Depends on whether you want one to use 100 times a year or 10 times. For the latter, in my case, I bought one of there 8 years ago WavEco 2.3m Roundtail Slatted Floor Inflatable Dinghy I replaced the oars with longer wooden ones, which I would do on ANY inflatable tender. I do not use an outboard and the round tail is better for the second person to sit on and is lighter than a rigid transom. I have a single flip-up wheel I can add if necessary but in most cases it is easy to carry up a beach. I find the 2.3 is a good size for 2 people. I also made a lighter weight thwart and removed one floor slat and, with original oars, got the weight down to 19Kg
Sorry for possible thread drift, but can I ask how you adopted the wooden oars to that type of oar lock (pin through, fold down). I have a similar type of inflatable
For information, Acastillage Diffusion, France, sell own brand inflatables which are made by Bombard for them, but half the price of the equivalent Bombard model. And just as good.
Hi, see photo below. the little wooden blocks were initially held on with cable-ties until I was happy they were in the right place, then inserted two horizontal 4mm stainless screws in each block to replace the cable-ties. There is not a lot of load on the screws.
Nice bit of tinkering there!
Agree, I have one of those Achilles inflatables too. OK it only gets light use but mine is 40 years old! I think it is made from Hypalon fabric, certainly not PVC. Well over twice the price of the WavEco
Thank you, interesting! That was an idea I hadn't thought of.
Yes, hypalon AKA CSM or synthetic rubber. Very hard wearing.
