I want one!

R

Ryan

New Member
Jun 27, 2007
299
Baltimore, MD
Boat Info
2006 52 Sedan Bridge
Engines
700 MAN's
Hello all! I am beginning the search for a dinghy. I have a 2006 52 Sedan Bridge with the davit lift that can hold up to 1200 pounds.

I know I want a RIB / inflatable, I want to be able to have fun and tow a tube or something fun (I have young kids). The admiral wants it to seat 4 (the 2 of us and our 2 children).

Many Questions for you pros.... :smt100

How big can / should I go?
What should I be looking for?
Hints / Tips for buying? (the Annapolis boat show is coming up soon)
I read something about covering up the boat name. What is the issue there?

Thanks in advance,
Ryan
 
A few thoughts...

I have a Zodiac ProJet 350 which is a 2003 vintage and has an 83 HP two stroke Yamaha jet drive. I love the concept of this boat and the performance but I hate the two stroke as putting around the marina is terrible due to the smoke. Supposedly, they have this thing in a 104 HP 4 stroke now:

http://www.zodiac-boats.co.uk/ProJet.htm

A few other of the dinghy manufacturers make jet drive dinghies and if you need HP and want to tow a skier or wake board or tube, it's the best setup IMO. They are expensive though so be prepared for sticker shock. The new ones are well over 20K and some are over 30K. But 104HP in a 700 pound boat is a scream.

Another thought with the 52DB and the hydraulic platform, again this is my opinion, is to go light on this thing. I've talked to a few people that have the 52DB with the hydraulic platform and it is sticking further aft than my 480DB hull due to the molded part of the swim platform connected to the transom and then the hydraulic platform after that. The problem is that too much weight on the hydraulic platform for that boat can cause the platform to dig into the water while underway in any kind of sea conditions. I would never consider putting 1200 pounds that will be essentially 6 feet on center from the transom. Go borrow someone's 900 pound jet ski and stick on there and go out and tool around is some 3-4 footers first and see if there is an issue.

My 2 cents.
 
Ryan, How do you plan to use Dinghy (ie: Bahamas(long runs) or just running around local places(short run & good conditions) )? JC
 
Gary - I have a MarQuipt Lift not a platform lift, but thanks for the advice.

JC3 - I am not sure yet, Bahamas would be great fun, but mainly just around here short runs good conditions.

Thanks - Ryan
 
Last edited:
Ryan, For your purpose then you have many options. An example, we went to the Bahamas for a month. I bought a used center console Zodiac WITH A 30HP but it was to big(WT) for the davits. So a quick trip to West Marine an $4,000 latter i had a 10 zodiac yacht line (about 150lbs) with 8.8 hp on it. It worked and ran great BUT, I SAY BUT, it was very frustrating when we had to go a long way due to speed. In the Bahamas if you are going to stay out any at all(Hook), You need the biggest dinghy your boat can handle! I have struggled with to put or not put a lift on our boat and have come to the conclusion that the way our family cruises it has to be done. I think i will sale my 2(TWO) dinghy's and buy a Carbie 11 unihelm with a 25 or 30 4 stroke on it. WT should be around 500lb give or take alittle. Looking at freedom lift because of wt. Good luck.
 
I saw in his requirements the ability to tow a tube and such. You won't be towing a tube or a wake board with 9 HP or even 30 HP. If you don't want the "water toy" aspect of it, you definitely can go with a smaller engine setup. But if you are going to be crawling on and off the dinghy, you need a small swim platform on the back without a outboard in the way. It is very difficult if not impossible to crawl out of the water on the side of a dinghy without making a mess.

I have a zodiac 11' with a 4 HP four stroke mercury engine in my garage that was used one season (2001) and has never been used since due to the fact you can't pull the kids around and play in the water easily. BUT... if the requirement is to just putz around the marinas, dinghy with small outboard is the way to go.
 
Gary, Not to HJ thread, but are you going to Bahamas next year? JC
 
Not sure... it'll either be the NE or the Bahamas. If I have a job (keep your fingers crossed I don't), I probably won't be able to do the whole month thing though.
 
Thanks guys, I do want the 'water toy' option of it. Thanks for the very good info.

A few more questions:

How do you know what is too big? Is there some sort of measurement or guideline to follow?

Thanks,
Ryan
 
Ryan, A good rule of thumb is, measure your swim platform and deduct a foot for both sides, ie: 14 foot swim platform = 11 to 12 foot max dinghy. My beam is almost 14ft but the swim platform was a little less at about 13ft(base). The biggest i would buy is 11ft for my boat. Also, wt is still the # 1 issue, at least for me. I hope this helps some. JC
 
I have a 42 Sundancer on which I installed a Sea Lift. We use a Caribe RIB. I think its the DL12. Anyways its 11 feet long and we put a 40HP Yamaha motor on it. We tow the kids on a tube and the boat is really fast. I think this is a great set up. We paid under 20K for the boat and motor.
 
Steve36 said:
I think this is a great set up. We paid under 20K for the boat and motor.
Click to expand...

Remember, he's talking about a dinghy. The difference between a boat and a ship is that you can put a boat on a boat or a ship, but you can't put a ship on a boat or a ship.
 
With all due respect to Gary... you definitely can pull up-to-teenage skiers with a 30HP dinghy. My buddy does it all the time. He's even pulled up adults on a wakeboard (granted, the adults need to know what they're doing). I even pull kids on a tube (up to 80 pounds with me and a spotter on the boat) on my dinghy with a 9.9 on it.

That being said, what Gary is recommending is WAY cool!
 
Ok Tim... I'm not talking about "old lady tubing". I'm talking the "30+ mph whip around the corner at 40+ mph and hurt someone" type of tubing (this is at Still Pond BTW).

TubeWipeout.jpg


And then you have to somehow get the injured body back on the boat:

DSC_0292.jpg


Gives children a great sense of accomplishment when they are still alive:

DSC_0299.jpg


I still think 30 HP is on the weak side (not for tubing but for wakeboarding/skiing) and I also think that much weight hanging off the back of an 11 foot boat is going to make it a little tail heavy and harder to get on and off.
 
Gary-

I agree with all your points. My buddy's 30HP inflatable is definitely tail heavy. It's easy enough to get on thanks to these permanent trim-tab-like extensions off the transom. I just wanted to make the point that you can tube behind that setup.

Ryan hasn't stated whether he is interested in what you aptly describe as "old lady tubing" where you merely scare the crap out of your kids, as opposed to the real tubing where you actually put their lives at risk :wink: .

Ultimately, I think the 30HP solution is good until the kids get to be about 12. For the record, if I had a davit or a proper lift, I would have an inflatable rocket too!
 
Actually, I should probably scale down to 10 HP as it is too tempting to get on the tube myself and let the boys get revenge. My body doesn't seem to hold up as well as it used to...
 
Wow... you can still post here as guest! LMAO ROFL better watch yo' mamma cause I'll...

nevermind.
 
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