Dinghy fantasy

[waikiore 64]

Except row like a speedy thing , though we tested ours rowing them round Motukorea and back and they will get you and crew home after drinks with dry attire unlike a rubber duck.

[Priscilla II 246]

6 hours ago, Island Time said:

Used to have one of those when I was a kid. They were riveted together, and after many years of being trashed, it leaked pretty badly thru the rivets. To use one as a tender, you'd want to have some pretty good gunnel fenders, and have to have a careful think about how to get aboard without trashing the mother ship. The alloy can leave nasty marks, dents and scrapes. But, on the other hand, they are light and tough

Best to have a tinnie mothership to go with your tinnie dinghy...

[Black Panther 659]

A propellor graveyard?

[Elliot749 20]

3 hours ago, waikiore said:

Except row like a speedy thing , though we tested ours rowing them round Motukorea and back and they will get you and crew home after drinks with dry attire unlike a rubber duck.

You almost gave yourself a New Years bath , after a few (quite a few) wines ...hahaha

[Priscilla II 246]

1 hour ago, Black Panther said:

A propellor graveyard?

https://www.petersmith.net.nz/photos/south-georgia-1.php

[Island Time 776]

There really are some great pics and story in that link Priscilla 11! Just spent a while going thru it...

[B00B00 170]

Wow what an impressive blog. I just lost a few hours there. Some of my bucket list items right there. 

[DrWatson 222]

This topic, The Perfect Tender, keeps coming around.

One thing we often don't talk enough about weight. Most dinghies are manageable by one person when dragging them up the beach etc, but pretty much all of them suck badly when it comes time to haul them up onto the foredeck. On a boat like BP, I guess there's a bit more space (excepting that superfluous second mast thingy), but realistically a dinghy is an awkward object to manhandle onto a foredeck, and it's a task made more and more difficult as your yacht gets smaller. 

What's the max. mass that people are comfortable with? I mean, even your average 2-and-a-bit metre inflatable (aside from being a dog to row) is well into the 20kg zone, and although that doesn't sound a lot, it's damn awkward for one person (think of your smallest crew member) to get up onto the deck. Sure davits help, but again, no one's gonna (should?) put davits on a smaller cruising boat (<40ft IMO).
 

Our tender is 13kg, and although it's still an inflatable dog, at least C can get it onto the deck.

I know it sounds overkill, but I'm starting to think there is a genuine market for a well designed, sailing/rowing tender built to save weight and space. Plywood is good, but foam sandwich is much lighter. No one wants to make a PT11 type boat in foam and fit an inflatable collar in a recess around the gunnel?

 

[Priscilla II 246]

Sadly Pauline passed last year.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/3417724/South-Georgia-Population-2

 

[Kevin McCready 27]

Pictures of nesting dinghies being put together in dead calm water are sweet. But what is the experience of the group on putting them together in a chop?