GIG Rowing Boats as Tenders

N4061 · Dec 20, 2016

Curious if anyone can comment on GIG rowing boats as a tender? I like the 10' customized a little to make it show nice and can live with the 6 knots using a 2hp OB. The option of rowing for exercise makes this these boats an interesting alternative to the typical RIB. Thanks

John
Helmsman 38E

dhays · Dec 20, 2016

N4061 said:
Curious if anyone can comment on GIG rowing boats as a tender? I like the 10' customized a little to make it show nice and can live with the 6 knots using a 2hp OB. The option of rowing for exercise makes this these boats an interesting alternative to the typical RIB. Thanks

John
Helmsman 38E

John are you talking about the Gig Harbor Boat works 10'?
https://www.ghboats.com/boats/boats-12-to-8-ft/10-navigator/

Interesting timing as I was looking at these just the other day. I have seen their boats and they are really very nice. I learned to sail in a similar boat, a 9' Minto. (Btw, there are a couple folks making those again).

My interest was renewed last week when a new patient are in the office. She is a woman close to 80 years old who had one made for herself to use as a tender on she and her husbands sailboat. She had them customize it so it would nest. That way it fits nicely on their sailboat before the mast. They tow it much of the time except if they are going to be crossing big water when they put it up on deck. She couldn't say enough nice things about her boat. She says rows exceptionally well and she loves sailing it. I figure that if an 80 year old woman can handle it, then I probably could as well.

My thought was to tow it or hoist it up on the boat deck nested. It would take up little room and give me a nice rowing boat as well as fun sailor. It would also work great with my Torqeedo electric motor.

My RIB is nice but it and the motor are not matched well enough for it to plane. So I don't go fast anyway unless I want to spring for a different motor. The RIB doesn't row well, nor does it tow well, and it can't be sailed.

Bruce B · Dec 20, 2016

Our dinghy is a Trinka 10. I know nothing about the Gig boats mentioned but I will say that the Trinka is a great dinghy. It rows very nicely, it sails very,very nicely and it cruises along with our 3 hp Yamaha in style.
These are not inexpensive though. The people who build them are great to deal with and they will perform little modifications with a smile.
Bruce

The Trinka 10

dhays · Dec 20, 2016

Bruce B said:
Our dinghy is a Trinka 10. I know nothing about the Gig boats mentioned but I will say that the Trinka is a great dinghy. It rows very nicely, it sails very,very nicely and it cruises along with our 3 hp Yamaha in style.

These are not inexpensive though. The people who build them are great to deal with and they will perform little modifications with a smile.

Bruce

The Trinka is a very highly thought of dinghy. Are you going to use it on your American Tug as well?

N4061 · Dec 20, 2016

Gig

dhays said:
John are you talking about the Gig Harbor Boat works 10'?
https://www.ghboats.com/boats/boats-12-to-8-ft/10-navigator/

Interesting timing as I was looking at these just the other day. I have seen their boats and they are really very nice. I learned to sail in a similar boat, a 9' Minto. (Btw, there are a couple folks making those again).

My interest was renewed last week when a new patient are in the office. She is a woman close to 80 years old who had one made for herself to use as a tender on she and her husbands sailboat. She had them customize it so it would nest. That way it fits nicely on their sailboat before the mast. They tow it much of the time except if they are going to be crossing big water when they put it up on deck. She couldn't say enough nice things about her boat. She says rows exceptionally well and she loves sailing it. I figure that if an 80 year old woman can handle it, then I probably could as well.

My thought was to tow it or hoist it up on the boat deck nested. It would take up little room and give me a nice rowing boat as well as fun sailor. It would also work great with my Torqeedo electric motor.

My RIB is nice but it and the motor are not matched well enough for it to plane. So I don't go fast anyway unless I want to spring for a different motor. The RIB doesn't row well, nor does it tow well, and it can't be sailed.

Yes, this is the boat. Interesting to hear your story. I plan to research them more. Thanks

N4061 · Dec 20, 2016

Trinka

Bruce B said:
Our dinghy is a Trinka 10. I know nothing about the Gig boats mentioned but I will say that the Trinka is a great dinghy. It rows very nicely, it sails very,very nicely and it cruises along with our 3 hp Yamaha in style.
These are not inexpensive though. The people who build them are great to deal with and they will perform little modifications with a smile.
Bruce

The Trinka 10

Thanks for this information. I just looked at their site and the boats appear to offer a little more room inside. Things are getting interesting with this search.

John

Bruce B · Dec 20, 2016

dhays said:
The Trinka is a very highly thought of dinghy. Are you going to use it on your American Tug as well?

We will do our shakedown cruise with our 10 year old "Bermuda" roll up inflatable. It was purchased so that after we got to Bermuda, we'd have a dinghy with us to cruise the local scene.

When we get home, we will bring out the trinka. It is a great dinghy. I will have to decide between the Trinka made teak chock system or something like Weaver stands to secure it on the upper deck but it will certainly be our dinghy.

Bruce

markpierce · Dec 20, 2016

The eight-foot Trinka is a great one-person dinghy.

Bruce B · Dec 20, 2016

markpierce said:
The eight-foot Trinka is a great one-person dinghy.

I've never met a Trinka owner who did not love their dinghy...
Bruce

TDunn · Dec 20, 2016

I have a Great Harbor 10 rowing dinghy that I can put my Torqeedo on. The Torqeedo woks well, but last summer I bought a pair of Shaw and Tenney spoon blade oars. They make rowing my dinghy a joy. I think I used the motor once after buying the oars.

http://hankhinckley.com/2ndpage.html

Bruce B · Dec 20, 2016

TDunn said:
I have a Great Harbor 10 rowing dinghy that I can put my Torqeedo on. The Torqeedo woks well, but last summer I bought a pair of Shaw and Tenney spoon blade oars. They make rowing my dinghy a joy. I think I used the motor once after buying the oars.

Aaaah, that's a nice set of oars!
I'm thinking of making a set of oars next summer when we get home from the shakedown cruise. If I do, your oars will be my inspiration!
Bruce

Nomad Willy · Dec 20, 2016

N4061 said:
Curious if anyone can comment on GIG rowing boats as a tender? I like the 10' customized a little to make it show nice and can live with the 6 knots using a 2hp OB. The option of rowing for exercise makes this these boats an interesting alternative to the typical RIB. Thanks

John
Helmsman 38E

John,
If the Gig Harbor 10 has a FD anything like my 12' GH Defiance it will not reach hull speed w 2hp or any similar engine. The 10 (probably 9'6'' WLL) will have a hull speed of 4 knots. The 10' Gig Harbor may have a semi-planing hull that would make hull speed w a 3 or 4hp OB working hard. But unless you're working the 2hp OB hard you're looking at 1hp. I have a 2hp Yamaha and the noise working hard is not pleasant.
I'm not familiar w the 10' GH boat so it may have a semi-planing hull and thus may be capable of more speed .. perhaps 5 .. or even 6 knots w a 5 or 6hp OB.
We have a yellow sailboat semi-planing hull dinghy (see pic) that ran about 7 or 8 knots cruising w a 6hp 2cyl Johnson OB. But the yellow dink is nowhere near a FD hull. Look at how the bottom of the dink aft runs upward as one goes aft. As a FD hull the bottom would run upwards to the extent that the transom would be out of the water as my 12' GH Defiance is. But my yellow dink would only have her transom out of the water at rest w no one or any other weight in the boat. But w a planing hull (having a straight run aft from ahmidships) the transom would be below the WL. The 10' GH is probably like my 10' yellow dink. A semi displacement hull.
The GH boats are great boats and you'll probably love it .. but probably at a considerably lower speed than your post suggests.

TDunn · Dec 20, 2016

Bruce B said:
Aaaah, that's a nice set of oars!
I'm thinking of making a set of oars next summer when we get home from the shakedown cruise. If I do, your oars will be my inspiration!
Bruce

Go long. I have 8 footers and they are a huge improvement from my old 7 footers.

Bruce B · Dec 20, 2016

TDunn said:
Go long. I have 8 footers and they are a huge improvement from my old 7 footers.

So people say!
I'm sure I will post as I begin my project. Can't wait!
Bruce

Snapdragon III · Dec 20, 2016

I have a 14' gig harbor whitehall with a sliding seat and carbon fiber oars that I got last summer for an excuse to get out on the water and get some exercise. It is great and would make the sweetest dingy ever if you had a boat big enough to store it. Carbon oars are a huge improvement over the very nicely made spoon blade wood ones it came with. I have a 2hp Honda and it hauls ass on a comically small amount of fuel. I am convinced you could make it from Seattle to Alaska on a 5 gallon can of gas, but I can't convince my wife to try it with me.

Nomad Willy · Dec 20, 2016

I just checked the Gig Harbor website and re the pics I saw the 10' Navigator appears to be a full displacement hull. So cruising speeds will be right about 3.5 knots. the hull speed of 4 knots isn't practical for a continuous cruise speed.
Call Gig Harbor and ask them. I saw a boat that I think was a Navigator and It had a 2hp Honda OB on it.

dhays · Dec 20, 2016

Nomad Willy said:
I just checked the Gig Harbor website and re the pics I saw the 10' Navigator appears to be a full displacement hull. So cruising speeds will be right about 3.5 knots. the hull speed of 4 knots isn't practical for a continuous cruise speed.
Call Gig Harbor and ask them. I saw a boat that I think was a Navigator and It had a 2hp Honda OB on it.

They did some casual speed tests on two of their boats using a Yamaha 2 stroke 2hp motor. Their 9.5' Captains Gig topped out at 7.1 mph. The smaller 8' Nisqually reached 7.9 mph. They note that the operator had to move forward and use a tiller extension to get there and that someone heavier than the testers 165 lb would be slower. They felt a more reasonable speed with someone sitting aft might be 5.5 - 6.5 mph.

Neither of these are the 10-14' GH boats that we have discussed but I would imagine that my Torqueedo would likely push a 10' Navigator comfortably at 5.5 mph.

The 12' Pt. Defiance looks like a great boat but I don't know that it could be modified to be nested and it would likely be too big to fit comfortably on my boat deck.

dhays · Dec 20, 2016

TDunn said:
I have a Great Harbor 10 rowing dinghy that I can put my Torqeedo on. The Torqeedo woks well, but last summer I bought a pair of Shaw and Tenney spoon blade oars. They make rowing my dinghy a joy. I think I used the motor once after buying the oars.

http://hankhinckley.com/2ndpage.html

I don't suppose you know how fast the Torqeedo pushed it? Also, did you find that the Torqeedo worked well will the the dinghy in general?

dhays · Dec 21, 2016

This could be a new thread but... How many folks are using a rigid rowing/sailing dinghy as a tender? If you do...

- What size and type do you use?
- How do you store it on your Trawler?
- How well does it tow?
- Do you use a motor on it and what type?
- How is the dinghy used most of the time?
- What downsides to using a boat like this for a tender?

Bruce B · Dec 21, 2016

dhays said:
This could be a new thread but... How many folks are using a rigid rowing/sailing dinghy as a tender? If you do...

- What size and type do you use?
- How do you store it on your Trawler?
- How well does it tow?
- Do you use a motor on it and what type?
- How is the dinghy used most of the time?
- What downsides to using a boat like this for a tender?

Trinka 10

With our sailboat, we towed the dinghy. Obviously we left it home when we sailed offshore but we happily towed it across the Gulf of Maine 30 or so limes.

With its self bailing Elvstrom bailer and impeccable manners we never had any issue.

Yamaha 2 1/2 hp 4 stroke was primary engine until I found a pristine used Yamaha 3 hp 2 stroke. I didn't like the 4 stroke much, the angle of the Trinka transom caused it to smoke terribly when it started, much more than the 2 stroke smokes! The 2 stroke is also more tolerant of typical ethanol fuel. It sure does burn more fuel though!

Typical use is with the motor. We take our dogs ashore 2 or 3 times a day when cruising. It hauls dogs, people, groceries whatever is needed. In some places, we forgo the motor and row. Typically this takes place in small harbors where is is simply faster to leave the engine off and just go. We sail it infrequently but it is a blast to sail as it is sporty.

The biggest drawbacks to a hard dinghy are that it is relatively slow. It is a terrible boat to dive from and it requires that you have a sense of balance about you although my 84 year old father in law insists on continuing to use their 50 year old 8' Dyer dinghy (without an engine no less!) so it can be done!

Bruce

Gdavid · Dec 21, 2016

I have never seen one in person and have no affiliation at all but I think the PT11 is one of the best looking nesting, rowing, sailing dinghy around and is reported to have very good performance. It looks like it has less rocker and flatter bottom overall than the more traditional styled dinks.

I am sure I have posted this before and I swear I have nothing to do with the company but I am just smitten with the design. Unfortunately I can't justify building one either as I already have a laser, 420, canoe and multiple kayaks but my inflatable is the only dinghy that can handle my family of 5 at once.

Bruce B · Dec 21, 2016

Gdavid said:
I have never seen one in person and have no affiliation at all but I think the PT11 is one of the best looking nesting, rowing, sailing dinghy around and is reported to have very good performance. It looks like it has less rocker and flatter bottom overall than the more traditional styled dinks.

View attachment 59717

View attachment 59718

I am sure I have posted this before and I swear I have nothing to do with the company but I am just smitten with the design. Unfortunately I can't justify building one either as I already have a laser, 420, canoe and multiple kayaks but my inflatable is the only dinghy that can handle my family of 5 at once.

Reminds me of something I heard recently from the wife of a friend.
When asked by his wife why they had 19 boats, his answer was "because I just gave one away!"...
Bruce

TDunn · Dec 21, 2016

dhays said:
I don't suppose you know how fast the Torqeedo pushed it? Also, did you find that the Torqeedo worked well will the the dinghy in general?

I don't know how fast it will go at wide open throttle, but at about 50% where I usually run the speed is 3.5 knots or so. That is with two people and gear. I would guess around 5 knots at WOT. I always row when I am alone. The hard dinghy goes faster than my RIB 310 does. I could get the RIB up to about 4.5 knots, but generally ran at about 3-3.5 knots.

Overall the Torqeedo works well with the dinghy, although there is one issue. My wife insists on sitting on the middle seat so when the two of us are in the dinghy I have to crouch/kneel behind the middle seat to run the dinghy with the motor. That is an uncomfortable position. When I have run the dinghy with the motor by myself I sit on the middle seat and use a tiller extension. This would be a problem with any small dinghy though. With the RIB I sit on the side tube, but you can't do that on a hard dinghy.

grahamdouglass · Dec 21, 2016

Have you ever looked at a Minto

Although I have an RIB on the back of my Trawler now. When I owned a sailboat many moons ago I had a Minto as my tender. It didn't have a sail package but it was a beautiful rowing dingy. It is 9' in length.

You can look at it here: Minto Sailing Dingy History

cardude01 · Dec 21, 2016

Nomad Willy said:
John,
If the Gig Harbor 10 has a FD anything like my 12' GH Defiance it will not reach hull speed w 2hp or any similar engine. The 10 (probably 9'6'' WLL) will have a hull speed of 4 knots. The 10' Gig Harbor may have a semi-planing hull that would make hull speed w a 3 or 4hp OB working hard. But unless you're working the 2hp OB hard you're looking at 1hp. I have a 2hp Yamaha and the noise working hard is not pleasant.
I'm not familiar w the 10' GH boat so it may have a semi-planing hull and thus may be capable of more speed .. perhaps 5 .. or even 6 knots w a 5 or 6hp OB.
We have a yellow sailboat semi-planing hull dinghy (see pic) that ran about 7 or 8 knots cruising w a 6hp 2cyl Johnson OB. But the yellow dink is nowhere near a FD hull. Look at how the bottom of the dink aft runs upward as one goes aft. As a FD hull the bottom would run upwards to the extent that the transom would be out of the water as my 12' GH Defiance is. But my yellow dink would only have her transom out of the water at rest w no one or any other weight in the boat. But w a planing hull (having a straight run aft from ahmidships) the transom would be below the WL. The 10' GH is probably like my 10' yellow dink. A semi displacement hull.
The GH boats are great boats and you'll probably love it .. but probably at a considerably lower speed than your post suggests.

Eric,

What does your dingy weigh? Just wondering how you wrestle it up on the roof. I have a 110 LB RIB that I pull up onto my PH roof and it's a pain. I attempted to make some PVC pole "ramps" to make it easier but the ramps don't work well yet.

Nomad Willy · Dec 21, 2016

Dude,
Are you referring to the 10' yellow dink in my pics? That boat is light. Only about 75 or 80lbs. It's not hard to haul it up to the point where the bow stem is about 22" above the roof "eve" but beyond that point on it's very difficult and dangerous. After 4 or 5 haulups I quit doing it. Had the boat on the house for some time after that as a life boat.

Eventually got a rubber duckie. But it's nearly worthless on the water.

The 12' Point Defiance is very heavy .. I'm guessing 150 to 180lbs. It will not be a dinghy. I may try towing it for some local trips but it's FD and would be well above her hull speed behind Willy at her 6 usual knots. IMO dinghys need to be SD or planing hulls to be towed well above their hull speed.

Nomad Willy · Dec 21, 2016

dhays said:
They did some casual speed tests on two of their boats using a Yamaha 2 stroke 2hp motor. Their 9.5' Captains Gig topped out at 7.1 mph. The smaller 8' Nisqually reached 7.9 mph. They note that the operator had to move forward and use a tiller extension to get there and that someone heavier than the testers 165 lb would be slower. They felt a more reasonable speed with someone sitting aft might be 5.5 - 6.5 mph.

Neither of these are the 10-14' GH boats that we have discussed but I would imagine that my Torqueedo would likely push a 10' Navigator comfortably at 5.5 mph.

The 12' Pt. Defiance looks like a great boat but I don't know that it could be modified to be nested and it would likely be too big to fit comfortably on my boat deck.

Dave,
Re the Gig Harbor "tests" I really doubt any of those numbers are practical numbers. The 9.5' Captains Gig would be most likely to go faster as it has a flatter bottom. A tender at work and a manufacturers stunt are two different things. I've seen 12' boats on a full plane w a 5hp OB.

The Point Defiance is a big 12' rowboat. It's setup for tandem rowing and is also offered as a sailboat. GH dosn't offer any dimensional specs but if you're interested I'll measure mine for you. You'll probably need to call them for the weight though. I admired this boat before I had t in the water but since I have I now "love" the Defiance.

cardude01 · Dec 21, 2016

Nomad Willy said:
Dude,
Are you referring to the 10' yellow dink in my pics? That boat is light. Only about 75 or 80lbs. It's not hard to haul it up to the point where the bow stem is about 22" above the roof "eve" but beyond that point on it's very difficult and dangerous. After 4 or 5 haulups I quit doing it. Had the boat on the house for some time after that as a life boat.

Eventually got a rubber duckie. But it's nearly worthless on the water.

The 12' Point Defiance is very heavy .. I'm guessing 150 to 180lbs. It will not be a dinghy. I may try towing it for some local trips but it's FD and would be well above her hull speed behind Willy at her 6 usual knots. IMO dinghys need to be SD or planing hulls to be towed well above their hull speed.

Yes I was talking about the yellow dingy. Thanks.

dhays · Dec 21, 2016

Gdavid said:
I have never seen one in person and have no affiliation at all but I think the PT11 is one of the best looking nesting, rowing, sailing dinghy around and is reported to have very good performance. It looks like it has less rocker and flatter bottom overall than the more traditional styled dinks.

View attachment 59717

View attachment 59718

I am sure I have posted this before and I swear I have nothing to do with the company but I am just smitten with the design. Unfortunately I can't justify building one either as I already have a laser, 420, canoe and multiple kayaks but my inflatable is the only dinghy that can handle my family of 5 at once.

I agree that the PT11 looks like a great boat and has one of the slickest nesting system I have seen. The disadvantage for me is that it is a kit and I honestly don't have the time to devote to building it. If I was retired I would definitely consider it. There is always the possibility of paying someone to build it for me however.

dhays · Dec 21, 2016

grahamdouglass said:
Although I have an RIB on the back of my Trawler now. When I owned a sailboat many moons ago I had a Minto as my tender. It didn't have a sail package but it was a beautiful rowing dingy. It is 9' in length.

You can look at it here: Minto Sailing Dingy History

Yup. A Minto was a very common tender when I was a kid and it was the first boat my folks bought when they had a young family. I learned to sail and race in a Minto when I was 5 years old. Great little boats and if I recall there are two places making them again, one in Olympia and another in BC.

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