WTB Dinghy for 320 Sundancer

[christo15]

Do you guys have any recommendations on a dinghy? I really want to spend the least amount of money possible.

 

[Air O'Nautical]

I would look at www.affordableinflatable.com
They make the Baltik brand boat.
It's a lower end copy of expensive boats and they sell loads on ebay.
I have their 11ft wood floor model and its been great for me.
(mine does have have a coat of grey dinghy paint on the top sides)

Your boat could nicely fit a "Doms Dinghy Davit" (http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/3279-Dinghy-Davit)
This way you don't have to mess with removing the outboard motor or storing the whole boat someplace else.

Your an 11.5 beam but, need to measure the swimplatform and see what size boat will fit.
I'd guess their 8.5ft boat with either wood or air floor will fit and costs $750 new.

Other than that look on Craigslist for a deal. The problem with a used boat is it will probably leak air.....there selling it for a reason.

Mark.

 

[Madifonzo]

If interested, I am selling a Zodiac Zoom 310 with a Honda 9.9...all new within the last year. It's just too big for my 280 but might be just the ticket for your 320. PM if your interested. I am not from for CT...in Boston.

 

[J.Wilt]

I have a SB-275 inflatable dinghy made by West Marine, I believe the overall width is 9'. I was told a good rule of thumb is to take the width of your boat minus 2' ft for the size of the dinghy. Do not go to big with the motor because of weight, I have a 6hp and can get it up on the Davits by myself.
I'm in the process of looking for a new dinghy (RIB) with hard bottom.:grin:

 

[christo15]

Thanks Mark. I do think that davit system would be best. I think we'd be buying the dinghy on craigslist only because it's most affordable. We purchased the last one on there and it worked out great for us.

And J. Wilt, that sounds like a nice set-up. Did it block any possibility of getting on and off the swim platform or no?

 

[skolbe]

I have a 10'2" long Mercury Sport dinghy with a 6hp motor. Knowing what I know now I would buy a 9' model.

 

[Havana Shamrock]

We had the west marine sb-275 also on our 320. Made my own davits (similar to doms) the boat fit nicely on the platform with the motor, the wake did not hit the motor or the dinghy , on the 320 you have a 8" higher step above the platform that we used to transit from one side of the platform to the other. Hers a few pics of the dinghy on the boat,

 

[Carver370]

All depends what you want out of it. I just bought a brand new Chinese job from ebay for my girlfriend and it's very nice actually. $415 shipped new in the box. It's an 8'er. Yes it's cheap but I could buy 3 or 4 of them over the next 10 years and still be ahead of what some of the others are.

Go on ebay and type Z Ray boat.

 

[J.Wilt]

Thanks Mark. I do think that davit system would be best. I think we'd be buying the dinghy on craigslist only because it's most affordable. We purchased the last one on there and it worked out great for us.

And J. Wilt, that sounds like a nice set-up. Did it block any possibility of getting on and off the swim platform or no?

I have just about the exact same set up as Havana Shamrock's. (Dom's Davits also) We have to take dinghy off the swim platform to use the ladder. the reason I'm looking for a hard bottom is because it sits & rides better in the the davits. When up on plane the only time the dinghy motor hits the water is in 4-6 footers.

 

[christo15]

Thank you all for the great feedback! Shamrock, looks like the setup you had is what we'll go for. Another option is getting a bigger hard bottom and towing. Have any of you had experience with that? I mean I know it's a pain in the ass.. I just hate the idea of having my whole swim platform taken over by a dinghy I won't even use all that much.

 

[skolbe]

We had the west marine sb-275 also on our 320. Made my own davits (similar to doms) the boat fit nicely on the platform with the motor, the wake did not hit the motor or the dinghy, on the 320 you have a 8" higher step above the platform that we used to transit from one side of the platform to the other. Hers a few pics of the dinghy on the boat,

I realize this post is from 2013. And I know your 320 is long gone, but your davit mounting location came in handy when I installed mine. I was having a hard time deciding to mount them within the stringers or one a little further over. Your picture validated my decision.