I feel like there are some misguided souls out there regarding the dinghy issue. I can legally say that because I don't know of anyone more misguided than me
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A long time ago when I took off for the sunset, I had two dinghies; a 10' Zodiac inflatable, and a 7'11" sabot.
The Zodiac was an impossible beast. It was heavy and unwieldy when it wasn't inflated, and a load for two men to launch over the side when it was. I could row the SOB but it was an adventure in direction finding and wouldn't maintain way, even in a flat calm. Any chop at all and it would stop dead in its tracks. The Zodiac, bless its outrageously expensive little heart, stayed buried below because no one aboard wanted to fool with pumping that thing up, launching it over the side, and then fighting the fat turkey all the way to the beach.
The sabot, on the other hand, stored nicely out of the way on the forward section of the cabin top, weighed about half of the Zodiac, and would fairly fly into the water when it was launched. It rowed straight and true, carried its way like a racing shell, and would hold - I'm not making this up - four adults without shipping a drop - if we were careful
. It was fun to sail in those beautiful Caribbean coves, would tow obediently behind the boat at some unbelievable speeds, never leaked a drop, and was easy to haul aboard and stow. It only cost me 100 super-inflated 1975 U. S. dollars.
I don't remember what I paid for that Zodiac but I wished 100 times over that I could somehow wrangle a refund for that fat, overweight, rotundancy of an inflatable.
Caveat time - I didn't want to carry an outboard and the gas containers, oil cans, spark plugs, etc. I wasn't really a barebones cruiser. I just didn't want to frog around with all that stuff. I rowed competitively in school so I looked forward to seeing what I could do with a dinghy.
Ever water skiied behind a sabot???
So...I know inflatables have come a long way since 1975, and I know most cruisers would opt for the outboard/gas can/spark plug stuff, but my point here is this: don't forget that a whole world of cruisers got along just fine out there with good, hard dinghies and proper sets of oars before someone ever pumped up a tractor inner tube and slapped "Zodiac" on the side.
I also have to add the following: in 3 years of cruising Mexico, Central America, and nearly all of the Caribbean, not once - ever, as in never - did we have to anchor beyond a short rowing distance to the beach or a dock.
Maybe a few of you who plan to go cruising might rethink what it is that makes us want to cast off in the first place. I wanted a simple life and one that would afford me the opportunity to experience other cultures, other landscapes. I didn't want to drag along anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. I'm not a Type A personality. I don't like working on systems. I didn't want to learn to swear at an outboard. I liked rowing that sabot ashore. It fit my cruise-mode personality and became part of a sailing ritual that I can look back on and think, "Holy smokes, that was fun."
That was cruising for me. I loved it.
I sold the Zodiac in Key West for $125, but I felt a little bit of guilt. I couldn't tell the buyer that I would have paid him $125 to take the royal piece of corpulence out of my life.
Let's go sailing.