Inflatable boat

[MakinTime]

Hi guys, I am looking at getting a small dinghy (8-10ft) inflatable floor type. Last year on most every trip we towed our 17’ glastron which worked great but getting into different marinas is a challenge when towing it, so we are looking for something to just throw on the platform for trips and anchoring. Any suggestions? What does everyone have for a tender? My budget is around $1000 so nothing to crazy. I plan on putting a 4 hp mercury on it. Thanks!

[tomschauer]

West Marine is having a black Friday sale November 23-27, looks like good discounts and free shipping on inflatables.

[km1125]

If you're really just looking for something to putt around the marina and short excursions, then what you're looking for is fine. You can also go with a smaller, lighter motor with integral tank. If anything more, then at least upgrade to a hard floor. I have an 8'6" old west marine with the hard floor insert (5 sections of plywood, but now they are composites) and it has an inflatable keel. I compared it against my friend's almost identical one, except he had the inflatable floor. I liked mine MUCH MUCH better. Riding his felt like riding a waterbed, riding mine felt like an actual boat. Mine also has an inflatable keel, so the bow will ride just a little bit higher (which is also nice when you have two folks, the bow isn't plowing down into the water.

If you're talking 4 stroke, then the merc 4, 5 and 6 HP engines are all identical with the exception of the carb (tohatsu is the same, as they are the manufacturer for merc motors). They all weight exactly the same. I upgraded mine to a 6hp carb and added a high-thrust prop. On normal conditions, that will get us (2 people, dog and cooler) up on plane and make for a quick trip to the shallow areas 3 miles away. With heavy seas, that extra 50% power makes it easier to handle too. It is a lot of fun. I don't even have davits for it, I just tip it up on the swim platform and tie it securely

[bud37]

We have had a RIB, now we have an inflatable keel type with an aluminium floor hanging in davits......good boat,lighter than rib..9-10 ft is a good size for what you want.....

KM what do you mean by a high thrust prop....might be something I could use.

[Viper]

Bud37, if the dinghy is out in the sun, do you find that the aluminum floor gets really hot? Current dinghy is wood floor but we're getting another one next season. We spend a lot of time on the hook so the dinghy floor would probably catch the sun most of the day. I like the aluminum floor but because it may get too hot, I'm on the fence between composite and aluminum. What have you experienced?

[bud37]

Viper....not at all...in fact it is fairly cool.......it has a brushed type finish with ribs in it, three pieces then a composite piece at the bow end.........

[km1125]

Source of the post
KM what do you mean by a high thrust prop....might be something I could use.

For the Merc/Tohatsu/Nissan 4, 5 and 6 HP motors they make a prop nicknamed "Mouse Ears". It is a low-pitch, high thrust prop that is used on the Sail-Pro motors. The 5 or 6" pitch allows the motor to get up to it's rated RPM and the big blades throw a lot of water. You might lose a couple mph (or kph) at top end on a lightly loaded dingy, but it will allow you to actually get on plane when you have a fuller compliment on the boat. It still won't plane something with 3 or 4 folks though. Mine will cruise at 13-14 MPH on plane with our normal load and a little over 15 with light load. With the original prop, I could get on plane with a very light load, but it would take some work - maybe surfing someone's wake or catching a wave just right. Now it's not a problem unless the seas are heavy (but you'd probably get beat to heck if you did get on plane anyways)

I was told for years I would never get on plane unless I upgraded to a 8 or 9.9HP.. but those are a LOT heavier to haul around. This solution has worked very well for us.

[km1125]

Source of the post Bud37, if the dinghy is out in the sun, do you find that the aluminum floor gets really hot? Current dinghy is wood floor but we're getting another one next season. We spend a lot of time on the hook so the dinghy floor would probably catch the sun most of the day. I like the aluminum floor but because it may get too hot, I'm on the fence between composite and aluminum. What have you experienced?

My original wood floor was dark brown wood, and it would get uncomfortably hot if it was sitting in the sun. It would also get slippery when wet. For quite a while I considered just getting a piece of marine carpet and snapping it in there...thought it woulnd't add much weight but would be very comfortable and address both issues. A few months ago I added some non-skid strips of tape (3" wide) and then painted all the boards with some light grey garage floor epoxy. This has helped tremendously on both counts and also looks much nicer. The only thing I forgot to do was wipe down the top of the non-skid strips with acetone or thinner to clean then and I have a couple spots where the epoxy is flaking off on them after some heavy use this summer.

[tomschauer]

I have a Mercury Air Deck with a 4 hp four stroke. It works well for short jaunts, fairly light and can be rolled up when uninflated. My dock neighbor has the same boat with the aluminum floor and a 6 hp four stroke and he cant keep up with me?

[RGrew176]

I first had a Zodiac with the black wooden floor. In the sun the floor got very hot. My next and current inflatable has the air floor. I no longer had to fight getting the wooden floor pieces in and out. The air floor is much easier on the knees or any body parts in contact with the floor. The air floor models are lighter. The air floor model folds up smaller and takes up less space when stored.

Each type has it advantages and disadvantages.