Pricing up dinghies.

tom_sail

tom_sail

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Pricing up dinghies at the moment. I don't want to spend a fortune < £450

From my thread a month or two back I was advise to purchase a hard dinghy to use to get to the swinging mooring in 3-4 knots of tide or an inflatable keel dinghy.

I have decided on the inflatable keel dinghy as hard dinghies are hard to come buy and stupid prices for a bit of tatty GRP.

My inflatable choices:

Excel SD200 inflatable keel: £449
Seago TSR270 Ranger Inflatable with Inflatable Floor & Keel: £459
Waveline
Wet line

All around same price.
Are they complete rubbish and break up with a month?
Or
Are they reasonable quality and will they last at least 4-5 years?
 
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I've got an SD200, excellent boat and lasting well so far. But it's small and light and I bought it to keep on board for use when cruising singlehanded, and not for carrying big loads out to the boat - I use a tatty old bit of GRP for that, and leave it on the mooring. If you want an all rounder you might want to consider the SD235, my friend has one and is a better bet for getting gear and people around.

How many people do you want to carry, how much gear, how far out to your mooring, how sheltered is it? You have a 200 and a 270 in the same list which seems a bit odd...
 
I doubt if anyone can advise you as to ideal dingy (hard; inflatable; keel; etc) without knowing your precise situation; where you keep the dingy; etc.

As far as inflatables generally, I doubt you will find any significant difference between any of the brands made in China. (rather like TVs, probably made in the same factory whatever the brand name:.... all quite acceptable).

Vic
 
Thanks for the comments.

A little more info.

Swinging mooring in the Conwy estuary. From dinghy launching jetty to mooring 0.3 nm straight into about 1-2 maybe 3 knots of ebb tide. Although there is a back eddie.

Mostly 2 people with one bag for life of food, a rucksack of clothes and a medium dry bag with bits and bobs.

I can possibly motor over to deganwy Marina and use the fuel berth to load other people and more bags. Need to check with daganwy if they allow this. If anyone knows would be helpful in the decision?

All I can afford is a 2.5 hp outboard which is the maximum size for the 2.0 metre sizes.

The seago is larger, more bang for my buck but I also want the smallest and safest possible to fit in very small cockpit locker.
 
The SD200 would be too small, the SD235 would probably be ideal - worth comparing weight/pack size with the Seago. My friend's SD235 goes quite well with my Yamaha 2HP two stroke, better with his 3.3HP two stroke but it's heavier. If you're going for a four stroke it'll be heavier again...

.
 
Lodesman77 said:
The SD200 would be too small, the SD235 would probably be ideal - worth comparing weight/pack size with the Seago. My friend's SD235 goes quite well with my Yamaha 2HP two stroke, better with his 3.3HP two stroke but it's heavier. If you're going for a four stroke it'll be heavier again...

.
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My feeling too after seeing one at LIBS. Currently have an avon redcrest which I feel is unsuitable in strong tides and estuaries.

Also seen a GRP 10 foot dory/tender which I could leave on beach and mooring. And use the redcrest Is the sheltered bays we anchor in.
 
Twister_Ken said:
Keep an eye on eBay for this kind of thing for ship to shore and keep the Redcrest aboard for use when voyaging
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, I have seen a GRP similar to that but I a little closer to home.

Would a 2.3-3hp outboard push some like that along? I don't really want to go any bigger because of weight issues.
 
tom_sail said:
Thanks for that, I have seen a GRP similar to that but I a little closer to home.

Would a 2.3-3hp outboard push some like that along? I don't really want to go any bigger because of weight issues.
Click to expand...

Do be careful with the weight. Ours hardly ever gets used because it is such a pain to launch and recover. I'm researching 3D Tender Light at the moment with a view to swapping - they are incredibly light for their size and the entry level price fits your budget.
 
We kept our boat on a swinging mooring at Conway for several years (just under Bodlondeb point). I strongly agree with Twister Ken's suggestion as to a rigid dinghy. We got a battered but serviceable one for £50 or so from a local. Go to see the guy who maintains the moorings (his office is under the old bridge).

The tide can run stronger than you suggest and in any wind over tide you will get wet (sometimes very wet and a bit scared) doing the trip in a cheapo inflatable.

We almost always used the club launch (not sure how often it runs these days).

It is a great place to keep your boat - really pretty location and just sitting on the boat on a sunny morning was a delight. It was a real wrench to give up our mooring when we decided to move the boat to Scotland. I am sure you will love it there.
 
tom_sail said:
My feeling too after seeing one at LIBS. Currently have an avon redcrest which I feel is unsuitable in strong tides and estuaries.

Also seen a GRP 10 foot dory/tender which I could leave on beach and mooring. And use the redcrest Is the sheltered bays we anchor in.
Click to expand...

I have the SD260, I bought it in November after nearly sinking in my little pram dinghy. I have only used it twice but I am impressed with the apparent build quality, stability and load carrying. However it is a BIG, probably too big, so I second that the 235 would probably be the ideal size.
It can support my 3.5 HP 4 stroke easily but there's no chance of getting on the plane with that so speed is quite limited. With the excel dinghies budget to buy a decent pump as well, the orange and green one that came with mine was hopeless so I bought a bravo 4.

There was a dinghy review in one of the magazines a while back and the Excel 235 was rated very highly, that's why I went for excel.
 
saumur2 said:
We kept our boat on a swinging mooring at Conway for several years (just under Bodlondeb point). I strongly agree with Twister Ken's suggestion as to a rigid dinghy. We got a battered but serviceable one for £50 or so from a local. Go to see the guy who maintains the moorings (his office is under the old bridge).

The tide can run stronger than you suggest and in any wind over tide you will get wet (sometimes very wet and a bit scared) doing the trip in a cheapo inflatable.

We almost always used the club launch (not sure how often it runs these days).

It is a great place to keep your boat - really pretty location and just sitting on the boat on a sunny morning was a delight. It was a real wrench to give up our mooring when we decided to move the boat to Scotland. I am sure you will love it there.
Click to expand...

Great to hear some local knowledge. Our mooring is just off deganwy Marina near the 3 port hand bouys. We plan to launch the dinghy from deganwy near the railway station.

From the 1st of April the club launch runs 5 days a week, I think.

I'll speak to the chap you recommended I think he's the chap that runs Conwy musle farm as he also looks after the moorings.

Thanks

maby said:
Do be careful with the weight. Ours hardly ever gets used because it is such a pain to launch and recover. I'm researching 3D Tender Light at the moment with a view to swapping - they are incredibly light for their size and the entry level price fits your budget.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggested, if I can't find a hard dinghy I'll look into them.

maej said:
I have the SD260, I bought it in November after nearly sinking in my little pram dinghy. I have only used it twice but I am impressed with the apparent build quality, stability and load carrying. However it is a BIG, probably too big, so I second that the 235 would probably be the ideal size.
It can support my 3.5 HP 4 stroke easily but there's no chance of getting on the plane with that so speed is quite limited. With the excel dinghies budget to buy a decent pump as well, the orange and green one that came with mine was hopeless so I bought a bravo 4.

There was a dinghy review in one of the magazines a while back and the Excel 235 was rated very highly, that's why I went for excel.
Click to expand...

I feel the sd235 is probably the best buy at the minute. The build quality looks better and it's nice and small.
 
tom_sail said:
Our mooring is just off deganwy Marina near the 3 port hand bouys. We plan to launch the dinghy from deganwy near the railway station.
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If you are on that side then the inflatable would be ok probably as you would be out of the main strength of the ebb. The club launch service was great - just remember to take the handheld VHF home with your each time so you can call him. We used to be picked up at the jetty in Conway and rarely had to wait too long. The drill was to unload the car opposite the Liverpool Arms - carry bags and gear down the jetty then I would go and park up the car somewhere and when I got back the launch would be already there or imminent. Happy Days.
 
Do be careful with the weight. Ours hardly ever gets used because it is such a pain to launch and recover.
Click to expand...

A well-designed launching trolley, preferably with inflatable tyres, should make handling even a heavy dinghy quite easy - the secret is to get the thing balanced over the axle, so that there is no weight on the handle.

I'd definitely recommend a solid dinghy over an inflatable, much safer in strong winds. Make sure it's got good freeboard and adequate buoyancy and you won't go far wrong - and if it looks a bit of a dog, it's less likely to get pinched!
 
greenalien said:
A well-designed launching trolley, preferably with inflatable tyres, should make handling even a heavy dinghy quite easy - the secret is to get the thing balanced over the axle, so that there is no weight on the handle.

...!
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actually, I was talking about launching and recovering it from the yacht - agree that a trolley works fine from the shore. We are marina based, so the dinghy only really comes into use from the boat to get ashore from a visitor's buoy - and we need to get it back on board bfore we leave!
 
greenalien said:
A well-designed launching trolley, preferably with inflatable tyres, should make handling even a heavy dinghy quite easy - the secret is to get the thing balanced over the axle, so that there is no weight on the handle.

I'd definitely recommend a solid dinghy over an inflatable, much safer in strong winds. Make sure it's got good freeboard and adequate buoyancy and you won't go far wrong - and if it looks a bit of a dog, it's less likely to get pinched!
Click to expand...

The one i have seenn is a cathedral/dory type hull. Look abit battered and bruised which is perfect, come with a lauching trolley to.

maby said:
actually, I was talking about launching and recovering it from the yacht - agree that a trolley works fine from the shore. We are marina based, so the dinghy only really comes into use from the boat to get ashore from a visitor's buoy - and we need to get it back on board bfore we leave!
Click to expand...

Hopefully keeping the redcrest onboard wont be backbreaking job. It is fairly light and easy to roll up,and teaks five minutes to inflate.
 
The one i have seenn is a cathedral/dory type hull. Look abit battered and bruised which is perfect, come with a lauching trolley to
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I use - just be careful not to overload the front, as they're not so buoyant at that end, and the last thing you want to do is bury the bow...
 
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