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What dinghy options for 34-2?
- Thread starter Phr3d
- Start date
My solution is the cheapest inflatable, specifically
https://www.westmarine.com/west-marine-ru-250-roll-up-inflatable-dinghy-17981143.html
The bag is small, the dinghy takes four and a dog despite its USCG rating. It's PVC coated, not Hypalon. It won't plane, and has no skeg. It does fine with a small outboard or in my case a Torqueedo. It must store in the bag, not on deck, and isn't rated for extensive sunlight.
On sale they're often $700 and just about disposable. Mine has lasted 10 years in light use.
I don't think any inflatable will fit in an Ericson locker, mine is in the quarterberth.
Here's a brief video
https://www.westmarine.com/west-marine-ru-250-roll-up-inflatable-dinghy-17981143.html
The bag is small, the dinghy takes four and a dog despite its USCG rating. It's PVC coated, not Hypalon. It won't plane, and has no skeg. It does fine with a small outboard or in my case a Torqueedo. It must store in the bag, not on deck, and isn't rated for extensive sunlight.
On sale they're often $700 and just about disposable. Mine has lasted 10 years in light use.
I don't think any inflatable will fit in an Ericson locker, mine is in the quarterberth.
Here's a brief video
+1 to all of the above, except to add: I find that mine (in the bag) fits great in the cockpit-well of my 32-III.
Not glamorous, perhaps, but it is handy, I don't have to wrestle it in and out of the quarterberth and up and down through the companionway and - for bonus points - it makes a reasonably comfy "ottoman" when lounging in the cockpit.
$.02
Bruce
Not glamorous, perhaps, but it is handy, I don't have to wrestle it in and out of the quarterberth and up and down through the companionway and - for bonus points - it makes a reasonably comfy "ottoman" when lounging in the cockpit.
$.02
Bruce
We have a Zodiac Wave roll up that's very similar to Christian's, but a little longer. We've had it for 6 years and it's been perfect. We keep it in the V birth most of the time and lash it to the deck or tow it for short trips. We have a small Yamaha 2.5 that works perfectly for how we use it. Defender doesn't seem to sell the roll up version anymore and my order history doesn't go back that far. Here's the closest version I can find: https://defender.com/en_us/zodiac-wave-275-aluminum-floor-9-boat-2019. If I had to do it over again, I would choose the aluminum floor or inflatable floor versions to provide a little more stability.
Bolo
Contributing Partner
We bought the West Marine PRU-3 Performance Roll-Up Inflatable Boat In 2022 for my wife and I which is perfect for us. About 8 feet long and weighs in at 55 pounds. Propelled also with a Torqueedo. It’s a real point A to point B dinghy that can carry two or three adults or two adults and some cargo. Paid about $1,200 for it. We’ve also had two other wooden dinghies, one was awful (home built but not by me) and the other was called a “coot” or “koot” that was made from plans by a previous owner but was almost identical to the Chesapeake light craft pram and it rowed like a dream so we had no outboard. But it was difficult to bring up on deck and, of course, couldn’t be stored below. Our PRU-3 is either upside down on the fore deck, towed or deflated and stored in the quarter berth of our E32-3 for the winter.
Vtonian
E38 - Vashon
It depends a lot on how you intend to use one and where you keep your boat.
My boat's on a buoy, an 11 minute row from the public dinghy dock, so I use a 9' Livingston there, for its seaworthiness, stability as a work platform and low desirability as a theft target.
My boat came with a cheap PVC inflatable that I thought I'd want to replace but after living with it for a while, it's fine. I found several recommendations to treat a PVC dinghy with 303 Aerospace Protectant against UV, so I'm doing that. It's a bit of a godzilla on the foredeck though. I think I will use when cruising: stowed for the journey, inflated at destinations, then towed for gunkholing. I think it would be the best dive platform.
If I wasn't on a budget, I think I'd go for a TrueKit Navigator like the folks of Alluring Arctic Sailing use, it's only 53lb and 31"x24"x10" packed!
For a while, I really wanted an 8ft Walker Bay, as an indestructible, light weight (75lb) sailing dinghy that fits on the foredeck and if I find a deal I still might get one. Sailing a dinghy is loads of fun and once you get somewhere, it seems like a great way to noodle away some time.
I also have a very light 7ft Livingston that I think would fit on the foredeck but haven't tested. A boat you can easily pull out and put in seems ideal for coastal cruising.
A friend who's boated the NW for many years went with kayaks, for their ease of stowing/launching from side decks, but I prefer to sit and row, and on a buoy, the utility of a larger platform has a lot of value. I think kayaks would be fun for weekend trips but they sailed full summers with them, up the inside passage. Different strokes...
FWIW, I'm happy with the $400 Craigslist Honda 2hp, light and air cooled so no water in the works and can work on it without muffs or barrel. I'd go electric if I could though.
All of this may change for me depending on whether I can eventually get a slip at the yacht club, the marina, or a buoy close enough to a private, secure dinghy dock I can leave an outboard installed on it.
My boat's on a buoy, an 11 minute row from the public dinghy dock, so I use a 9' Livingston there, for its seaworthiness, stability as a work platform and low desirability as a theft target.
My boat came with a cheap PVC inflatable that I thought I'd want to replace but after living with it for a while, it's fine. I found several recommendations to treat a PVC dinghy with 303 Aerospace Protectant against UV, so I'm doing that. It's a bit of a godzilla on the foredeck though. I think I will use when cruising: stowed for the journey, inflated at destinations, then towed for gunkholing. I think it would be the best dive platform.
If I wasn't on a budget, I think I'd go for a TrueKit Navigator like the folks of Alluring Arctic Sailing use, it's only 53lb and 31"x24"x10" packed!
For a while, I really wanted an 8ft Walker Bay, as an indestructible, light weight (75lb) sailing dinghy that fits on the foredeck and if I find a deal I still might get one. Sailing a dinghy is loads of fun and once you get somewhere, it seems like a great way to noodle away some time.
I also have a very light 7ft Livingston that I think would fit on the foredeck but haven't tested. A boat you can easily pull out and put in seems ideal for coastal cruising.
A friend who's boated the NW for many years went with kayaks, for their ease of stowing/launching from side decks, but I prefer to sit and row, and on a buoy, the utility of a larger platform has a lot of value. I think kayaks would be fun for weekend trips but they sailed full summers with them, up the inside passage. Different strokes...
FWIW, I'm happy with the $400 Craigslist Honda 2hp, light and air cooled so no water in the works and can work on it without muffs or barrel. I'd go electric if I could though.
All of this may change for me depending on whether I can eventually get a slip at the yacht club, the marina, or a buoy close enough to a private, secure dinghy dock I can leave an outboard installed on it.
Bolo
Contributing Partner
Here’s a very short video of me, my daughter and grandson out for a motor. Later even he was able to pilot the dinghy.
Last edited:
Hi Bob,
The site required a sign-in, and so I did that, but then still would not allow a viewing of a "private" video.
??
The site required a sign-in, and so I did that, but then still would not allow a viewing of a "private" video.
??
Bolo
Contributing Partner
Try it again. I change settings.
Phr3d
Member III
We have been on the long-term test of the PRU-3 dinghy. It works, is light (53 lbs.), and folds up and inflates easily.
Because we were having my daughter's family on for a long weekend. I did an experiment and clicked buy-it-now on a Sea Eagle 10.6. It is a lot heavier (94 lbs.), has a lot more pieces, takes longer to inflate, roll up, stow, and find places to stow all the little parts.
But, before you jump to the conclusion that I sent it back, when my wife said she wasn't terrified to get in it, I remembered all the trips to the island without her and understood why (sigh, finally).
The Eagle has a keel, so the wind doesn't blow you around. It has a "rigid" inflatable floor, which feels not only encouraging to stand on but, rigid somehow. 6 people fit in only 2 more feet of boat where 3 were quite cramped on the other. It came with a bow-bag to keep stuff in but has been repurposed by the dogs as their seat. The handle grips are firmly attached on the oars and have not come off on the first trip (unlike the WM version).
Because we were having my daughter's family on for a long weekend. I did an experiment and clicked buy-it-now on a Sea Eagle 10.6. It is a lot heavier (94 lbs.), has a lot more pieces, takes longer to inflate, roll up, stow, and find places to stow all the little parts.
But, before you jump to the conclusion that I sent it back, when my wife said she wasn't terrified to get in it, I remembered all the trips to the island without her and understood why (sigh, finally).
The Eagle has a keel, so the wind doesn't blow you around. It has a "rigid" inflatable floor, which feels not only encouraging to stand on but, rigid somehow. 6 people fit in only 2 more feet of boat where 3 were quite cramped on the other. It came with a bow-bag to keep stuff in but has been repurposed by the dogs as their seat. The handle grips are firmly attached on the oars and have not come off on the first trip (unlike the WM version).
The guy who sold me Thelonious II included a gigantic inflatable and big outboard. I didn't want it (it was pretty beat up).
He had moored at Catalina for weeks at a time, as many do. Sort of vacation home. He towed the inflatable, never sailed with it. It was essentially his shore boat.
It didn't make sense to me at the time, but it does now, specifically for the type of "cruising" we do here. My PRU-3 is portable and the Torqueedo drives it fine. But do I need portability for current uses, and a dinghy always stored in the quarterberth? Probably not.
He had moored at Catalina for weeks at a time, as many do. Sort of vacation home. He towed the inflatable, never sailed with it. It was essentially his shore boat.
It didn't make sense to me at the time, but it does now, specifically for the type of "cruising" we do here. My PRU-3 is portable and the Torqueedo drives it fine. But do I need portability for current uses, and a dinghy always stored in the quarterberth? Probably not.