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Old 07-19-2020, 09:05 AM   #21
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Is the transom door the only way into the boat? How accessible is it from a fixed dock at low tide?
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Old 07-19-2020, 09:14 AM   #22
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This is neither here nor there, but my brother-in-law and I we’re checking out a launch ramp on the back of Sullivan’s Island, SC and saw a guy paddling his inflatable toward the ramp. He was all duded up in the most stylish fishing regalia and, as he approached, we noticed he had lost a lot of air. He dragged the flaccid dinghy onto the ramp, grabbed his Bowie knife, knelt down and proceeded to stab and slash it savagely. Then, without a look at us (we were slack-jawed and staring), he walked to his car and drove away.

Not sure there’s a moral, except maybe don’t buy a cheap inflatable.
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Old 07-19-2020, 10:51 AM   #23
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Originally Posted by ranger42c View Post
Transient dockage at the daily rates will be huge over the course of the trip. Not to worry, if that's in your budget, but it'll be a very serious number.

A compromise solution could be something like an air-floor or roll-up inflatable, maybe with a small gas or electric outboard (or not, but they don't row all that great), maybe carried on your foredeck?

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Originally Posted by hollywood8118 View Post
Does the boat have a life raft?

If not your only choice if you must get off the boat is to swim.


If your not going to have a dinghy you might as well get rid of the anchor and chain, your not going to need it if you dont have a dinghy.


I don't see how you can go anywhere without one, and not be stuck on the boat.


The Admiral uses ours when she needs alone time and has had too much of me... go figure!


HOLLYWOOD
There are going to be places along the Loop where you may choose not to get off the boat. Staying on the boat certainly doesn't prevent you from anchoring out. There are also numerous free docks along the Loop that are either free for some number of hours, daylight hours, or overnight with a one or more day limitation. Stopping on a free dock to sightsee for a half day and then moving off to anchor, certainly doesn't require a dinghy. Lots of free opportunities for Loopers willing to do the research.

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Old 07-19-2020, 10:55 AM   #24
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I am in the group that cannot go without a dinghy........and spend enough $ if you purchase one to get quality. My Avon 3.10RIB dinghy was purchased at a boat show in 1987 continues to provide reliable service. It outlasted one 8HP engine that I replaced 12 years ago.
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Old 07-19-2020, 11:02 AM   #25
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This is neither here nor there, but my brother-in-law and I we’re checking out a launch ramp on the back of Sullivan’s Island, SC and saw a guy paddling his inflatable toward the ramp. He was all duded up in the most stylish fishing regalia and, as he approached, we noticed he had lost a lot of air. He dragged the flaccid dinghy onto the ramp, grabbed his Bowie knife, knelt down and proceeded to stab and slash it savagely. Then, without a look at us (we were slack-jawed and staring), he walked to his car and drove away.

Not sure there’s a moral, except maybe don’t buy a cheap inflatable.
I have a very similar story with an inflatable kayak, wherein I am that guy. Involves much slapstick humor, all at my expense. I'll save it for some other thread so as not to derail this one.
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Old 07-19-2020, 11:24 AM   #26
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I have a roll-up dinghy and a 5 hp Nissan o/b. Used it three times on the Little Loop. Once at moorings in Cape May and NYC and once in Lake Champlain for fun. I used the bicycles more. And I hardly used them at all.

Most of the time you are going to be at locks, docks or marinas.

A car would be more convenient. But then you need a bigger boat and a crane.

Better just stay home.
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Old 07-19-2020, 11:26 AM   #27
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Menzies,
I haven’t worn a watch for Over two decades.
Now that i-phones have the time why wear a watch?

Watch is water proof . . . . i-phones . . . not so much
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Old 07-19-2020, 11:34 AM   #28
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Watch is water proof . . . . i-phones . . . not so much
Right on! And accurate time keeping watches with expansion bracelets are found on Ebay for about $5 with free shipping
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Old 07-19-2020, 11:43 AM   #29
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Hollywood has a good point about life rafts. I do carry a Waypoint 4 person life raft on board, which I religiously have serviced every three years. If I didn't have a life raft, I would certainly have the incentive to buy very best dinghy money could buy...and make the necessary sacrifices for carrying it. As it stands now, I only consider my dinghy to be a "convenience" item...and not terribly essential for the type of cruising we we do most of the time. However, as our cruising grounds change (for example requiring a higher percentage of anchoring out), we may find an increased need for a better dinghy solution.
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Old 07-19-2020, 11:44 AM   #30
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We don't have a saltwater boat yet, but I bought a lightweight inflatable dingy for our Sprinter van when traveling. It's 12.5' long & only weighs 92 lbs. I've only had it in a large lake, but so far I'm pretty impressed. It will run about 25 mph with a 20 Hp, which also weighs about 94 lbs. It has an air floor instead of aluminum, which seems rigid enough, but I have no idea of how long it will last. My boat is a Mars model from Boatstogo.com It's Chinese made & may be considered crap by most boaters here, but I haven't read anything either way yet. I just wanted to try one & figure I'll upgrade later if doesn't last. It was only about $800 including shipping for Black Friday.
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Old 07-19-2020, 12:08 PM   #31
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Look at the TakaCat or slightly higher quality TrueKit. There are a few US dealers. Combine that with an eProulsion motor. Catamaran designs, fold to relatively small packages, tow nicely, and the inflatable floors are like bow up SUPs. If we downsize I’m going the TrueKit route with either an ePropulsion Spirit Plus or a 6hp Yamaha.
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Old 07-19-2020, 03:05 PM   #32
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Wifey B: We carried a 13' jet rib with 100 hp. Now we seldom anchor out but spend nights at marinas. We, therefore, never needed it to get provisions or to get to shore. We use it like Caltex indicates, to explore places we couldn't fully in our boat. Now we were in a boat that was 69' overall and had a 5' draft so more limited than many. Still, we had periods of time in which we used the rib very little. Still there were times we wanted to see what was on the other side of that bridge just beyond where we docked and we wanted to explore some islands.

Now, there is so much to do on the loop, I think it would have been different without the rib but it still would have been so much fun. We used it because we had it, but I think we could have happily done it without.
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Old 07-19-2020, 03:21 PM   #33
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You will wish you had a dinghy if you leave home without one. Make it work, you will be happy you did.

Many people travel with a kayak or two hanging from a rail or on deck. Maybe explore that if you are at all fit and can get in and out of one. Honestly, we look like something out of Beverly Hillbillies when we go on vacation. The dink on the back, an outboard mounted on the handrail, two bikes up front and two kayaks hanging off the side

pete
Yep, that sums us up pretty good, too. Two full size bikes, a kayak, a stand up paddle board, and the RIB dinghy with Honda 20 outboard.

In the past 6 months we have put well over 250 miles on our bikes, and a lot of hours on the dinghy. For the past week we probably averaged 2-3 dinghy trips per day when anchored. We are now in a marina for a few days. The bikes will be used here, and so will the dinghy. We use them both for exploring, provisioning, going to dinner, etc.
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Old 07-19-2020, 04:15 PM   #34
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Inflatable kayaks are popular in the coastal BC area as dinghies:

https://www.ebay.ca/i/222793332913?c...caAq5XEALw_wcB
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Old 07-19-2020, 05:35 PM   #35
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Let's not forget the Portabote. I think they are pretty cool after spending a couple days tootin around in a mooring field neighbor's.

https://www.porta-bote.com/
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Old 07-19-2020, 05:39 PM   #36
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One of the the main issues with boats that need to be assembled on board is room to do so....after once or twice, many give up.
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Old 07-20-2020, 06:34 AM   #37
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We, a couple of klutzes easily assembled the guys Portabote over his swim platform. He usually kept it there assembled. It rowed pretty well too. I'd much rather have one than a a pure inflatable, especially if you had to blow the darn thing up all the time. It's just another option.

For us personally, it's a console equipped RIB or hard body, period. The real fun started when we launched the dinghy, the big boat was merely the delivery vehicle and home base. I'm so glad I kept the Whaler when we sold the Hatteras. We've continued to enjoy immensely ever since.
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Old 07-20-2020, 07:08 AM   #38
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Like I say for almost everything in boating....it depends.


Me and plenty of others would really like to use a portabote as they do make great dingies....but assembly seems to be the #1 showstopper because of lack of assembly room on many boats...not all but enough to give people the heads up to make sure.
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Old 07-20-2020, 09:00 AM   #39
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They make storable inflatable dingys that will take a 5hp outboard.
We used an 8'6" inflatable dinghy with a Torqeedo. It was a bit bulky to keep in the deflated state but relatively easy to move around. Took about 15-20 minutes to inflate it manually with a foot pump (much less with an electric pump designed for the inflatable kayak).

It had an inflatable floor and an inflatable keel. We've had one with hard floor panel sections and HATED storing it and putting it together. The panels were a pain in the arse. The inflatable floor kind provides nearly as much rigidity without the assembly hassles.

The Torqeedo was the only game in town when we bought it. There are apparently other competitors now, but I've no experience with them. Our experience was the Torqeedo 1003 was about the same power as a 3hp gas outboard. Range was sufficient for about a dozen trips to shore, or an afternoon's worth of wandering around, provided you weren't going flat-out. About the same as a teensy tank built into most small gas outboards. The battery would recharge overnight from AC power.

My question would be whether the opening up the flybridge would be large enough to pass the folded-up bulk of the dinghy.
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Old 07-20-2020, 09:10 AM   #40
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...Avon 3.10RIB dinghy was purchased at a boat show in 1987 continues to provide reliable service. It outlasted one 8HP engine that I replaced 12 years ago.
We've got the same dinghy (it came with the boat when we bought it) and while it's looking a bit long in the tooth it's held up very well.

The Moeller DinghyMate fuel tank works well on it. Saves a lot of legroom.

https://www.amazon.com/Moeller-Dingh...dp/B000MTCQSS/
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