New Inflatable

[Trojan]

I would like to purchase a new 4 passenger inflatable and about a 10 HP.4 stroke I think maybe less HP.. The past threads did not cover this size. I want it so I can go from the boat to shore and back without making dozens of trips. I also would like to store it someplace besides on the transom. The boat is a 43DC.. No aft deck,spar in the middle or the fore cabin. Maybe in front of the spar. I need some Ideas guys. I don't think I want a Zodiac.

BILL

 

[eze2bme]

I have an inflatable RIB with 9.8 Nissan that hangs on St. Croix davits on the transom of my 43DCMY ... works great and doesn't block any view forward.

Drop me an email if you'd like some pictures as I can't seem to get them to attach here. eze2bme@aol.com

 

[Nonchalant1]

The big question is whether you will get a davit so you don't have to lug it and the motor separately compared to just craning it upright into the water. If so, move the spar up onto that deck lip area in front of the flybridge and then get a davit and a Nautica RIB12 Deluxe with a Honda 4 stroke engine. Other options are to get a good used SeaDoo Explorer (jet boat inflatable with small 63HP inboard) or a simple Caribe MVP11 inflatable with the Honda 4 stroke just mounted on the transom and hand steered. The last option gives you by far the most RIB capacity because the center console console type dinghies uses up space. It'll ride bow up with just one person though so some people get a long tiller handle for the outboard so they can steer from amidship.

Doug Shuman

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Not to change the subject, but how do those little (10-12') jet RIBs perform? Are they worth the extra cost and weight?

 

[DLCameron2]

Hi Bill:

I don't think you want to put it on the hard top. Costly set up, and will make you even more top heavy, I don't think your boat is stabilized. A 10ft inflatable with an 8hp Honda 4 Stroke is what we had on our 43DC. Worked quite well although 4 200Lb adults might be a little dicey in any kind of chop. Just for tendering into shore etc. it would be fine. We had Weaver snap davits on 2 of our boats and it was a good set up. Otherwise the transom mounted davits may be your best alternative.

My 2 cents.

DC

 

[Trojan]

My aft deck is all enclosed with 1/4in. glass and wood. I need to go to the top or swim platform. I didn't want to loose the use of the platform with the RIB setting on it. But if I have to I could. Not a lot of options that I see.
Maybe I could hang it from the top and stablize it off the back of the boat. I do have a back door on the lower cabin out to the platform.
I think I could have davits built to hang off the flybridge top and stablize it half way up the stern. That way it would not add top weight.

It would be a major job to recocate the spar and horns also.

Bill

 

[MikeP]

Having gone through this with my last boat - a 36 footer - I formed several opinions based on the experience.

1. Unless I had the motor permanently mounted to the dinghy - that is, I didn't need to put it on/off every time I put the dinghy in the water - I would never buy another 4 stroke. They are too heavy.

2. Remember that the motor capacity is primarily based on the weight of the motor. Therefore, if your 4 person dinghy says, for example, that it will accept a 10HP motor, it is based on the weight of a 2 stroke outboard. Putting a 10hp 4 stroke motor on the boat means the bow will ride so high as to be a problem.

3. Bigger HP motors on small dinghys are essentially pointless. Our current 11ft Avon has an old 4HP merc on it and it functions just fine. I also previously learned that being able to plane the dinghy is of no value at all. It just beats you to death and is squirrelly as heck. Sure, it's faster to plane but really, how quickly to you have to get the mile or two that you might need to go?

4. As per a previous note, I would set up the dinghy in some manner that did not require installing/removing the motor. It is an accident looking for a place to happen and you WILL drop the motor at some point. It may go in the water or it may bang the heck out of the deck/swim platform, but you will drop it. Again - lighter is better.

I bought and sold the new 4 stroke outboard within 3 months. I vowed never to buy another 4 stroke small outboard. The only advantage - not mixing the oil- is inconsequential compared with the weight disadvantage that affects several aspects of use. Certainly if the same HP motor weighed the same as a 2 or 4 stroke, I would buy the 4. But they don't.

I've heard there are now some areas where 2 strokes can't be used at all. Obviously, in that case, you have no choice but to buy a 4. In that situation I would look at the HP rating of the dinghy, determine the weight of the appropriate 2 stroke motor, and buy the 4 stroke of that or less weight - whatever the HP rating happened to be (it will be less).

 

[Passages]

Agree that for portability, 2 stroke can't be beat. If at all possible, keep the engine permanently mounted.

Our family LIKE's to plane. On a hot day, a little wind in your face is great. When anchored out, the kids will spend hours zipping about in the little dink. We have 2 outboards, an 8 & 15hp for our Avon 310 RIB. Either will plane the boat but we prefer the 15 because it will plane with four occupants.

On our 42' we store the dink in a cradle on the bow. A single point electric davit launches & retrieves. Works well but the weight will cause a slight list unless mounted along the centerline.

 

[Freestyle]

Trojan,

I have the same boat and went through this decision last year.

Although it would be nice to have a dinghy with motor permanently attached mounted on the stern most of the time, in rough weather or heavy seas it is one more thing to scare you. A dinghy on the stern of our boat gets crunched by lines if the tide shifts dramatically. I cut a fiberglass one in half.

Here is the compromise I came to. I mounted the outboad on the swim platform. I agree that I will drop it some day but the amount of movement is now minimized to about 2 feet.

Second, I bought a fully inflatable dinghy from Mercury (best price). It folds to the size of a navy sea bag. I can inflate it manually in about 15 mminutes or a little longer with the electric pump. It unfolds on the bow of the boat and can be inflated there. It weighs 65 pounds and can be launched by one person over the rail. I can retrieve it myself over the rail but it is easier with two people. This is where I keep it when making longer runs from the Keys to Tampa or the Tortugas. It's a nice back up lifeboat too.

When just cruising locally I fold it up and it sits in its cover on the bow out of the way. If we are gunkholing we just leave it launched and tow it with the motor attached.

Economically, this was much cheaper than a RIB and did not require installing a crane or heavy duty davit system. It will also last longer because it sits in its carrying case out of the sun most of the time.


Bruce

 

[jim rosenthal]

I am interested to see what you all come up with. Figuring out how to have a dink when you own a 35-45 ft boat can require some ingenuity. Especially if like me you don't fancy exterior clutter.
A few years back I had a ride on a Porta-Bote which impressed me a lot. They fold, they are bouyant, and have a rigid transom. They don't weigh much and are pretty much impervious to weather. They ride a lot like an inflatable but plane more easily. I think they have as much bouyancy as an inflatable or a Whaler built into them. The hull form is sort of like a Whaler but softer ride because the boat flexes a bit to absorb shock. They also set up and knock down easily.
They make them up to 12 feet, I think- might serve your needs. They have been around a long time and have a good reputation. I am still thinking this over- an inflatable would stow easier on a 36 convertible.

 

[Nonchalant1]

Not to change the subject, but how do those little (10-12') jet RIBs perform? Are they worth the extra cost and weight?

SKY - The problem is having room for them, but if I had the room on my flybridge, I'd have one in a minute. I had a SeaDoo Explorer and it was an excellent boat (although much more than you need as a tender). It'd run with 5 people onboard, pull a skier or 2 kids on tubes, it'd do 35MPH and it could run in 8 inches of water, plus no props or running gear to hit rocks, had lifting eyes glassed into the hull, etc. Unfortunately, it was too wide for my setup and I didn't want to change the whole bridge to accomodate it. Nautica now builds a jet version.

Doug

 

[Beckytek]

I am mulling over the same problem. Where to store dinghy? The best place for my 40' dc is on the bow, but then I'd need a davit. That looks like a real project though. Can everything be installed above deck? I don't think so. That means going through the forward deck and into the forward stateroom. I have seen them (in pictures) mounted on the bow with a davit and it looks good, but it looks like a major project. Does anyone have one installed? What does it look like under the deck? I have a gangplank at my stern to get on the boat and that is my only access, so a transom mount is out. Thanks Ron

 

[Trojan]

I like bruces idea alot on the type boat and mikes on the motor. But I would also like some sort of davit I think. I'm thinking that I would not be taking it on every trip. I have gotten away without one now for 5 years now. But the trip I have planned for this summer I think I am going to need one. I'm sure when I'm at my marina the kids well use it and I will use it to visit frends at the other end of the marina. A lot of good ideas. I don't like the idea of a post going through the middle of the boat for a hoist support.

BILL

 

[MikeP]

On my 36 I mounted the dinghey on the swim platform using weaver snap davits. It worked quite well. Although I sold the boat and bought the 53 prior to doing so, I had planned to use a Weaver Leaver to keep the engine mounted on the dinghy even when the dinghy is rotated up onto the swim platform. http://www.inflatableboats.com/weaver/leaver.html

 

[ADaily3224]

I tried a few, (friends had them) before I bought one. I don't care what make that's up to you. I choose an Achilles http://www.achillesinflatables.com/mainframe.cfm?page=product.cfm because it had oversized tubes and was easy to clean. It's light, I carry mine on the swim shelf, with ease. No brackets, just a couple snap hooks and line. The weight is the key. You can take a 65 or 70 pounder and pull it up on a dock, up the side of your boat to the deck, just about anywhere. If the weather looks rough and I have to cross Lake Ontario, I deflate it, put it in it's bag, and leave it on the back deck. After test driving a few I choose one with the high pressure inflatable floor, it planes very easily and is very easy on the knees, nice soft ride. I also suggest 10 feet or longer, the short one's like to point their nose in the air. I agree with the 2 cycle, again, the weight is a major factor.

I bought a nice motor lift from http://www.atkinshoyle.com/newfiles/120rail.html simple and works great. I have a 15hp Yamaha 2 Cycle, there are lots of places to use the power in very calm water so it's fun to have one that goes fast.

Good Luck
Tony D

 

[SKYCHENEY]

On our 43DC we also used to just tow an inflatable or stow it in its bag, but I have seen some boats this size retrofitted with those hydralic swim platforms. You just pull the dighy on and raise it up. I'm sure that's a pricey alternative though. And you have to totally redo the ladder too.

 

[Walter P]

I have seen many boats with extended swim platforms and some with special lift systems added to the existing swim platforms and I often wonder how well will they hold up in really nasty conditions. On my present Hatteras (a 48' 1982 MY), I have a cradle with a lift on the roof of the aft deck which is pretty much common. On my previous Hatterases (both 43 MY '80 & 73) I always wanted to be able to have a RHI aboard but was not able. I did have a small dink (fibreglass) on the fore deck on the 73, which I removed since it obstructed my view from the lower station and took up the wonderful social area up there. At one point I considered removing the flybridge from the 1980 thereby making it a flattop with a cradle and davit. I generally didn't use the bridge anyway. The newer style 43 MY (84-87) was perfect for that purpose, but I bought the 48 instead.

The idea of a roll up inflatable seems to be a very practical solution to the problem.

Walt