Inflated Dinghy on Foredeck of 270 or 280

[Craigalan]

2000 DA270

Anyone store their dinghy, still inflated, on foredeck of their 270 or 280? If so, what size dinghy is a good fit? Im dinghy shopping...still...and am away from my boat so I can take measurements of the foredeck length/width. Anyone do this, or happen to know the length/width of foredeck on a 270 or 280?

 

[Henry Boyd]

Our Zodiac is 8'-6" and will fit up on the bow of our 280. However, I've done it a couple of times and came to the conclusion it wasn't worth the trouble.
First forward visibility is diminished.
It's a pain to get it up there . You have to put a long bow line on it and tie that off to the bow rail, then paddle back to the swim platform to get on the boat. And unless you are Arnie Schwartzenhooey you have to take the motor off. Now go up on the bow and and pull it around and dead lift it out of the water.
The reverse is even funnier. Because you have to put a 20' bow line out any breeze at all and the thing takes off in every direction except the swim platform.

When we want to take the dinghy with us we pull it up on the swim platform with a bow line to one of the rear cleats and the stern line on the other. When we get to where we are going we undo the stern line and nudge it off into the water.

Henry

 

[Craigalan]

Ok, thats good info for me. Thank you. Is your Zodiac an airfloor? I see some are quite light, maybe anywhere from 40-60lbs. The visibility factor is an excellent point I didnt consider too much.

 

[Henry Boyd]

It originally had the wood floor that is made up of 5 or 6 boards that are connected with web strapping so that it will fold into a bundle. After a couple of years of being in the water all season these deteriorated. Zodiac wanted something silly like $ 500 for replacements. Since the floor was only folded up for winter storage I figured I could get by with a floor that didn't fold. I ended up routing the floor on a single piece of ⅜" CDX by using the old floor as a router guide. I then put 3 coats of West System and then a couple coats of deck paint on it and put it in service. When I did this it was at the beginning of the season. I used the CDX because I had it in the garage. My thought was if I could get through launching I could do something better. That was four seasons ago and I am still using the floorboard. The CDX was probably a good choice (though accidental) because it sucked up the epoxy like a sponge.

The weight is still in the 60-65 pound range. But the thing I've also discovered is that while the weight is manageable the size of the boat when blown up makes it very difficult to man handle. That said, I'm not sure I would go with the air floor.

Henry

 

[JimFromMD]

A friend had a 36' rinker with a 10' soft bottom (wood slat floor) inflatable. We put it on the bow and as Henry said, it's hard to see over, especially if from a sitting position. Was it doable? Yes. In the end, we tied it on the swim platform leaning against the stern more than on the bow.

The other issue is securing it so that it doesn't bounce around in the waves. We tied a throwable seat cushion/float under the wooden transom board so that didn't bang on the fiberglass. It worked, but wasn't a fancy solution.

Hauling the inflatable up on the bow wasn't terribly difficult. Like Henry, we had a long line on the bow. Used that to pull the bow up off the water, then hauled it up to the middle, rested it on the bow rail, and then sea-sawed the stern up and rotated it onto the bow, upside down. That helped so that you didn't have to hoist the entire weight, but just be sure the bow rail is sturdy enough for that. I imagine yours would be too.

-James

 

[MonacoMike]

Our Zodiac is 8'-6" and will fit up on the bow of our 280. However, I've done it a couple of times and came to the conclusion it wasn't worth the trouble.
First forward visibility is diminished.
It's a pain to get it up there . You have to put a long bow line on it and tie that off to the bow rail, then paddle back to the swim platform to get on the boat. And unless you are Arnie Schwartzenhooey you have to take the motor off. Now go up on the bow and and pull it around and dead lift it out of the water.
The reverse is even funnier. Because you have to put a 20' bow line out any breeze at all and the thing takes off in every direction except the swim platform.

When we want to take the dinghy with us we pull it up on the swim platform with a bow line to one of the rear cleats and the stern line on the other. When we get to where we are going we undo the stern line and nudge it off into the water.

Henry

That whole story made me chuckle as I could really see it happening just as you describe.

I would not want my fore vision restricted anymore than the fender racks I have do. Couldn't see a thing with the dinghy up there.

MM