T&T: Dinghy

[Pascal Gademer]

i've been using a hard tender for about a year now, out every week end, no 
scratches on the boat...   we either let it drift behind when anchored or 
tie it alongside with a pair of fenders.

as to stability or swamping, I swamped my new 13 on sunday while towing 
it... line was too long, too many wakes, battery not installed yet... i 
turned around and saw it was filled,  with water coming over the transom. 
the two of us go on it and bailed. it was stable, didn't sink and was dry in 
15 minutes.

 i like not having to worry about punctures or wear... in a few years, if 
we've worn the gel coat from beaching or whatever... no big deal.  haul it 
on land, repair the glass, spray some new gelcoat, sand and launch !  MUCH 
easier than having to worry about patching tubes.

now, that's just a matter of personal preference.  i understand inflatables 
also work very well, frankly i dont' think either is better.

pascal

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <capteric36@sbcglobal.net>
To: "T&T LIST" <trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 2:07 AM
Subject: T&T: Dinghy


> In my opinion (worth what you are paying for it)
> the basic problem with the hard dinghies and the
> non-inflatable inflatable dinghies is that they
> are HARD!
>  That means you can not tie them up to the side
> of your boat and ignore them for half a day until
> you want to use it again. It will ding up your
> boat's gelcoat or paint job in a hurry.
> Thus they need to be tethered away from the main
> boat, or the right kind of fenders set up to
> prevent this damage.
> The same is needed whenever you get it near any
> valuable surface, like somebody else's boat.
> That alone makes them, in my mind, unsuitable for
> everyday use as a tender.
> A good tender has to take you where you need to
> go at a good and safe speed, carry your groceries
> and other loads, and be relatively benign to it's
> surroundings when not in use.
>
> There are products one might use to extend the
> life expectancy of one's inflatable dinghy. One is
> called Tuffcoat (spelling?) and purports to add
> years to an old dinghy. I think if applied when
> the dinghy is new it might prevent the leaks from
> developing in the first place. A new coating every
> 5 years or so might make an inflatable last for
> several decades without any leaks.
> Of course keeping sun exposure to a minimum
> (cover the dinghy whenever not in use) would be a
> good idea as well.
> If one can find a way to keep sand and other
> stuff out from between the hull and the tubes that
> might also be a good idea...
>
> Eric Thompson
> S/V Procrastinator
> South San Francisco
> capteric36@sbcglobal.net
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