What do I need in a dinghy?

magstang1

Active Member
May 30, 2010
1,338
Lake St.Clair
Boat Info
1998 31 Sedan Bridge
Engines
Twin 350 Marine Power
I'm considering purchasing a dinghy, but I have almost no knowledge about what I should be looking for.


Right now I have a 97 (98-01 style) 290 Sundancer. It has a 10' 6" beam.


My family is currently 3 with one on the way.


How long should I be looking at? Inflatable floor or rib, and why? What size motor (I'm not exactly a featherweight guy)?


I'm not interested in blowing up and deflating a boat all the time. That just seems like a hassle. I can store the dinghy in the water tied to the stern of my boat when we're at the marina. I would like to be able to take it with me when we head out for the day. Most of my trips are under 30 miles round trip. Is it possible to pull the bow of the dinghy on to the swim platform and tie it off, leaving the stern in the water to tow?


As you can see I'm a newbie to this. I just trying to get a realistic idea from the folks who have been there and done that as to what I should expect. There are lots of great places to explore that are close to the marina with a dinghy and it just seems like a ton of fun.

Thanks in advance for any advice you may have!
 
Here's the formula:
Need <> boat
Want = >

:)

Start simple. I'd go with an inflatable floor dingy ( ~9-10ft) with a 9.9HP 2 stroke if you can get it. I say two stroke because it is way lighter with better torque. Very noticeable at the low end.

Paul
 
I guess more than anything I'm looking for advice on size vs weight.

I want something large enough to actually use, but not so heavy I can't take it anywhere.

When I see people with 8' dinghies and 4hp motors it makes me wonder why they chose that combo.
 
I have a 29' Amberjack - similar size to your dancer. We're 2+2 (age 5 & 9, both going on 14). I initially went with a 8' collapsible floor inflatable, and immediately returned it for a 10'3" RIB. Now I can even fit the occasional 3rd adult with all of us. I went for a 5HP propane engine, and I have to admit I love it. I only use it as a tender, so no need for more speed, and it's light enough to easily lift and store. I've never deflated the RIB yet - it sleeps on weaver davits on my swim step (love that too). The 1Lb propane tanks are $2.50, only lasts about an hour, but the convenience of no fuel spills and cleaner/ quieter makes the propane worth it to me. I always have the tanks since I have a heater and BBQ that use them too. You can run it of an 7 or 21Lb tank if you want. Here's a pic: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44050059/photo.JPG. So my take - make sure it's big enough, yet fits your boat. Make sure you can easily lift the engine off the dinghy with the boat behind your swim step. Plan to get davits of some design - ropes on a swimstep don't mix well with kids.

Hope this helps.
 
I have a 10' Inflatable with 6hp 4 stroke. It runs on plane with just me. It is fine for tooling around with 2 to the beach. I would go for a 9' with a 6hp or 9.9 depending on your goals with it.
 
9.9 and 15 used to be the same weight.
I have a 12.5 foot soft bottom with wood floor Zodiac. With me in it it will do 24 knots with 3 Adults it will do 20 knots. Motor weight is 100 pounds. I have run it with a 5 and it does well. Might do 10MP with 3 people in it and no gear. 5HP weight is 42 pounds.
Soft bottom is fine as long as the shores are sand or rounded gravel. Not good on barnicals or sharp rocks.
 
Buy a new one, not a used. I learned that the hard way. I would look for one with a welded floor. If it don't have the welded floor, don't buy it.
 
Lets say I go for a 9' rib. What's the smallest motor likely to plane with 2 adults? I'm not racing, but there are some extended areas that would be fun to explore.
 
....When I see people with 8' dinghies and 4hp motors it makes me wonder why they chose that combo.

I'm one of them and here are my reasons:
1. It's just a tender for a crew of 4 (kids are 16 and 8). We used it all the time to get to shore and explore close by surroundings where we anchor.
2. The 8.6' with 4HP is big enough for us and light enough for me to easily handle it (load/unload when used manual davits on my 320DA) without extra help.
3. It's a good size to carry on the swim platform of a 30+ footer. My boat was 1' wider than yours, so keep that in mind, b/c you want some extra spare room.
4. I often played with it pulling my little guy on a knee-board. The 4HP 4-stroke will plane with me and my 8yo son. However, getting on plane took some time. To fix this I swapped the carb to make it in to 6HP motor. $140 carb, 15min of labor and my 4HP became 6HP motor.
5. I picked 4HP originally, b/c I wanted internal fuel tank to minimize my overhead and have extra room in the dinghy.
6. Soft bottom means much lighter weight and soft floor makes it more comfortable on the feet and much easier to transport. I'm not sure how much wood floor is better or worst, but I like the soft bottom floor. It's really hard enough and provides good support, so the wood floor is not necessary, unless you have pets to transport to shore.

All and all I think it's very good combination.

As with anything, it all depends how you plan on using it.
 
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I appreciate the information.

It also brings another question to mind. If I don't plan on constantly beaching the dink, and even if I do it will be sand, do I need a rib or would a soft bottom be preferable?
 
6. Soft bottom means much lighter weight and soft floor makes it more comfortable on the feet and much easier to transport. I'm not sure how much wood floor is better or worst, but I like the soft bottom floor. It's really hard enough and provides good support, so the wood floor is not necessary, unless you have pets to transport to shore.
Pets aren't keen on the soft floor? I'm in the market for a small inflatable tender and had planned to purchase an airdeck but a major reason for buy is transport of my old man's cavoodle to shore.... any advice?
 
IMO, most people go for collapsible hard floor over the aired floor b/c of their pets. I would think that if your dog is small and light it would matter that much. Otherwise, If my dog was big and on the heavy side I wold also be on the safe side and go for hard floor. I have few friends that did just that. The hard floor makes the dinghy just a little heavier, but the same size dink still remains light enough and manageable by one or two people. Since the floor is collapsible, transporting the dinghy to/from the boat (off season) is not a problem.
 
I had the west marine sb285 w/wood floor it was fine for my 320 also a tohatsu 8hp 2stroke. I had davits for the platform .with this boat the platform is shorter so I pulled the dink up and over the bow rail (very dificult ) w/2 people. So we bought an 270airdek, to lighten the load, matched it with a 6hp 4stroke w/internal fuel tank also to lighten the load .and I don't care if my dog likes it or not he's stuck with it unless he comes up with some cash!!!!!!! I wouldn't leave the the dink in the water for long periods, growth will start . Here's a pic of my 320 set up :
 
Thank you for the pictures.

I'm almost completely confused at this point. At first I was thinking go straight to a rib because of longevity and ride quality. Now I've gone almost the other way to an air floor for weigh savings. My boat is fairly heavy and my engines are on the smallish side. I don't want to weigh this thing down so much I can't plane off. On the other side of the coin I want something that will be comfortable for us.

Im still thinking 9-10' with an 8-10hp.

Now I need to do some reading about 2 stroke vs 4 stroke.
 
Everyone will tell you get a 2 stroke (if possible) they don't make them anymore. They are lighter, and with a 4 stroke you give up some low end torque, it will take you longer to plane with a 4 stroke. With a 4 stroke ,no more oil /fuel mixing and the small ones have an integrated fuel tank so no tank taking up precious room in the dink. Although its a small amount of gas it will do for a few short runs to shore .just FYI my new Mercury 6 hp 4stroke weighs 56lbs .and 4 strokes can only be stored in one direction.
 
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I'm jealous. I love love love the 320. It seems like a perfect compromise of space and cost of ownership for me. They dink / motor combo looks like exactly what I'm looking for too. You have all the good stuff... ;)

Unfortunately my pockets just don't seem deep enough.

Is that 6hp 4 stroke enough to plane with 2 adults?

Approximately how long would you say you can run with the internal tank. I like the fact that it's self contained, but I don't want it to limit my range. There are a lot of good places to explore that may be a 15 mile round trip or so.

Thanks again.
 
Mag, that was my old set up like I said it was too heavy to pull up over my bow rail on this boat so I had to purchase a new set up .
Mercury airdek 270 w/ Mercury 6 hp. Haven't picked either up yet so I don't know how long the fuel will last. Maybe someone else can answer that.

ps I too loved the 320.
 
...Is that 6hp 4 stroke enough to plane with 2 adults?
Approximately how long would you say you can run with the internal tank. I like the fact that it's self contained, but I don't want it to limit my range. There are a lot of good places to explore that may be a 15 mile round trip or so...

Here's my view on your questions:

- As far as I know most 8'-9' dinghies with 6hp are not designed to plane with two adults. Perhaps you might have better chance with the motor wing and fixed trim tabs. Regardless, it all depends and the weight of the riders and weight distribution. My experience is that due to the fact that my wife and I are on the light side I can make the dinghy plane by distributing the weight forward to get her out of the hole. One time I had her on plane with my wife and our 8yo son. It was windy and chilly and it was kind of unpleasant ride, so I just wanted to get back to the mother ship faster. I had to push her at least 3/4 of the throttle and the speed was at least 50% less than with a single rider. But, in choppy conditions I was able to keep the bow higher making it a dryer ride.

- Fuel usage is obviously depends on how you use the boat, meaning going slow just touring areas near by or pushing the throttles keeping her on plane most of the time. Our usage is at slower speed 90% of the time and the integral tank is good for about couple of hours or more. I don't worry about running out of fuel too much, b/c I have 1 gal spare that I keep in under-seat storage all the time. Having the internal tank and the spare filled I'm usually good for couple of weekends of regular usage (getting to shore, doing some exploring not too far maybe few miles run, pull a knee board to let my little guy have some fun).

- 15NM trip with two adults, I would look for a different setup with larger tubes, bigger engine with larger fuel tank.

Hope this helps.
 
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