Dinghy/Outboard performance???

[hoppy]

I'm just curious to know what inflatable/rib & motor combos people have and how you find the performance and are you happy with the combo?



Last year I replaced my dead 2.4m Quicksilver AirDeck (inflatable keel) with a 2.4m Honwave (air V-floor) and found I had a massive drop in speed with my Tohatsu 3.5hp 2 stroke.

With the Quicksilver I could almost get it to planning speed one up although it would suffer cavitation and the speed will drop off. With the Honwave it does not come close to the same sort of speed. I'm not sure if it's just a problem with the Honwave design or perhaps the winter service of the Tohatsu lost it power???

There is temptation to get a new 6hp OB (Max recommended for the Honwave) but do wonder how fast a 6hp inflatable can be? Can they get on to a plane or is that a hopeless dream without going for a rib?

[Tafika II]

We have a Carib C10 10' RIB with Yamaha 15. Both heavy, but manageable. On the water...dry and fast!

[iancymru]

I had a yamaha 2.6m dinghy with wooden deck and inflatable keel with a yamaha 4hp 4stroke and that would get on the plane with just myself onboard and was even quicker with my friends 3.5 tohatsu 2 stroke fitted. 

[Deleted]

We used to have a Sevylor with wooden floor. With a 2.5hp 2 stroke Mercury my son was able to get it in plane.The dingy was too big so we replaced it by a 230 Lodestar with airdeck. It's a nice boat but plane was over. I think it has to do with the inflatable keel which sets the engine in another angle. Now I replaced the engine by a 4hp 2 stroke Mercury and I expect to reach plane even myself.

[rxc]

I have a Caribe C9 RIB with a Honda 8, and it takes a while to get up on a plane with my wife and me on board, and then it is a bit tricky to manage. I like the RIB, but hate the Honda with a passion.

I have ridden in non-RIBs on a plane, and the way that the floor flexes makes it a bit exciting. Don't remember details. Maybe a large inflatable would be more stable, but I really think RIBs are the only way to go as tenders for boats above 40ft. If I had to do it again, I would go for the Caribe 10 and the Yamaha 15, as Takifa has.

[hoppy]

I think I have pretty much made up my mind and a new OB is a definite 2015 purchase especially as I will be on board full time and will use it a lot.

Tomorrow at the boat show I will try to find exactly what I want. I'm thinking I will go for the 6hp that is the max my Honwave can handle. I quite like the idea of getting a motor that has an internal tank but can also take an external tank as well.

[sailbleu]

Would like to shed my light on the matter aswell , if only to be told I'm wrong .
We're in for a new dinghy too , now we have a 2008 plastimo 2,40m in combo with a 5hp 2 stroke.
No planing , well euhhhh , sometimes i can , only me on board that is .
But it's the type with no infatable keel so the wooden bord bottom wobbles quit a bit when speeding up.
I also had a 3,60m zodiac , still have it but it's the low quality type where all the seams/joints detach .Ready to discard in other words.
Strangely enough we could - 2 adults 1 child max. - plane with the same 5hp , the lenght of the dinghy and inflatable keel added to that.

So time for an upgrade .I was thinking on a 2,70m , alu floor and inflatable keel.
Considering our plans to cross the Atlantic next year or so , I had a high quality dinghy in mind .
A few examples were given here , top of the class .....Carib , Honwave , AB etc. All hypalon dinghies.
But , ever returning word isn't it , checking the prices set me to think it over.
Normally for the Caribean , and long term Med , a polyester dinghy will only last for a few years up to point where someone has to pull you off the sticky tubes. Unless a UV cover/jacket is used , and even then.

Check this price , shipment to Italy is 29 Euros by the way , and please bear with me
www.ebay.it/itm/GOMMONI-GOMMONE-CANOTTO-TENDER-BARCA-MARE-NAUTICA-FONDO-IN-ALLUMINIO-cm-270-/190902992132?pt=Altro_per_la_Nautica&hash=item2c72b47d04

I estimate that with a proper polyester cover a PVC dinghy will get you, MAYBE - 5 years going in the Caribean or Med.
Meanwhile you run a certain risk of damage , loss and increasing odds to have it stolen from you. That last remark is - from what I hear - becoming a plague
Losing a 600 Euro PVC dinghy or a 2000 Euro Hypalon one is a hugh difference .
I'm inclined to believe that - everything brought into the equation - you're better off making a smaller (and perhaps more frequent) investment when it comes to a dinghy.

Now the outboard , rumour has it that in the low hp category outboards a 2stroke is more reliable then a 4 stroke.
As for the2 stroke evironmental aspect ( oil in the fuel) , where do most live-aboards leave their oil after a change service on a 4 stroke ?
Again , also the same arguments as raised for the dinghy , what about teft , loss (storm) , expensive repairs and last but not least ...purchase price ?

Looking at the broader picture , I'm close to about sure of getting a PVC dinghy , design a UV-dress for it and see how far my present 5hp gets us before updrading to a 6hp.

Regards

[iancymru]

Hoppy,
slowly coming around to your way of thinking, Im looking to replace my Wetline Roundtail 230 dinghy as it a bit on the small size and looking for something a bit bigger and stable, around 2.6m to 2.8m. To be honest the 230 rt has been a good dinghy and is still in good nick after 6 yrs and has lived on the back of my previous 29ft boat, the only negative is that the outboard bracket was of mild steel and corroded away after about 3 yrs , I replaced it and properly painted the new one and made a plywood bracket to take hinged wheels which I find essential for tidal beaches here, and would be a must on a new dinghy also the air deck floor I do like as it adds rigidity and fairly lightweight.  Anyway digressed a bit there I have been looking at top end dinghys  i.e. Zodiac etc but trying to justify the price and have just seen a Wetline 2.7m air deck with inflatable keel for £390 on a boatshow offer if it the same quality as my 230 I am seriously tempted but worried it could be too cheap

www.mailspeedmarine.com/boats-engines/boats/inflatable-boats-dinghies?utm_campaign=OH-LBSdeal4&utm_source=emailCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=

[iancymru]

oops previous in reply to Sailbleu
Ian

[hoppy]

I was at the London boat show today and looked at a couple of motors. Yamaha and Tohatsu both have what I want, 6hp & the possibility to have both an internal and external tank Honda did not meet my requirements and I did not look at others.

One thing I saw that was interesting was a foldable 2.7m rib. The floor folded into 3 parts. It was small enough to probably be squeezed through the main hatch and stored below. I did not ask the price or even see the brand. It was Russian made and is cat C

[hoppy]

Found it, nasty pricing www.nestawayboats.com/FRIB-Folding-hull-RIBs%281399612%29.htm

[tedp]

For about 10 years I've had a light Maxxon 7ft boat, flat slatted bottom, with a cheap Mariner 3.3 two stroke. The lack of a V bottom makes itself felt since the bottom bulges a little, but if I lean forward it will go into plane very quickly. Two people on board and you won't get it into plane. I haven't seen this type of boat being offered for sale recently, only the V bottom type.

The Maxxon has proved to be very durable, but then I put it away after use and never leave it exposed on deck for a long time. I hardly ever tow it but I hoist it flat against the stern. It just packs into the SO32's cockpit locker, leaving space for odds and ends.

It does all right in a slight chop, but for use on open anchorages and as a tender for long voyages I would advise a bigger boat. If you can store it on board.

[sailbleu]

Jan 12, 2015 19:41:56 GMT hoppy said:

Found it, nasty pricing www.nestawayboats.com/FRIB-Folding-hull-RIBs%281399612%29.htm

Cough , cough , cough ,....my apologies , I almost choked on my coffee whilst looking at the prices.
But a very clever design , I just love it.
Ok , my mind is set on a PVC even more so , maybe by the time the two floaters have become one after being bashed enough by the sun this nestawayboat has been copied by the Chinese , making it affordable for the average sailor.
Good things come to those who wait.

Regards

[rxc]

One other thought about dinghies, and it relates to safety. I have a RIB, which I keep on davits except during major crossings, when it is lashed on the foredeck. I also carry a Winslow liferaft, made by the same people who make them for the airlines. The Winslow was purchased new in 2008, and was vacuum packed. I took it to the Paris inspection station in 2011, and it failed the inspection, because the material would not hold air - within an hour it was limp.

To Winslow's credit, they replaced the liferaft at no cost to me. I now have another inspection coming up, and will take it to the Winslow factory (near where I am in Florida) for this inspection.

What this tells me is that safety equipment that is not regularly used, should be considered suspect. I am not saying that it should not be carried, or that it is all junk - just that if you don't use it all the time (or cannot test it) you don't have any idea whether it will really work when you call on it.

I once did a test of expired flares (on a 4th of July evening), and found that 2 of about 30 flares did not work. They were all about 10 years out of date. Flares seem to be pretty reliable. But in my professional life, I have found the same situation - safety equipment that is not used regularly seems to be much less reliable than one would expect for items that you depend on for safety.

My dinghy has been inflated for 15 years. It is hypalon, and has chalked a bit, chafed a bit in a few places, and I do have one handle that needs to be replaced. It is rarely covered to protect it from the sun, and it doesn't have any UV skirting. I pump it up about 3 times/year if it has sat in the hot sun and relieved itself. It sat on the foredeck for nearly 2 years when we did not use the boat, and was only slighly deflated - it would have floated and kept us afloat if it had been needed.

I consider the dinghy the backup to my liferaft. I will launch both of them at the same time if I need to abandon ship. I have a knife available to cut the lines to release it into the water, and then the liferaft will go over the side to be inflated. Even when it is lashed to the foredeck, it can be launched in a few seconds once the lashings are cut. If I had an inflatable rolled up in a locker, it would be no use in this situation.

If you just do coastal sailing, a PVC inflatable that you stow in a locker is probably OK. If you do anything adventurous where you think that it might be prudent to have a liferaft, then I think you need something more substantial, and it should be ready to launch at the same time as a liferaft.

[tedp]

That is something I agree to wholeheartedly. If you want to use a dinghy as a safety measure, having it in the locker is useless. On my previous 23ft boat I had the dinghy in davits across the stern. That was for space reasons. On the SO32, having it stowed flat against the stern is almost as good.

[hoppy]

Jan 13, 2015 4:46:54 GMT sailbleu said:

Jan 12, 2015 19:41:56 GMT hoppy said:

Found it, nasty pricing www.nestawayboats.com/FRIB-Folding-hull-RIBs%281399612%29.htm

Cough , cough , cough ,....my apologies , I almost choked on my coffee whilst looking at the prices.
But a very clever design , I just love it.
Ok , my mind is set on a PVC even more so , maybe by the time the two floaters have become one after being bashed enough by the sun this nestawayboat has been copied by the Chinese , making it affordable for the average sailor.
Good things come to those who wait.

Regards

I bought "Sailing Today" and they had a test of several ribs, including this Russian one. There was a 2nd rib in the test with the £2k + pricing but not foldable.

[MartyB]

I thought it were.....

I drives me boat!
She drives me dinghy!

That is how it werks in me home anywho!!!!!!!!

[chuckr]

we have had our current dink about 5 years now.  it is a west marine 9' that has inflatable keel and is made from pvc.  it also has a wood floor that we really like and provides stability for the admiral when getting in and out and with loads.  we ran it in the caribbean for abut 3 years then deflated it and stored it when crossing over. 
we have a 5 hp merc 2 stroke engine that we have had for 6 years.  we started out with a 3hp but found we needed a bit more power. 
overall for us it is a great combination as we can go a long way and yet both are lite and easy to handle.  most of our friends in the carib has bigger engines but we could not see the advantage as we were usually not that far behind them. 

[On y va]

Since 2006 I have a Bombard AX3 aero, so with an inflatable floor and something that inflates under the floor to make some V-shape. With a 4HP Yamaha 2 stroke (I have a spare 3HP Yamaha Malta too). I will only have 2 stroke outboards, as they are 10x more reliable than 4 stroke. Ok, you have to mix oil into the fuel, they are noisier and smellier. I don´t care. They virtually always work and especially in sunny climates, where the fuel in 4 strokes quickly gums up (esp due to the poor quality of 95RON petrol). 

The Bombard has lasted pretty good in the Med sun. But, I never leave it on deck for longer periods. If I go sailing anywhere, I pack it up and store it in a locker. Also I rinse the salt of regularly. And so far, it´s holding out fine.

But if this one goes, I have a Bombard Max3+ lying around of only 1 year old. One of my clients bought it, but found it too small so donated it to me!!   But that one doesn´t have an aero-floor.

[ForGrinsToo]

We have a Zodiac Bombard Typhoon Aero 310 (which might be a current model in some combination of all those names): 10'2" (3.1m) LOA; PVC; inflatable floor; inflatable keel (for a V or sorts); 8 hp Mercury 4-stroke. It will plane with 2 (325 lbs/150 kg) aboard and the GPS shows 14 kts. BUT! If stored inflated on the 36i foredeck, there is little room for crew and the anchor locker is inaccessible. The 8 hp is a bit much to handle at 85 lbs (38 kg) lacking a davit. It is an awful lot of weight, awfully high on the not-exactly robust 36i pushpit. While the advice to "get the largest OB you can manage as you might need it to tow someday" was sound, we will undoubtedly trade down to a much lighter 5 or 6 hp for next season and find a means for storage at the toerail or below. Even rolled up, the inflatable is difficult to store on the 36i, so we are looking at options for storage on the stern. In four seasons of intermittent freshwater (U.S. Great Lakes) use, we see little evidence of problems with the PVC, though the plastic bow handle broke in the second season.

Does anyone have experience with the Weaver MotoSto (http://www.weaverindustries.com/index.cfm/category/13/motostos.html)? It strikes me that the swim platform version might not be healthy for a 4-cycle engine if heeled towards the powerhead.

[vasko]

all dinghy's are pain if you do not have a real RIB with center console and GRP bottom then all else is a compromise ... but on top of the huge initial price the proper RIB with engine is really heavy and put a lot of stress on the davits especially if you want to keep the outboard on....

 my case I decided to go for cheap plastimo pvc 2.40 slatted floor  (got it from ebay for £150) and two stroke yamaha  2.3 (a very old one got it with the boat)added a inflatable floor on top of the slatted from another 2.40 dinghy and all is stable and going fast enough with 3 of us me(I'm quite heavy 125kg), my wife and our 3 years old - no plane but at least the setup is not expensive at all

[GerryS]

We have a Zodiac 2.4 with the slatted floor. I used to run it with a 2.5hp Honda four stroke but wanted a bit more speed so opted for a 4hp 2 stroke Suzuki hardly much difference in weight between the outboards but substantial difference in performance BUT only after I bought a double chamber dinghy pump and pumped it up real hard resulting that it planes two up at 11 knots.

[zofiasailing]

Our current dinghy is an aqua pro 3.1' with aluminium base. We previously had a Chinese number with inflatable floor and keel. Absolutely not in the same league. What we now have is more stable, deeper and DRY! Boys.... Think of your Gals! We have a 5hp Suzuki 4stroke and use Premium instead of regular ULP - less inclined to go off and then cause blockages and be annoying. We agree that being able to attach a separate fuel tank is an advantage particularly if cruising. Previous outboard was only 2.5hp, didn't have the extra tank option and ironically also had a smaller fuel capacity anyway! A 5l emergency top-up jug was a prudent accompaniment then. The 2.5 hp managed to push the bigger dinghy. 5hp much better though. The weight of the outboard is a factor we considered..... The girlie factor again!
SV Zofia.

[iancymru]

Hopefully attached a picture of my Wetline 230 RT dinghy with new wheels attached. 

[iancymru]

Bracket simply made out of ply attached to wood part of outboard bracket with self tapers and pipe saddles over the steel tubes. The wheels are great for a singlehanded visit to tidal pubs or from the mooring at low tide. I did not think I would be able to fit wheels on a round tail dinghy and they are remarkably stable and do not interfere with the engine when up fully however if you want to go astern (i.e. swing the engine 180 degrees) the wheels are supplied with a bracket which holds them 90 degrees to the transom. Also extremely light weight.