[C38] New Topic: Dinghys

[Tom T.]

Great post Les!


> [Original Message]
> From: les <hlhowell at pacbell.net>
> To: <listserve at catalina38.org>
> Date: 1/15/2011 3:11:49 PM
> Subject: Re: [C38] New Topic:  Dinghys
>
> Hi, Jay,
> 	Nancy and I had an 8' for a while, and upgraded to the 10'.  We cruise
> when we use the boat, and for cruising, the 10' is a bit small.  The 8'
> is ridiculously small.  Both will hold a lot of weight (16 or 18 inch
> tubes of air 8' long is a LOT of flotation), but the space to hold the
> normal dinghy stuff, anchor, throwable, a underseat bag for the standard
> stuff like flares, firstaid kit and so forth, some trash going in, or
> some groceries coming back, some laundry, some fresh water for washdown
> or to refill the tank, or some fuel, takes up a lot of room.  And as
> some have said the flat bottom versions row like a donut with an
> antisocial complex in any wind at all.  The V bottom airfloor is
> certainly better in that respect.  A motor must be swung up to row or
> you won't get anywhere.  Most dinghy aft seats will put the aft
> passenger off to one side when the motor is raised.  This makes the ride
> wetter, and also makes it hard for the aft passenger to clear the
> oarsman's stroke.  These are important considerations, as motors do run
> out of gas sometimes (YES, its their fault, that's my story and I'm
> sticking to it), or breakdown (if it runs out of gas, it will shellac
> the pump valves shut some times, especially on a hot deck during the
> summer sitting for the next use).  It is nice to be able to row while
> rebuilding the pump, or fixing a pin holed fuel line etc.etc.
>
> 	As someone else pointed out, a motor makes getting around much better.
> Some marina's hide the public docks, and you may have to make a trip
> around the marina to find where they are, and if more than one, which is
> best for grocery shopping and which for pic-nic.  So either a sail or a
> motor will make things nicer, and with an inflatable, other than a
> tinker, there are no air dinghy's set up to sail.  
>
> 	On our 22 we had an old AVON 12' with the outboard bracket.  It was
> funny to have a dinghy that was more than 2/3 the length of the boat,
> but we were really spoiled by the cargo capability.  The drawbacks were
> small motor, and really "floppy" feeling, which I eventually fixed by
> making new better fitting floor boards (we got it second hand, and I
> suspect the floorboards were from some other dinghy)and a bit more
> pumping.  But it rowed like it was a cork in quiet areas and not at all
> in wind.  
>
> 	The latest AVON airfloor is a vee bottom via an inflatable tube in the
> bottom, and is arched up quite a bit in the bow.  This makes it dryer
> but not dry and it holds its course well.  I think the hard dinghy guys
> are dryer in light chop and we're all wet together in windy or choppy
> conditions.  A 5 hp is not sufficient to get the 10' up on a plane, but
> it sips gas.  However once you get to 8hp or better you get two or more
> cylinders which makes the engine smoother running and the planing.  
>
> 	We have the 5 hp Nissan, and it weighs 69 lbs.  I was spoiled by the
> feather weight of our old 2 stroke 4 hp Suziki we had before, so this
> seems more like an anchor than a motor, but here the evnironmentalists
> have succeeded in essentially outlawing the 2 strokes.
>
> Thanks for the info about the kayak.  I thought that, but my wife has
> once or twice asked about a kayak.
>
> A dinghy that doesn't work for you is a total waste of money.  I suggest
> that you go to one of the local yacht clubs or a dinghy broker and see
> if you can get some rides to see what works best.  Storage is important,
> but utility will influence what you actually use.  A good dinghy can
> literally be a life saver.  Oh, and even with sails or a motor NEVER
> leave the dock or the boat without oars on board.  I have pulled a
> couple of folks to safety who didn't follow that advice.
>
> A secret tip... when the dinghy has been left afloat for a while, a bit
> of vinegar on a rag laid over the boat bottom will soften the grip of
> the junk that grows there.  It will also even dissolve the calcium of
> some of those little rubber grabbers.  We then use the blade of the oar
> to scrape the dinghy bottom before completing the cleaning process.  It
> works, it is rounded enough to not damage the rubber floor and it
> removes the critters.
>
> And I know I can't swim a mile any more, so I always wear a life vest.
> YMMV.  there are some nice light coastal inflatables that are a
> reasonable investment.  Boat US sometimes offers good specials on them.
>
> And here where we sometimes get really bad coastal fog, a portable gps
> for the dinghy is a good investment as well.  It is also a good "backup"
> for the primary.
>
> The underseat bag is from West Marine I think, and it is PVC stuff, so
> it is water proof, and it has a pad on top to soften the seat plank.
> Good investment for fishing days or prowling a new area.
>
> Regards,
> Les H
>
> On Fri, 2011-01-14 at 17:46 -0800, Jay Sorensen wrote:
> > OK, I'm sort of dubious about asking this question.
> >  
> > Now that the boat is looking good and safe the family of 4 is planning
on a 10 day or so cruise to Catalina, Santa Barbara, and San Clemente
Islands here in So. Cal this summer.  I have done the trip before
delivering  boats to Santa Barbara, Marina del Ray, Long Beach, etc. for
races and have always used the local shore boat to get ashore.
> >  
> > But first mate Dorothy likes the concept of instant access to the shore
for her jogs, dining, etc.  And what the first mate wants, the first mate
gets.  Maybe I should start calling her Admiral..............
> >  
> > We have a tandem kayak but that is not a stable way to leave the boat. 
We've tried! 
> >  
> > Anyway, probably like others out there I don't want to spend a lot of
$$ for something that will not be used often.
> > We don't need a high power planing dinghy because the anchorages are
all close to where we want to go ashore.
> >  
> > I'm thinking about either a 10' Haypalon inflatable with a < 10hp
engine and a soft bottom or a 12' folding boat with a similar or smaller
motor (after someone on the board said they used one.)  Together we all
weigh apx 600lb so we are approaching the upper limit of the 12'
porte-a-boat.  Used ones are less expensive here and may stow better on the
raiing??  But do you get what you pay for??
> >  
> > We do not have davits, and will store it on the foredeck during
crossings.  The ability to roll up the dinghy and not deal with floorboards
seems like it would be a benifit.  But a folding boat stored across from
the kayak seems like a nice balance. 
> >  
> > So what do you have out there and what do you think will work for our
first dinghy?
> >  
> > Thanks!
> >  
> > Jay & Dorothy Sorensen
> > C-38 #311 Broad Reach
> > San Diego, CA
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