new avon inflatable acvice

[captainforbes]

I want a new tender, and have decided Avon is best for my needs. We have an old Redcrest which fits the bill, but most people seem to have hard transomed dinghies nowadays. We row ashore a lot, but use a 2hp engine if it is windy or a long way to row. We sail on the West Coast of Scotland, and usually the boat has to be carried up a beach a bit rather than tied up at a pier/pontoon. The Redcrest is 14lbs lighter the the R280, but the R280 is 1 ft beamier.

What do people think about the chioce:another Redcrest (hypalon tube all round), or a hard transomed boat. THe choice comes down to an Avon Redcrest or an Avon R280.

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[Oldhand]

I have this year converted from a Redcrest to a Zodiac 260FR. This has the rigid inflatable foor and keel as well as a hard transom and is a huge improvement over the Redcrest in terms of being a boat. Without too much weight forward you can drive it flat out into a F4 with 2h.p.

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[Talbot]

I have also bought a new Zodiac, but the 260 Fast Roller with the inflatable floor. Given that they probably wont last quite as long as an avon, but my old zodiac is over 20 years old now so I cant complain. I needed to be able to lift it out and at 28kg it is heavier than my old slatted floor version, so I am fitting wheels on the transom (smally plastic ones). The inflatable keel and floor give you very nearly the advantages of a RIB without the disadvantages of the weight. Any smaller boat is also narrower and I would be unhappy in any exposed seaway/shore landing. PBO did an article on tenders abt a year ago. The important thing is to decide how and where you will be using your tender. If it is just from the pontoon to the folly inn (example) then just abt anything is acceptable. If you want to use it in an exposed sea where there are waves/wake, then the inflatable keel is a great advantage. If weight/expense doesnt matter then buy a rib.

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[vyv_cox]

In common with the other posters, I have bought a new tender this year, inflatable keel, rigid transom. Mine is a Quicksilver 270. It is not Hypalon but the material seems tough and considerably more robust that the older PVCs. What I think you need to bear in mind is that this type of boat is little more than half the price of a similar Avon, yet given reasonable care it will last just as well. The advantage of this construction is that it rows and motors far better than a soft floor boat.

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[LORDNELSON]

If you have lots of storage space or always tow your tender then I think a hard transomed inflatable with a keel of some sort is hard to beat. However, if you want to stow your dinghy away, as we do, in a locker, then the hard transom is likely to be a problem. I settled for a redcrest when we needed a new tender a couple of years ago and its good for our usage but I would not be happy using it with our 2 HP outboard in exposed conditions. At Yarmouth on the outside moorings last year in a bit of a blow I thought it too risky to use our tender and settled for the harbour's ferry.

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