What do I need in a dinghy?

Where is a good place to shop for dinghies on the interenet? What brands are recommended?

I have a lead on an older, but good condition 8hp 2 stroke Mariner short shaft. He is asking $700. Good deal, or too much?
 
What year is it? As an example I'm looking at a 1998 Mercury 2 stroke 9.9 for $900.00 (CDN) and that is an "ok" deal.
 
The guy said early 90's. He sent pictures and it looks spotless. He mentioned maintenance so it sounds like it has been taken care of.

So, old 2 stroke or newerish (ya I said newerish) 4 stroke?
 
magstang1 said:
The guy said early 90's. He sent pictures and it looks spotless. He mentioned maintenance so it sounds like it has been taken care of.

So, old 2 stroke or newerish (ya I said newerish) 4 stroke?
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mariner is the same as mercury - I've sold 4-5hp 2-strokes of that vintage for 4-$500......I'd say 6-$700 is about right - just look what a new 8hp 4 stroke outboard sells for - Ouch!
 
If you are planning on removing the engine and storing on the boat for travel, go with a 2 stroke. Your back will thank you.
 
I have been following this thread with interest. I too am considering all options for a dingy. I want to stay small only to get to the beach and maybe around the marina with the odd time exploring some inlets off of the lake. I am wondering about the option of going with a rigid dingy and have come across the Walker Bay 8 ft injection molded boat that can take a 2.5 outboard but also rows much better than an inflatable (they claim) and looks as though it will outlast the inflatable. I am also thinking of going with the Hurley H2O lift for it. Since it is narrower (4'4" beam) I am thinking it would fit better on my platform.

Has anyone out there had experience with the rigid Walker Bay 8 ? Will it fit on a Hurley lift ?

It may be another option for our friend to consider.

Thanks for any input.
 
Go with a RIB and find a 2stroke at the max hp for the boat. It took me three times to get it right and now I am happy with my dinghy. I have an 9'6'' AB RIB with a Yamaha 15hp 2 stroke and love it and it flys. You will want to go farther and explore new areas so you will need a stable and fast boat. My boat weighs around 190 pounds total and go 29 mph with just me. I can do mid 20's with three adults. Don't do what I did and settle for less! Do it right the first time, you will thank me later.
 
What do you like better about the rib?

This is one of my thought processes, and the reason for creating this thread.
 
RIB rides better when it get rough(and it will) with the fiberglass floor but is still light enough to handle. I went from a soft slat floor(sucked) to a wood with blow up keel(ok) to a RIB and there is no compairson. Trust me you want the RIB!!!! The key to this whole thing is power. Make shure you get enough power to get on plane easy. You will find the dinghy becomes a fun way to get around and even just go for a cheep ride. I don't have a pic of mine right now but will back at the boat tomarrow and try to get one.
 
Dittos on what Kevin said. We took same path and upgraded twice. We love it so much we went a step further and added a seat and console. We have a Mercury Ocean Runner w/ a 15 four stroke. Mike
 
AB or Achilles are very good. Remember cheeper is not always better, you get what you pay for. Make shure it's not PCV. Pvc doesn't last long. I had to have a pvc boat repaired after 5 years because the seams were comming undone and it was stored inside. Find a Hyplon boat.
 
Try Bustrers Marine in NY. They sell quite a few Mercury models and have good prices. Wortth a try!
 
Make sure it is made from Hypalon(CSM). Trust me on this one!
 
kevin27 said:
Make sure it is made from Hypalon(CSM). Trust me on this one!
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Beer and peanuts. PVC is going to have to cut it for a while.

These new Raider RIBs are going for the same price as a used inflatable floor around me.
 
I read once that the road to knowledge is paved with wasted dollars.

Man, do I have one heck of an interstate behind me.

So I bought a 10' high pressure air floor dinghy. I started out with an 8hp 2 stroke Mariner. Not the one previously mentioned, I was too slow. It would juuuuuuust barely plane with myself, my wife and our son. We made it out to our destination on plane with the wind at our backs and couldn't plane on the way home into the wind. It was an extremely aggravating ride home.

I sold the 8hp and bought a 9.9 2 stroke Suzuki. Now the boat really scoots along nicely. The max rating was 10 on this boat.

My perpetual quest for bigger and better thingamajigs got the best of me so I bought a 10' Rib. I got the Raider I was talking about earlier except this one has a molded in front seat as well. It's a really nice boat, and a much better ride than the air floor. The only problem is, now the 9.9 is not quite enough.

The 9.9 and the high pressure air floor boat are for sale and I'm shopping for a 15hp. I just have to decide if I want 2 stroke or 4. Any advice?

The idea of taking the dinghy with me on our day trips to various swimming holes has been mostly forgotten. This is now my marina and close to shore cruiser. My boat isn't quite big enough to haul this dinghy around. In the rare instance that I do want to take it along, I'll just tow it. It gets exponentially more use as a larger, more stable marina toy to keep the kids (large and small) entertained.

So what have I learned?

1) if you're planning on hauling a dinghy around on your boat, you better either have a big boat or plan on deflating each time. Otherwise you're going to have to cram into a small dinghy like sardines and pray for calm water.

2) Just cut to the chase and buy the biggest motor the dinghy can handle. Plowing through the waves into the wind without being able to plane when you want to is miserable. You can always give it less gas when you want to go slow.

3) if you need a motor or boat, send me an email. My wife is ready to kill me and I'm running out of garage space. Just kidding about that one. Well.. Sort of.

Thats about all for now. Hopefully I'll be able to share my experiences with the 15hp soon!

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