I got a dingy!

rasbury

Just bought off craigs list a blow up boat that will be suitable for a dingy for us.....it's rated for 4 (fit two adults just fine) and you can add an electric motor to it but not rated for a gas one......9 1/2 ft.  The only thing I don't like is that it's a single chamber so if I sprung a leak, well will not be good.  Otherwise, for what we want to use it for it should be perfect I think....mainly bought it for on the ICW if we want to paddle over to one of the spoil islands we can anchor and paddle ashore for a private island with a cooler and a couple of chairs....and, we should be able to deflate it and roll it up and store it ok. It does have a "hard bottom" but question how hard it is when it's floating but again, for a couple hundred bucks it should work out pretty well. 

Black_Diamond

I suspect the 'hard bottom' are wood panels that go in the floor.  You'll find having a dinghy is a handy thing to have.  I have to pick up my new one this week, an AB 9.5 AL. 

TikiHut2

That's a sweet dink BD. Great choice. Good luck Ras. Let me know how it works in use and how you stow it.

I just couldn't find the right one to fit our typical use on the 270 (and I tried everything). The issue of stowage and towing it are just problematic on a 27' boat.  I tried 3 different inflatable dinghys, med/small kayaks, inflatable kayaks, large tandem towable canvas things and even considered an SUP but just can't wrap my head around where to stow it (or how to balance anything on one).

I thought I finally had it figured out with an inflatable kayak that Tony let me borrow one weekend. It was very nice and would've worked great but our 270 is just a tad too small to secure a boat that's actually large enough to be stable.

My favorite dinghy ,although too large for the 270, was my Achilles hypalon at 100lbs w8hp 2stroke. It was quick/fast and stable but light and roomy. Closer to being a boat than just a dink. I sold it after I realized that I owned 8 boats in varying styles, all of which I rarely used. It's a sickness isn't it? $-)

Here's Tonys kayak. It was a close one but there was almost no way to carry it inflated. I need a bigger boat

JoeStang

I've been looking also, and have the same issue as you Tiki (space).

I was looking at the Intex SeaHawk 4 as its got to be easier to move around than something like a true PVC dinghy, and its 1/5th the price. You can get a motor mount for an electric trolling motor too.

I just wonder if the dog nails will go right through the plastic, and if it'll be a huge PITA to inflate/deflate since its so big (**** near 11' long inflated).

Black_Diamond

Towing works for sailboats and trawlers. lol

Black_Diamond

No way.

Lifes Good

It would be a heck of a ride while it lasted.

rasbury

Here is the one I bought, about the only picture of it I could find...the hard bottom is two pieces of hard foam, not sure how stable it will be in the water(may have to work on that!) but comes with two oars that break down and a pump. I have a high volume pump on the boat so I think it will blow up pretty quick that way and my boat has the dingy package and it has a spot to put a motor under the rear seat....you can't put a gas motor on this but will handle up to a 30 lb. thrust electric...main use I wanted it for is along the east coast of Fl ICW there are a lot of spoil islands I want to get to but don't want to beach the boat and the admiral ain't swimming ashore...this way I can anchor and paddle over with a cooler for some island time. I think deflated and if I roll it up tight I can get the boat in that back storage area and the panels under the aft berth and will be good to go!