Bombard Max 3+ vs. Baltik 8.5" Air Floor

skibum

skibum

Well-Known Member
Jul 30, 2007
2,768
Perry Hall, MD
Boat Info
2005 Sundancer 260
Engines
496 Magnum HO
Ok... I am about to buy a dink. I have a 260DA, so I need to keep it as close to 8'6" as possible. Any size dinghy is going to be in the way no matter which one I get. I need either a roll up slat floor, or an air floor model so that I can stow it in the bag somewhere. I need help deciding which one, and any advice from 260 owners on how to minimize the "pain" of storing, inflating, and deflating it in the cocpkit or on the bow.

Defender has the Bombard Max 3+ for $654 shipped. I made a $600 offer on the Baltik 8'5" air floor model and they just countered with $679 +20% off on a cover. I don't think that includes shipping. I may counter with $660 shipped and see what they say. At this point, the price difference is in the it don't make a difference range.

--------------Bombard-----------Baltik
LOA.............9'..............8'6"
Max Hp..........4...............10
Inside len......5'8"............5'
Inside wid......27".............30"
Weight..........60lbs...........69lbs
Tube dia........16".............16.5"
Max Capacity....770.............770

Everything else is about the same. Wood seat, aluminum oars, carry bag, pump.

I'm leaning stongly towards the Baltik if I can get them to toss in free shipping.

Any thought, comments, suggestions? :huh:

Thanks,
Michael
 
I would get the bombard from defender - my friends and I have bought more than a few dinks, motors, etc from them and they are great to deal with (and have a "real" store) I'm not knocking the e-bay guys but who knows? As an aside those bombards are a great boat and are so cheap because they bought a big supply from the factory that they were hung with when boaters world went out of business.......
 
I paid $699 for my Baltik 9.5' air floor, shipped. The cover is junk so don't waste your money on it. I also looked at the Bombard but didn't care for the color scheme. We only used the Baltik a few times last year but I'm happy with the quality that you get for the price.
 
skibum said:
Ok... I am about to buy a dink. I have a 260DA, so I need to keep it as close to 8'6" as possible. Any size dinghy is going to be in the way no matter which one I get. I need either a roll up slat floor, or an air floor model so that I can stow it in the bag somewhere. I need help deciding which one, and any advice from 260 owners on how to minimize the "pain" of storing, inflating, and deflating it in the cocpkit or on the bow.

Defender has the Bombard Max 3+ for $654 shipped. I made a $600 offer on the Baltik 8'5" air floor model and they just countered with $679 +20% off on a cover. I don't think that includes shipping. I may counter with $660 shipped and see what they say. At this point, the price difference is in the it don't make a difference range.

--------------Bombard-----------Baltik
LOA.............9'..............8'6"
Max Hp..........4...............10
Inside len......5'8"............5'
Inside wid......27".............30"
Weight..........60lbs...........69lbs
Tube dia........16".............16.5"
Max Capacity....770.............770

Everything else is about the same. Wood seat, aluminum oars, carry bag, pump.

I'm leaning stongly towards the Baltik if I can get them to toss in free shipping.

Any thought, comments, suggestions? :huh:

Thanks,
Michael
Click to expand...


I bought the same Baltik you are looking at in January. This thing is huge and weighs a ton. I am now selling because it is just too big for my boat. It just will not fold up small enough for me, but the quality is great!
 
Hmmm... Same boat. I hope I can deal with the size. Aside from storing it, were you able to inflate and deflate it on the water? I don't plan on using it all the time, so I'm pretty sure it won't be on the boat all the time.

I have no generator, so I have that huge area available in the ER. I was thinking about making up a box that I could secure on that shelf to store the dinghy in. Where did you store your motor when not in use? I'm hoping that I can put it under the cockpit sink. There's a lot of storage space under there.
 
Hellman Huddle said:
I bought the same Baltik you are looking at in January. This thing is huge and weighs a ton. I am now selling because it is just too big for my boat. It just will not fold up small enough for me, but the quality is great!
Click to expand...

+1

We'll be selling our this summer as well. Gave my wife a sea doo as an anniversary gift last year so we don't need both toys. The baltik is well built and I would recommend it. However it is large and heavy (I have the air floor model).
 
skibum said:
Hmmm... Same boat. I hope I can deal with the size. Aside from storing it, were you able to inflate and deflate it on the water? I don't plan on using it all the time, so I'm pretty sure it won't be on the boat all the time.

I have no generator, so I have that huge area available in the ER. I was thinking about making up a box that I could secure on that shelf to store the dinghy in. Where did you store your motor when not in use? I'm hoping that I can put it under the cockpit sink. There's a lot of storage space under there.
Click to expand...

I don't think you have an idea how big and heavy even the smallest dink rolled up is. Think body bag. Maybe no exactly that big, but close. Not going to fit under the sink, or in the ER. You can put it in the mid berth, or back cockpit. It will take up the whole area. If you throw it in the water deflated, it'll be on the bottom before you can say "pump, I need the pump". Pumping it up is a little bit of a workout. Maybe a good electric pump would make it easier.
 
Mike's right, they are shipped all nicely folded up in the bag and it is big and heavy. I've never tried but I bet it's a pain to get it back in the bag correctly at the end of the weekend.
 
Anyone have any experience with the slat floor setup? How does it compare to the air floor? Any "cons" to either one?

I can probably make the 7'6" Baltik work for us. Anyone out there have one of these? Is it too small to be useful?
 
I've owned Baltik 6.5' for since 2006 and just sold it in almost new condition b/c I upgraded to 8.6' version. I think it's a very good boat for the money. Before you spend the money make sure to think thru how you're planning to use it. If you can see if getting smaller size will work for you. I have 8.6' on my 320 and I don't see how it’ll fit on your 260 (providing you’re keeping on the swim platform at all times and plan to dock with it stern in). I keep mine on the platform all season long. I’m not sure how other folks handle this but to me it’s a PITA to inflate/deflate it every weekend. This is why it’s important to choose the right size, so you don’t need to address this dilemma all over again.
 
I had a 6.5' dink with a 2.5hp outboard, this was the smallest I know of. This could hold two people sitting on the tubes. We used it all of the time. Maybe a little bit of a wet ride if there was chop. I rolled it up twice, never again. It stayed inflated and sat on the swim platform. Taking the outboard off without dropping it in the water is a team effort. Deflating it, rolling it up, putting it in the bag... Think 2 hours to go from in the water using it to out of the water packed up.
 
Mike had/has one - everyone used to comment on his cute little dinghy..............Im sure he'll jump back in to defend himself:grin: but as I remember they can track funny without the keel - on the flip side the dinghy (and motor) would be light
 
People would actually go out of there way to find me at the dock so they could come over and see for themselves the smallest dinghy they ever saw. Then they would rattle off cute little phrases they rehearsed before hand to make me feel insecure.

I no longer own that embarrassment of a boat.

Wood slat floor... Slats cracked season 1.

Tracking? Zero... It just slides around willy nilly. It will get you to the beach and back, just not in a straight line.

DSC00020.jpg
 
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Turtlesboat said:
I don't think you have an idea how big and heavy even the smallest dink rolled up is. Think body bag. Maybe no exactly that big, but close. Not going to fit under the sink, or in the ER. You can put it in the mid berth, or back cockpit. It will take up the whole area. If you throw it in the water deflated, it'll be on the bottom before you can say "pump, I need the pump". Pumping it up is a little bit of a workout. Maybe a good electric pump would make it easier.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike. You're right, I have no idea. Now would that be a Gilligan size body bag, or a Skipper size body bag? :grin:

I do believe that I can store it in the ER, though. The space where the genny should go is at least 3-4' wide, 20-24" deep, and about 24" tall. I can get down there and fit all of me in that space with plenty of room to spare. I can rig up some nylon straps to secure it in place. I was worried about the heat, but I never noticed it getting that hot in the ER. I think the sun beating on the PVC all day would be hotter. Storing the motor will be more difficult. I'm thinking that storing it in the ER is out of the question.

I didn't mean "inflate and deflate it on the water" literally, as in throwing it OB and then trying to inflate it. I meant it as in pulling it out of the bag and setting it on the bow or in the cockpit to inflate. There will be an electric air pump. I am too lazy to manually pump it up.

I guess I better plan on firing up the wood shop and making a set of Mike's Dinghy Davits...
 
Also don't forget you have to register it, that takes 5 hours and two trips to the DMV because shaniqua will find something you forgot to bring or sign.
 
Wow... you guys are fast this morning.

I don't plan on needing it or using it very often. The Admiral's kids spend 4 weeks with us every summer. They always want to hit different beaches. As you know, some you can get to without a dink, others you can't. I'm pretty sure that the method of pulling the bow up on the platform and strapping it to the stern cleats and D rings would be sufficient for those trips. My boat is kept on a rack, I have no slip. At my marina, I tie off on one side or the other to a floating pier when she's in. No problems backing in. If necessary, I can tie it off to the opposite mid cleat and let the dink follow alongside while I dock. Other than that, It would most likely be stowed most of the time. When we take trips, we usually get a slip. A couple of times per summer we aren't able to get a slip when we need it. On those ocassions, I'd get the dink out.

Ya know. I'm gonna borrow a dink this weekend to get an idea of what I'm up against...

Turtlesboat said:
Also don't forget you have to register it, that takes 5 hours and two trips to the DMV because shaniqua will find something you forgot to bring or sign.
Click to expand...

Not her AGAIN! I just ran into her yesterday at the courthouse in the records room, and the day before at the Post Office. Biatch gets around. unfortunately...
 
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Don't get me wrong, buying a dink was the best thing we added to the boat. If you can borrow one, that'll answer a lot of questions.
 
Turtlesboat said:
I don't think you have an idea how big and heavy even the smallest dink rolled up is. Think body bag. Maybe no exactly that big, but close. Not going to fit under the sink, or in the ER. You can put it in the mid berth, or back cockpit. It will take up the whole area. If you throw it in the water deflated, it'll be on the bottom before you can say "pump, I need the pump". Pumping it up is a little bit of a workout. Maybe a good electric pump would make it easier.
Click to expand...

It wil not fit through the scuttle hole to put in the midberth of a 260, it takes two people to move around on the boat, the hand pump takes forever, I bought a high pressure pump and run off the generator. I put it on the bow to blow up. This dink is made to stay inflated and installed on davits, not to store for later use. Again I say the quality is awesome and for the money you can not beat, but you don't want to have to move this thing around.
 
Ok... so now I am leaning to the 7'6" Baltik and some davits. Rats! I was trying to avoid HW on the swimplatform.

Mike, did the 2.5HP motor ever have problems pushing you where you wanted to go in currents or wind?
 
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