The Right Dinghy

What is the perfect dinghy?

At first, we thought that the driving consideration for choosing a dinghy was efficiency: bringing the dink on a plane while burning the minimum fuel.  To achieve this, we even built our own flat-bottom, 3” thick Corecell foam and fiberglass, self-bailing dinghy.  Fitted with a 4-stroke, 4HP Mercury, our little“Scrappy” zoomed on a plane and drank nothing.  

Problem was when we came alongside of other vessels:  our hard dinghy was not gaining us any friends among cruisers who feared bumps and scratches on their hulls.



The second problem arose when, lifting the 120lbs of the slender craft on top of the flybridge in a rolly anchorage, I almost got knocked over senseless by the hard hull.  

At 120 lbs, 3" foam and epoxy, Kevlar-reinforced, sel-bailing, "Scrappy" was super-efficient.... if wet!

Wanting to stay alive and make friends, we ditched the hard fiberglass tender and purchased a RIB.  The inflatable pontoons are much more gentle to our hulls and our bodies!

Yet, not all RIBS are created equal. 

The hull material itself is a consideration.  Since our cruising grounds include coral reefs, we selected an aluminum hull. The aluminum hull is stronger and lighter than fiberglass hull (it counts when you need to lift your dink every night) and can be repaired if need be.
 

The pontoons are also a consideration.  Wider pontoons will give the tender higher stability.  We selected pontoons made of Hapalon, more resistant to sunlight. Handles must be strong and well glued.

       Stern drive or center console?  If the hoist can take it and if you can stow it, why not a center console?

Size, of course, is important.  On a catamaran, we had to select a dink that could fit between our hulls: less than 10’6.  We selected a 9’6” AB, although we are not happy with this selection, but that was the only choice in town.

Transom placement is possibly the most important consideration.  On our AB, the transom is placed way aft of the craft.  On one hand, it gives us more room inside, but on the other hand, it places the engine way outside the craft, weighing down the stern, harder to get on the plane, and making the craft very unstable.

Our dream dink: 

            - RIB with big pontoons, reinforced with extra rubber pads in the bow and on the sides where chafing may occur (Caribedoes a good job of that)

            - Aluminum bottom

            - With a step locker in the bow to step down and stow the anchor and rode

            - As wide as the space between our hulls: 10’

            - With a transom well inside the craft so that the engine itself and its prop are confined within the pontoons.

Our dinghy is our workhorse.  It takes us to shore in all weathers, loads tons of provisions, trolls for fish, carries diving gear, rescues dragging boats, and assists in docking if our ship becomes disabled.  We want it buff and tough.  A lighter dink that can be rowed and sailed would not be right for us.

Until Next time

dominomarie