T&T: Rigid dink vs Hard bottom Caribe

[Faure, Marin]

>Any information will be appreciated.

In my opinionated opinion, anything you can do to get an inflatable
dinghy, even one with a hard bottom, off your boat is a Good Thing.  If
I had a buck for every semi-inflated, delaminating, sagging, patched,
deteriorating fabric inflatable dinghy I see in our marina, even on
relatively new boats, we could buy that Fleming we've always wanted.  I
know a lot of people who have switched to Bullfrog dinghies, which are a
similar concept to the Boss Boat, Aldura, etc. and they are absolutely
thrilled with them and can't believe they didn't get rid of their
trouble-prone inflatable or RIB earlier.

I'm not suggesting Bullfrog is better than the other makes, but they're
made here which makes them easier and less expensive to obtain in this
area.  The only drawback I can see to the Bullfrog/Boss Boat/Aldura/etc.
dinghies is weight.  They are heavier than the same size inflatable or
RIB.  But even that can be an advantage in that they won't blow away in
a strong wind like an empty inflatable can (something I've seen happen
several times in anchorages when unexpected strong winds whipped up)

But weight's the only disadvantage.  They have an infinite lifespan,
they have more interior room, you can mount stuff on them easily, they
give a better ride (at least in my experience), they don't tear on
barnacles, you don't have to worry about and patch air leaks, etc.,
etc., etc.  With several good manufacturers of these things on the
market I cannot think of any reason why anyone would want to screw
around with a finite-life, leak-prone, pain-in-the-butt inflatable
anymore.

______________________________
C. Marin Faure
GB36-403 "La Perouse"
Bellingham, Washington