Hard dinghies vs inflatables

[temptress]

Back on thread:
We recently bought a secondhand rigid 8' Walker Bay, I was fed up with the leaks, punctures in the inflatables and ribs that we've had over the years and it was so cheap, we felt we could 'give it a lash' and if we decided that we didn't like it, we could just give it away somewhere. After three months - admittedly in the sheltered waters of the ICW & Chesapeake Bay, we've been really pleased with our decision, it's lighter/easier to stow on the foredeck than our old AB rib, you can bounce it onto a beach, rough dock or anywhere else without worries and yes it felt a tad unstable for the first couple of weeks, but we soon got used to that; it's now second-nature to be sure and step in/out from the centre. However, just yesterday I went snorkelling and discovered the BIG downside of the rigid compared to an inflatable: unless there's someone else in/beside the dink to counterbalance the weight, you can't get back into it from the water - it tilts and floods before I can haul myself back in and I tried via beam, bow and stern.

Keep trying. I have managed to work out how to get back into the tinnie from the water though SWMBO { saolorgirl} has not managed to. Mind you she could not climb into the inflatable unaided either.