Gig Harbor boats - as dinghy?

[Nick14]

Does anyone here have a Gig Harbor boat as a dinghy? Especially, either the 12 ft Pt. Defiance, 10 ft Navigator, or 9.5 ft Captain's Gig?

I've always liked the classic, timeless good looks of Gig Harbor boats, the way they seem to row well (something I'd like to have in a dinghy, that's absent from rigid RIB-like boats such as the Whaly or PolyCraft), and the ability to sail.

For anyone with a Pt. Defiance boat, how stable are they? How useable are they as a dinghy?

The top requirement for me is for something not overly 'tippy.' The first time the Admiral would get into a dinghy and end up taking an unplanned swim would absolutely be the last day she would ever go boating, and probably also the start of selling the boat.

An interesting option I noticed on their website, inflatable sponsons that attach just under the gunwales of the boats.

https://ghboats.com/options/accessories/inflatable-sponsons/

Sounds good, in theory. Anyone have any actual experience with these?

Thank you!

 

[Bmarler]

I love gig harbor boats for the way they row. But they are very tender for those not used to it. I have no experience with the larger version, but we couldn’t make the smaller one work as our only tender as the wife just couldn’t get comfortable with it. The inflatable sponsons could change all that, but I don’t know without trying it out. Our tender is sort of a pickup truck as well, so interior cargo space is important, a bigger, wider skiff is best for us.

 

[porman]

We had a Zodiac with our 26 foot SeaRay. When we bought our Camano Troll I had GH make an 8 foot dinghy in matching color. My wife got in it once, said too tippy, and wouldn't get in it again. Sold it and went back to the Zodiac.

 

[Nick14]

@Bmarler, @porman, thank you!

That's what I suspected. From just looking at the boats, the relatively narrow hull, minimal wetted surface, fine entry, suggested they would be terrific to row or sail. But not so much for use as a stable dinghy for the Admiral.

I suspect the inflatable sponsons might be a response to others with the same experience. They look like they'd be a back-up, a fail safe for when the boat would heel too far, and prevent it from dumping the occupants. They don't appear to be in the water all the time, so likely little effect on initial stability.

The Admiral wouldn't like the see-sawing back-and-forth. Oh well, not for me.

Thanks again!

 

[Larry M]

We had a 9.5’ Captains Gig. It rowed like a dream and was fun to sail with one person. However it didn’t tow well and wasn’t stable getting in and out of. We did enjoy it for the few years we had it and it was easy to sell for there is a good market for used ones.

 

[rslifkin]

The sponsons definitely won't make it less tender, but it'll give it a lot more ultimate stability. To some degree, that distinction is one of confidence.



Our skiff isn't as tender as I'd expect the GH designs to be, but it was still enough to make the admiral a little hesitant early on. The first time I stood all the way to one side as a demo and the first time we took someone's 2-ish foot wake in the thing both gave her a lot more confidence that it wasn't actually going to flip easily regardless of what it felt like. I'm not sure I'd be happy with too much less initial stability though, as it would potentially be a pain to get in and out, especially with stuff.


If you do want a nice looking hard dinghy, there are other choices out there that should be less tender. The Dyer Dhow would be a classic example and Stur-Dee makes a nice rowing skiff as well. There are also plenty of designs out there for building a nice looking skiff (either a rowing skiff or one meant to plane). And there are pricey hard tender options like the ASTender and OCTender boats (personally I like the hull design of the ASTender better between those 2).

 

[FWT]

Seems to me:

Two forms of stability. One is hull shape, the second being mass.

The more round the bottom, and softer the chines, the less edge stability it will have. A round bottom has the virtue of greater weight capacity and can be slippery to move efficiently. At the cost of edge stability. A flat bottom will have more edge stability but be harder to row.

More mass adds stability. No matter the hull shape, step aboard an ocean liner and it won't notice you stepped aboard. In a dink, as you step aboard one side, the other side has more weight in the counter-balance. Mass adds stability, at the cost of needing more power to move it.

A Portland Pudgy has a very round bottom. It can carry a lot more weight than a Whaley which has a sort of V bottom down the centerline, but then has harder chines at the waterline. Dig out info and clips on the Pudgy and the knock is its a big tippy. Not bad, but a bit.

Its all tradeoffs. Want to plane? Or row? Keep the weight down. Want edge stability, go heavy and flat. There are some middle ground choices, so it becomes the relative importance to you of what attributes are most valued.

My two cents.

 

[Retriever]

I’ve spent time on two boats with Gig Harbor dinghies. Both owners eventually got rid of them. One boat (only space for a single dink) switched to a RIB for its much greater speed, range, stability, and utility. The other boat (the Gig Harbor was one of several dinghies) replaced the Gig Harbor with a couple RS Zest sailboats. Not as pretty, but tougher, more fun to sail, and way easier to rig.

 

[Snapdragon III]

I have been dreaming about getting a Gig harbor Point Defiance for a dingy for my boat too. I have a 14' Whitehall from them that is a beautiful boat, but too big to fit on my roof comfortably. I think the Point defiance has a little More beam, and is more full in the stern than some of their other models, So it should not be quite so tippy. Certainly it is harder to get in and out of than an inflatable. My boat carries two dingys, and my primary reason for wanting this one is to row around for pleasure and exercise when aboard. I have a 13' Bullfrog if I need stability or to cover big distances.

I was all set to buy one at the boat show last year, until I actually talked to them. It was something like $9,000 and a nine month wait. Too much money, and I would not have got it in time for my Alaska trip I was planning for last summer. I ended up buying an old Livingston off Craig's List for $800 instead. It seemed a little flimsy around the oar locks so I did a little fiberglass reinforcing around the oars, and the lifting points I added so I could use my crane to get it on the roof. It is much more solid with the reinforcement. I used the nice Gig Harbor wooden oars that came with my Whitehall with it. (I got carbon ones for the Whitehall.) It is ok, but doesn't row as nice as I had hoped. I am keeping an eye out for a good deal on a used Point Defiance.

The Livingston I got also came with a sailing kit that I liked the idea of. But the reality of it is that there are so many parts! The mast sections, the boom the sail, the daggerboard, the rudder. It is more than I want to try and find a place to store on the boat, so I haven't used it.

 

[Shrew]

The GH is similar to the Walker Bay. The floats are to prevent the thing from swamping. stability looks sketchy (Full Disclosure: I've never been on one). However, I've had 2 Zodiac inflatables and now use a Boston Whaler 130SS as our dinghy.

It's really tough to beat a rib when it comes to stability. Get a double-hull, so the floor of the rib is flat.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

If anyone comes up with the perfect combination of weight, size, capacity and mounting for a dinghy PLEASE let me know, I'm still looking!!

pete

 

[DesertAlbin736]

I have a Gig Harbor Nisqually 8

I've had a rowing version Gig Harbor Nisqually 8 as tender for my 1971 Albin 25 pocket trawler since 2016. I stow it on Garhauer lift davits. I purchased a display model direct from the Gig Harbor showroom in 2016. It replaced previous Canadian made Boatex 8 hard shell dink. Rows great but is a bit tender. I fashioned my own RID collar by attaching 3 large rope-thru-the-middle fenders to each side which adds about 110 lbs of extra floatation buoyancy to each side such that with my 210 lbs body weight I can stand on or near the gunnel without shipping water. I also use an old 2.5 HP 2 stroke Tohatsu outboard for motorized propulsion which is plenty of power, in fact 1/2 to 3/4 throttle will push it at hull speed. Been very happy with it these past seven years through several cruises of the San Juans in WA and Gulf Islands in BC.

 

[Duffy 35]

I have had the Point Defiance 12 as a tender to my Duffy 35 for one year. . I absolutely love that little boat. It rows like a dream. I power it with a Torqeedo 1103. The boat is stable enough for me, and even my wife. the stability factor is a matter of getting your 'sea legs" calibrated for a 12 foot classic dinghy. It is not as stable as a RIB. It took me a couple of trips to get my sea legs with it. BTW I had my sea legs in these smaller boats in my younger years, but that skill was lost over the years with RIBS.

I think it boils down to what is most important to you. If you are looking for a go fast stable dinghy I would go with a RIB. I wanted a minimally powered boat to go at hull speed. A boat that has nice lines. The PD will also out live the fabric of the RIBS.

 

[Duffy 35]

 

[rslifkin]

I have had the Point Defiance 12 as a tender to my Duffy 35 for one year. . I absolutely love that little boat. It rows like a dream. I power it with a Torqeedo 1103. The boat is stable enough for me, and even my wife. the stability factor is a matter of getting your 'sea legs" calibrated for a 12 foot classic dinghy. It is not as stable as a RIB. It took me a couple of trips to get my sea legs with it. BTW I had my sea legs in these smaller boats in my younger years, but that skill was lost over the years with RIBS.

I think it boils down to what is most important to you. If you are looking for a go fast stable dinghy I would go with a RIB. I wanted a minimally powered boat to go at hull speed. A boat that has nice lines. The PD will also out live the fabric of the RIBS.

To that last bit, you can get an in-between option with a planing hard skiff, although there are limited options that aren't rugged looking aluminum things or a build-it-yourself. They can look nice, they can be as fast as a RIB (sometimes faster with the same power), more initial stability than a rowing dinghy, but carry less weight than a RIB and not as stable as a RIB.

We carry one of the not super attractive aluminum skiffs, but with a good paint job it doesn't look too bad hanging in the davits (still better looking than a RIB). Scoots along just fine with a 6hp as well. I've seen ~13 kts solo and it'll still plane with 2 doing 9.5 - 10 kts.

 

[MaDehn]

I had the 10 foot approx navigator. Had the complete sail rig etc never used. Rowed very well BUT was miserable getting in and out of it. Difficult to trim out well with a 40 lb outboard on the back and one large adult
Going to the stern to crank the outboard one had to be very careful not to put a corner of the stern underwater. Replaced it with a Portland pudgy which I like Slow but very stable and carry’s plenty.

 

[Nick14]

I had the 10 foot approx navigator. Had the complete sail rig etc never used. Rowed very well BUT was miserable getting in and out of it. Difficult to trim out well with a 40 lb outboard on the back and one large adult
Going to the stern to crank the outboard one had to be very careful not to put a corner of the stern underwater. Replaced it with a Portland pudgy which I like Slow but very stable and carry’s plenty.

One episode of 'miserable getting in and out of it' for the Admiral would be the end of her going boating. If I had a boat big enough to carry two tenders one would be a Gig Harbor for the fun of it, but 38 ft isn't that.

I've been thinking of the Portland Pudgy for the past decade. If only it was about 20% bigger. I pleaded, cajoled, and tried combinations of enticement and guilt on David Hulbert at a Maine boat show some years back to make a bigger version, something around 9.5-10 ft overall. But he wasn't interested at all in investing any money on the project.

The Pudgy looks perfect in just about every way, except for I suspect too much tenderness for the Admiral. I love the way it can be rowed more easily than a Whaly or PolyCraft, and can even be sailed for the fun of it. But I fear the Admiral will find it too tippy.

 

[rslifkin]

Speaking of bad experiences getting in and out of the dingy... One of the first times the admiral went to step from our skiff onto the swim platform, she was too hesitant, leading to things moving a bit and a loss of balance. End result, she fell backwards into the dinghy (no injuries). Interestingly, being that she fell to the far side of the dinghy pretty hard without it flipping or doing anything unpleasant, she actually had more confidence in it after that and was more willing to make the (necessary) quick, deliberate step in and out.

 

[MaDehn]

I would encourage you to find someone with a pudgy and try it out I have found than you can stand easily in it and sit on one side without fear of tipping. It leans some but is quite stable. I am in early 60s and somewhat stiff of movement and find it ok. Also I am certainly not light at about 240 lbs.