Csail
N/A
What are folks views about having a standard inflatable dinghy as a tender or a decent inflatable kayak?
Tenders pros & cons.
- Thread starter Csail
- Start date
whipper_snapper
Well-Known Member
I have often wondered about an inflatable kayak as a fun, quick, light supplement to a standard inflatable. But I don't think it could be an alternative. IMHO there is nothing to beat an inflatable dinghy for a robust, stable, load carrying workhorse for when you need to drag the shopping or the water or the kids between boat and shore.
I might add that I am developing a passionate hatred of my walker bay rigid dinghy! Without the 'optional' inflatable collar it is veryunstable, heavy, needs about 30Kg in the bow to use the engine and damages the paint on the boat when I come alongside. With the collar it would be more expensive than an inflatable and even harder to manhandle. Only good thing is that it is tough.
I might add that I am developing a passionate hatred of my walker bay rigid dinghy! Without the 'optional' inflatable collar it is veryunstable, heavy, needs about 30Kg in the bow to use the engine and damages the paint on the boat when I come alongside. With the collar it would be more expensive than an inflatable and even harder to manhandle. Only good thing is that it is tough.
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Twister_Ken
Well-Known Member
Kayaks are quite tippy - maybe a deflatable one a bit less so. But the thought of boarding from a kayak is concerning.
Litotes
Well-Known Member
If you need a rigid tender, then I heartily recommend the Barrow Boat. We have had an 8 foot barrow boat for many years - built from a kit over a couple of weekends. It is superb.
Very stable, very strong, will take four adults, rows well, motors well, even sails moderately well if you choose to include the sailing rig. When anchored a distance from a landing place, I much prefer to sail rather than use the motor.
Of course, towing a rigid dinghy is a bit of a pain and slows you down significantly, so I wouldn't take it on longer trips, but for local pottering it is good. If towing, some cover over the bow to deflect spray and something to prevent water slopping up through the daggerboard case are essential, as is a warp or small drogue to hold it steady in a following wind or seaway.
An inflatable kayak is for fun only, I think. For a boat that mostly stops in a marina or alongside, that could be OK, but not for serious use as a tender. Load carrying, getting in an out, ferrying people - including beginners, travelling in a chop....I think not.
I
Iota
Guest
I wouldn't use a kayak as a tender as boarding on a mucky night might prove an unscheduled test of your life jacket.
We sail with a retriever so that governs our thinking.
We recently bought a Zodiac with inflatable floor, brilliant and not too heavy.
To and from the mooring we use
http://www.marinerevolution.com/mr370.htm
We sail with a retriever so that governs our thinking.
We recently bought a Zodiac with inflatable floor, brilliant and not too heavy.
To and from the mooring we use
http://www.marinerevolution.com/mr370.htm
Krusty
Well-Known Member
'Damo' uses one. I suggest you contact him by PM.