Highfield… any regrets?

Bit far to drive for a dinghy…. Thanks for the heads up

 

Perfect!
We are in the Exumas so spotty connectivity. I'll take some pics when we get back.

 

Hey Tim - sorry so late to reply.
I picked up a brand new TaylorMade cover at our marina's swap meet (paid $50) and cut it up for use on my Highfield. It was originally for a 23 foot CC so plenty of material that I could sew something up to fit the dinghy.
I have an inner band that the clips are attached then the cover goes over those with a shock cord to pull the cover in under the dinghy's rubrail. I had it on the dinghy during that storm that came through the South several weeks ago; I'm sure it saw 40 MPH gusts without issue. I think the only issue is getting the clips around the side that is outside of the swim platform but only a little more time.... Some Pics -

 

Got a set of these today. Our 310 ran fine but with 3 of us in it it would porpoise a little. For $150 and a perfect fit I gave them a shot

really nicely machined starboard and came with a nice template to drill the holes.

I have to pull the boat to do the first oil change in the Suzuki and I’ll get these on at the same time

 

I just installed a set of Bennett SLT-6s on my dinghy for the same reason, plus I wanted to get a little faster planing time without having to move to the bow. I'm dropping the dink back in the water today to test it out.

For the Hurley ones, do they have springs, or how do they function? The Bennetts have about 60 pounds of force on the spring so that (in theory) they will retract once the water pressure is high enough. We'll see how it works but I have a friend with the same dinghy as me (AB Mares 10VSX) that says it worked really well for his. He has a 30HP and mine is 20HP, but I don't think that will make much difference. We'll see.

 

They just have 3 set holes to adjust angle. I had a similar style to yours on our old one that flexed with pressure similar to a smart tab on the larger boats it and worked quite well. Extending the running surface is the primary goal on these little boats so I think even at 0* they’ll help quite a bit

 

Interesting, I hadn't seen those before. Will be interested to hear what you think of them.

I just got back from the test run with mine, world of difference. Very little bow rise when accelerating, it gets on plane without having to shift my weight forward, and best of all, no porpoising when on plane and I can even trim the outdrive up to get better performance with less throttle.

 

We finally picked up our CL340GT...



Annapolis Inflatables had it in stock last February so we bought then... for eventual delivery after we could get our GHS lift working.

-Chris

 

sweet. The console is awesome. 25hp on it?

 

The console has pros and cons, probably. I wanted the additional dry storage but folks with longer legs might consider it a bit stifling and for them the FCT7 steering option might be the better choice if tiller steering isn't attractive

The outboard is a DF20A, 20-hp. The RIB is rated for 25-hp, but we seldom care about speed and I didn't want to go with a heavier option.

-Chris

 

nice, same power we have on our 310CL. I love it

 

Ours is hidden under there.

I'm actually running my 310 with a 2-stroke Mercury 8HP. Does a pretty nice job of it, too. But, like others, I don't need speed. I'm only running mates to the next dock bar or the dogs to shore to poop. Hmm.. come to think of it, the pups might appreciate a bit more speed! LOL

 

haha the 310 is a rocket with the 20. My son loves sitting on the bow seat while we bounce around on the lake. A rib is so much more fun than our previous airfloor

 

OMG. So true. We went out Friday night in the 310 into condition we really should NOT have been out in. Howling winds from the south, in our face. We got drenched. But the 310 was stable and true. We truly would have been filled and sunk had we been in our old West Marine inflatable floor. I loved that dinghy, but it's not an apples to apples comparison at all.

And I learned a little bit for next time about when to keep the dinghy at the dock!

 

My caretaker has taken possession of the Highfield; she loves that little boat.
She wants a bimini on it.
Anyone installed a bimini? Details?

 

If you plan to use/park that beauty of a dinghy you may want to replace those registration numbers. My experience is that the individual letters/numbers will last exactly two times of rubbing up against something before shredding, falling off and/or otherwise looking awful.

Your mileage may vary but these things are awesome if your luck is similar to mine:
https://www.boatnumberplate.com/

 

Really? AI put the same numbers on our previous Walker Bay dinghy and the numbers lasted for at least 10 years... still good when we sold it. I think they're welded on on, or some such...

-Chris

 

Ahh perhaps I wrongly assumed they were stick-on. Myself and a couple boat neighbors have had horrible experience with the "stick on" type.

 

I’ve had great luck with the number plates too

 

That's what I had put on also and they are awesome.