Which Dinghy and Outboard

Blue5

Blue5

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We are at present getting the boat ready for some longer crusing next year, one item I think we need to address is our dinghy and outboard. At present we have an XM260 with 2.5 Suzuki o/b which struggles in any sort of current at all.

Wondering what type of dinghy and size of outboard you guys reccomend, we plan to use anchorages when possible so something robust and stable.

We do not have davits so it would be stored on deck.
 
A RIB and at least 8HP is the way to go.

We have a C10 Caraibe and a 15 HP which is by far the most common set up out in the Caribbean. We use an engine hoist on our rear arch and tow the dink on protected passages or lift it onto the foredeck for anything more serious.

The big diameter tubes and uplift bow makes it dry[er] in a chop, the 15 hp makes it possible to plane with 4 people or a load of groceries / water.

One to avoid is a Tinker IMHO as thet are VERY wet in a chop. However if you ever have to row anywhere they are one of the few that can rowed.
 
It depends very much on what your regular crew is. You'll want a dinghy capable of transporting everyone, and the more crew you have, the larger and heavier a dinghy you can manhandle without davits or dedicated hoist.

Consider what is the heaviest you and your crew can lift overboard. A halliard helps, but you don't want launching/recovering to be too cumbersome, otherwise you'll end up up leaving the dinghy out when you shouldn't, and it will either get stolen or damaged towing.

For Mrs AB and I, that has limited us to a 2.8m inflatable and a 4hp outboard. We do 3.5 knots, that's good enough everywhere we've been, beyond NW Europe there are comparatively few anchorages in strong currents.

For this reason a RIB would be difficult for a couple, though its the choice for yachts with larger crews. Larger RIB/Outboard combos are a pain anyway if they can't be dragged up and down a beach, as you are limited where you can get ashore.

A plywood or GRP hard dinghy, possibly two-part, is light for handling and you can dispense with the outboard. It is far less of a target for thieves and vandals - there's nothing worse than coming back from a shopping trip to find your dinghy missing or unusable. We used a plywood dinghy for years, rowing was easy and good exercise. However, a hard dinghy small enough to stow on deck will have limited capacity and is likely to be unsuitable in rough conditions.
 
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Lifting the dink overnight is easy if you fit a three point system and get it balanced so it sits nose high. Do take the bung out in case you get heavy rain.

I can easily lift my C10 Caraibe onboard using the spi halyard and electric anchor windlass but agree that getting the 15 hp outboard on and off is a PITA single handed.

However having a planing dink dramatically extends your anchoring possibilities so I put up with the minor hassle.
 
When we left England we had a Tinker Tramp with a 2 hp Honda 4 stroke, it was a great rowing dinghy and the Honda could push us and our shopping or 15 gallons of water around quite well.

When the Tinker succumb to the ravages of of time and sunshine we upgraded to the ubiquitous C10 Carib and 15 hp Yamaha and it is great!, the speed is now optional and the range and carrying capacity are huge.

We (SWMBO) and I learned to handle the Yamaha and the dink in a very different way to the Tinker which we could just lift by hand onto the back tramp on our cat, we now have to rig lines to winches and lift slowly but we would not want a smaller power dink, we do have a Walker Bay row dink as a second run around which is a great little boat that is enough fun to row that we go out just for the exercise every week in it.

Depending on where you are and what you will be using your dink for will be the deciding factor on what size and type of dink you end up with.

Thats us.

As to your original question, if you are going to be using lots of out of the way anchorages and doing you shopping/victualing only occasionally and not staying in marinas regularly then the largest size of dink and engine combo that you and your wife can safely handle is your best option, but only you know what the physical limitations (both yours and your boats) are.
But if you plan on using marinas regularly then the dink you have now will do you just fine as long as it can be used for snorkeling and water borne sight seeing why spend money that will buy many glasses of wine or bottles of rum.

Mark
 
I HAVE A HONDA 5 BF. Don't get one: too heavy and far too much vibration. Reliable but there are better alternatives.

Mercury 6 HP is the lightest one of the group as it is the same block as the 4 HP; changes to cams, max rpm and carb is all which was needed.

I will get one Merc when Honda craters.:D
 
Wow, certainly plenty to think on, no problem with a larger dinghy, halyayds and a bridle will work ok getting it on deck, will have to look at engine weights as that could prove more awkward to manoeuvre.
Had not thought about a dinghy with sail capability but that adds another dimension.........
 
What you have already is probably the most popular setup. Unless you go up significantly in size and/or HP you will not go any faster - simple physics. If you do go the planing route then you have to accept greater weight (particularly the engine) and even then you may not be able to achieve planing speeds with any kind of load - or even with two people rather than one. You also need to consider the space it takes up when not in use and handling it on and off the yacht.

Based on what you have said, probably moving up a size to a 2.8 or 2.9 m with inflatable keel/floor and a 4hp is probably the best compromise.
 
I have a 6HP Merc. It's rubbish! Single cylinder four stroke that shakes itself stupid at idle and frequently hard enough to knock itself into gear. Traded up to it from an old (1984) 6 HP Suzuki which was the biz. Why I did it, I'll never know, but I certainly do regret it! Run Away is all I can say. On the flip side, my little 2HP Yamaha is fantastic. More than adequate for our Wetline Eco260.

BTW. The Merc & Mariner are the same engine. Just different cowling.

PT.


Monique said:
I HAVE A HONDA 5 BF. Don't get one: too heavy and far too much vibration. Reliable but there are better alternatives.

Mercury 6 HP is the lightest one of the group as it is the same block as the 4 HP; changes to cams, max rpm and carb is all which was needed.

I will get one Merc when Honda craters.:D
Click to expand...
 
We have had a Quicksilver 260 for about 8 years now, airdeck and inflatable keel. Excellent tender that rows well, has large tubes for more stability and motors fine. It has carried six adults in almost safety but is perfectly OK with less. Its biggest plus is that we tow it everywhere, so it sits in the sun in the Med from April to October, without a cover. There is no detectable degradation of the tubes, although the old style airdeck did go sticky. This was replaced FOC with the later type, which apparently does not degrade.

We had a Mercury 3(?) that I never really got on with, it finally seemed to have suffered total blockage of coolant passages so I bought a Tohatsu 3.5 2-stroke to replace it. Have now owned it for about 6 years, use it as little as possible as we prefer to row, but it always starts reasonably well and runs sweetly.
 
thers a lot to be said for keeping it cheap and cheerful. We bought the cheapest we could find 7 years ago, as at the time of purchase it was for very occasional use only, so we bought a seago 2.6 with a tohatsu 3.5hp o/b for about £700 combined. Cruising ground changed immediately and we needed to use a tender almost daily but 7years on and they are both still running brilliantly. Engine has never missed a beat and the dinghy remains leak free and sound as a pound. Nobody will ever nick it either (?) because its always the cheapest and tattiest one on the beach.
 
living on board for four months over the summer on a mooring a mile off the slip I found my 2.7 suzamar rib and tohatso 10hp 2 stroke ok for two or three but 15hp would have been better. (am now looking for 20hp and 4m rib,-big family))

Talking to everybody else on the moorings I sensed that the 4 strokes were heavy and generally useless in small sizes, boats arriving with 2.5hp and small dinks were struggling especially in a wind/tide chop and I ended up towing or giving lifts to a lot of people.

A friend has a 6hp 4 stroke and 2m air keel dink that he likes and finds great for him and better half. So I would say as big a dinghy with a keel of some sort as you or your boat can handle and a second hand 6-10hp two stroke would be my recommendation for what its worth.
 
If I had my time again I would get a Honda Airdeck 2.7m, and would probably have kept the 3Hp Honda 4-stroke. I'd also look at getting some wheels to make it easy to drag up a beach or rocks single handed.

I would definitely have bough one of Salty Johns hoisting gizmos!!

A good dinghy and anchor setup can save a fortune in marina fees, so a bit of expenditure is actually a good investment.
 
Last year we bougt a 2.7 with wooden floor and inflatable keel as a replacement for the old Plastimo rubber duck flat bottom that had degraded tubes.

We run a 3.3/3.5 Merc/Tohatsu 2 stroke. Engine is just right size/power, not in EU so could buy a new one.

I would have preferred the air deck with inflatable keel, but was not in stock at the time.

Personaly I think 2.7ish with a 3.3/3.5 tohatsu derived motor is about the right balance.
 
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