ultimate tender

[giraffehappy]

Next question: Does a light, small (9-10'), rowable, sailing tender exist? Has anybody tried a Skiffgig, and was it any good? Apparently if we get a snappy rib it will just get nicked and be a constant worry in the Carribbean(sp?) so we have been advised to get a knackered fibreglass rowing/sailing tender. Other options have been Walker 10, and Stowaway dinghy. Anybody tried these?
Thanx.

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[Rum_Pirate]

It is "caribbean"

Sorry I can't help you about type of dinghy.

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[snowleopard]

to avoid nicking of dinghies in the caribbean, make 'em look scruffy. a few odd patches,pref in different colours, paint the hood of the outboard with woolworths paint but above all get a good heavy wire strop & padlock to lock the motor to the dinghy and the dinghy to the dock. the strop needs to be the length of the boat plus at leatst 3m so you can still lock it when you can't get close to the dock for other boats.

a rigid dinghy is a bit of a pain when you're loading shopping etc. inflatables are generally more stable. i would avoid a walker bay as the freeboard is pretty low and it can get choppy out there. i always fancied a sailing tender but in reality you wouldn't use the sails often. most anchorages are in the lee of the islands so what wind there is tends to be fluky and sometimes quite fierce. a planing dinghy with a reasonable sized motor will stand you in better stead when you want to go exploring.

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[Sunnyseeker]

definately a RIB, we didn't here of any stolen where we were last season so it doesn't happen that often, get a big cable (next size up from the made up ones) we had 8mm made up with eyes at each end big enough to pass the eyes through, it looked pretty silly on our old Zodiac but we were planning on buying a rib and ran out of cash! Hoist them up on a spin halyard at night if you havn't got davits, but still lock them. A tatty canvas cover over the tubes sems a good idea, protects them as well.


<hr width=100% size=1>Oh ye who have your eyeballs vexed and tired feast them upon the wideness of the sea

 

[AndrewB]

Think the scruffy ones go just as quick as the smart ones! At least you are losing less.

A decent rigid dinghy can be rowed easily, that saves losing an outboard as well. But oars also need to be padlocked on when the dinghy is left.

Odd how bad the culture is in the West Indies in this respect, whether its locals or other yachties. In the Canaries and Azores, dinghies can be left with impunity.

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[Abigail]

I think you mean the swifgig - see swifgig.com. I obviously think they're brilliant (because I sell them) but I don't know that many other forumites have had a chance to try them. We'll be at Southampton for a chat anyway.

<hr width=100% size=1>Sarah & Pip

www.greatlittleboats.com
UK & Ireland distributors of Swifgig

 

[mike_bryon]

we had our oars stolen in Flores (Azores) this summer - so i amnot sure the Azores are any different from any other part of the wrold in this respect.

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[scarlett]

Greece feels very safe from theft. Things do walk very occasionally ( I have only heard of boaty to boaty theft) but otherwise it is safe to leave your boat open and your dingy loose on the beach.

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[giraffehappy]

thanks team. I still haven't decided what sort of tender to get and time is running out....NB How do you padlock oars? Do they have to have holes drilled in them?

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[snowleopard]

to padlock oars to a rigid dinghy you used to be able to buy a metal device shaped like 2 'J's back to back. it traps the oars and goes through a hole in the twart where you padlock it.

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