JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
Fendering.
Why is there so few people towing a solid dinghy? (rather than rolled up inflatabubbles)
- Thread starter burgundyben
- Start date
Dan Tribe
Well-Known Member
As most wives know, there will always be a counter argument. But, generally, hard, heavy objects are going to make more of an impact than soft, light ones.
lw395
Well-Known Member
Yes, rubber boats are made of fendering....
Kelpie
Well-Known Member
Great post, thanks for sharing. We are setting off next year as full time liveaboards and have decided to build a rigid nesting dinghy, rather than take the usual option of a RIB. It's not easy to 'try before you buy' and I have been worrying about whether it's the right decision, so experiences such as yours are very reassuring.
What kind of dinghy is it, by the way? I'm thinking of building a Spindrift 11N.
geem
Well-Known Member
Our dinghy was built by a good friend of mine, Chris Morejohn. If you google him you will find lots of stuff on his designs. Our dinghy is not a simple build. It was built from a mould. The bottom is round with a keel towards the stern. It has a complex chine running the full length of the hull. To build something similar would be quite a big job. Chris has a new design that replaces mine. He sells the design pdf for it for $350. He told me that if mine was built now from scratch it would cost about $7000 but that is somebody like Chris building it and charging for it.
One of the things that Chris is very keen on is the use of planing plates on the engine. We run a 15hp Yamaha Enduro two stroke with a large plate. This makes the dinghy very stable.
If I was choosing a design it would have to take a good size engine. Over here the distances you need to travel can be a surprise. Its a mile to town from our current anchorage. Getting there and back swiftly in a dry dinghy is a pleasure. Being able to go long distances open up whole new opportunities here. Most people that spend more than a season here ditch there small deflatable and egg wisk for a rib and large engine so you need a hard bottom dinghy that compares with that. We get asked about our dinghy about once a week on average. We could have sold it dozens of times
lw395
Well-Known Member
Horses for courses.
I'd like a nice little RIB so we can anchor in the bay and whizz into town.
A sailing tender for when there's time
A light inflatable and 2HP engine for when we go to the beach and need to carry it up to the HW or back to the water's edge.
A ratty old dinghy to leave on the mooring at home.
We've got half of those...
I'd like a nice little RIB so we can anchor in the bay and whizz into town.
A sailing tender for when there's time
A light inflatable and 2HP engine for when we go to the beach and need to carry it up to the HW or back to the water's edge.
A ratty old dinghy to leave on the mooring at home.
We've got half of those...
Robin
Well-Known Member
back in the '70s I had a Debutante21 and towed a nice grp pram until the day we got caught in alocal inshore storm between Poole and Hurst and the thing filled with water and was cut free, recovered later when found ashore, before that it hit the transom several times and was a constant distraction to the helm trying hard to run downwind safely. Shortly after I bought an avon redcrest and always deflated it for travel unless a few yards in a flat calm. at the same time we had a 10ft rigid grp dinghy with 4hp outboard for getting to/from the mooring. Later the Redcrest was upgraded to a 10ft Readseal, bigger tubes and a tad dryer. later still, on a sun legend 41 we bought a Zodiac Fastroller inflatable floor model which we carried on the foredeck ,inverted, dryer and faster, planed 2 up with a 2hp Honda. had a 10ft RIB n davits on our Live aboard in the USA and have similar on our current one here in uk.
soit is near 50 years since my hard learned lesson never to tow always to stow.
soit is near 50 years since my hard learned lesson never to tow always to stow.