodile country, signs on all the slips and beaches warn against swimming.

We have to wait until we get out into the Barrier ref to try that. Probably harder than the inflatable but looks like it should be fine.

Don't sharks swim faster than crocs

 

[idomeneus5]

You ll see the odd salty on the inner parts of the reef too

 

[sailorgirl]

Yup heard today someone was attacked in the Whitsundays... We are not swimming until we are safely north of here, I ve seen then on the shores of Singapore.

 

[westernman]

Don't sharks swim faster than crocs

Both swim substantially faster than a human can.

 

[Sybarite]

You ll see the odd salty on the inner parts of the reef too

Some have even got as far as New Zealand.

 

[charles_reed]

Why not have the best of all worlds, a RIB, the unsinkability of an inflatable, the stability and ease of driving of a rigid dinghy.
Fortunately none yet (saltwater crocs) in the E Med.

 

[Saguday]

RIB defo the way to go imho. The only thing I miss vs a hard dinghy is the abiility to put a sail on it for messing about. As a liveaboard workhorse though they can't be beaten.

 

[macd]

Why not have the best of all worlds, a RIB, the unsinkability of an inflatable, the stability and ease of driving of a rigid dinghy.

Fortunately none yet (saltwater crocs) in the E Med.

The stated reason for choosing aluminium was its indifference to UV. Perhaps Hypalon was more costly?

"Nah, crocs ate all the sharks..."
Saltys are very scary beasts. I've been in an ally skiff in creeks in Northern Territory and never felt so vulnerable in my life. Sharks, which don't generally hunt humans, kill roughly ten people per year, globally; crocs, which do, kill many, many times more. And don't get too complacent about the Med: Nile crocs are by far the most prolific large predators of humans (excluding other humans, of course).

 

[sailorgirl]

Probably but I'm not going to challenge either to a race!

 

[sailorgirl]

Was a little scared/surprised to find a croc swimming off shore of us when we were at least a mile offshore at anchor in Margaret's Bay, QLD recently. Still wonder if the things can climb up our stepped transom.... ��

 

[macd]

Was a little scared/surprised to find a croc swimming off shore of us when we were at least a mile offshore at anchor in Margaret's Bay, QLD recently. Still wonder if the things can climb up our stepped transom.... ��

I hesitate to pass this on, but knowing is better preparation than not knowing. They can climb trees:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_20BmjhNVsg

 

[sailorgirl]

I hesitate to pass this on, but knowing is better preparation than not knowing. They can climb trees:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_20BmjhNVsg

Not even going to watch it... in fact wish I hadn't read your post �� There are some things in life that one is better remaining ignorant of. At least tonight we are safely tucked up in a marina with a lock and no known sightings of crocs!

 

[AndrewB]

I carried both for many years while cruising. I guess the hard dinghy was used five times for every one of the inflatable. But the inflatable was the choice in rough conditions as it felt safer.

 

[geem]

I carried both for many years while cruising. I guess the hard dinghy was used five times for every one of the inflatable. But the inflatable was the choice in rough conditions as it felt safer.

We prefer a hyperlon rib. Benefits of a hard dinghy when running up a rocky beach. Stability of dinghy and ability to take a decent sized engine so long distances are no problem. They feel nice and secure in rough sea.
Down side is they can still get punctures

 

[KellysEye]

One thing I forgot to mention is when we bought the aluminiun floored dinghy it would plane with one person on board and a mere 5 HP engine, I couldn't believe it, our inflatable floor one never came close to that.

 

[sailaboutvic]

What is the small rib you can buy ? I looking for something that will be small enough to put on the foredeck

 

[RupertW]

What is the small rib you can buy ? I looking for something that will be small enough to put on the foredeck

I will be interested in the answers to this - our 3m Caribe rib is now 10 years old (or possibly more) and although I love the solidity for getting ashore on rocky Greek and Croatian beaches, it's much too heavy and with 2 of us plus shopping it's more than we need unless we have a boatful of guests occasionally.