Dinghy for 26M

[Catigale]

I went a year on a $30 Coleman - we still carry it for the kids on the beach sometimes..The Sevylor mentioned above isnt as good as a good Hypalon tender, but handles well. Since we bag it, im not worried about it rotting in the sun. If it were out all season, my guess is it would melt

[They Theirs]

The rigid tender is tops when it comes to reliability and ruggedness
Making the Hard Choice

[Tony D-26X_SusieQ]

Say, do those Brig inflatables come with the deck bunnies?

[Terry]

Tony asked:

Say, do those Brig inflatables come with the deck bunnies?

If you watch the video closely, you'll see the blonde deck bunnie is laying face down without a bikini on, that must be the one Tony is asking about.

[Catigale]

Yeah , and at her age you will be in the Brig for certain....

[ronacarme]

Just saw this advertised on shipstore.com...$349 w/o transom and $379??? with transom. "Very rugged pvc Zodiac-type material with polyester fabric reinforcement". 8'6''. 41#. 4 hp. 3 person. 600# cap.

Looks much like the usual U-tube inflatable dink but less weight and not the usual $1000+.

Anybody seen, touched, tried, owned one? Sturdier replacement for our current pool-toy-like $35 2 person Sevylor?

Please advise.

Ron

[Catigale]

Ron - Shipstore is up my way in upstate NY, I have bought from them and have been happy.

I hate to support marine prices, but if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. My guess is this is light duty material ok for fun use, but not suitable for a hard use dinghy.

Complete guess though. Could you post a link so we can scope it out? I couldnt find it on their site.

[Frank C]

For those cheapskates among us, I just saw a potential dinghy at my local Sams Club.

It was 8 foot and had some sort of ballistic nylon covering the inflatable tubes. It was supposedly "rated" for 4 people and up to a 30lb trolling motor. It was only $100, complete with a set of paddles.

Just saw this advertised on shipstore.com...$349 w/o transom and $379??? with transom. "Very rugged pvc Zodiac-type material with polyester fabric reinforcement". 8'6''. 41#. 4 hp. 3 person. 600# cap. ...

This sounds exactly like the boat I examined in Sam's Club last week. DLT is right - it's an amazing product for only $99. (That's right folks, no error in decimal point, only one-tenth of your basic BoatBuck.)

Further ... don't be a price-snob and write it off too quickly. It's likely the same boat that Ron found for $379. Remember that three-quarters of the products we see these days are manufactured in China. It wouldn't surprise me if these are the identical items, right down to the optional hard-transom - which is included, no extra cost, with Sam's $99 special.

This is clearly a PVC inflatable that's fully covered in a durable-feeling nylon or poly cover material. It won't be impervious to sharpies, but it's surely a far-piece beyond the bare plastic of an average Sevylor. Highly recommend a quick survey by any existing Merc or Maxon owner -
I'm betting they're from the same place (Shanghai?).

[Helaku]

Sam's Club inflatable.

The wood floor series is an exciting all-purpose inflatable boat with sectional non-slip floorboards. It has an inflatable keel with rubbing strakes on sides and bottom of the tube. This independent airtight keel, when inflated causes the bottom to form a 'V' shape configuration, giving additional rigidity and seaworthiness to the boat. A marine plywood transom is fixed to the hull to support the outboard motor for simple and safe maneuvering. With independent internally seamed air chambers, wide beam, low center of gravity and large diameter tubes, Seabo boat is extremely safe. The quality is obvious and the price is very affordable.

# Inflatable V-keel air chamber
# Hi-quality PVC for sea water
# Quick assembly solid wood deck
# Rubber strake
# Safety rope handle
# Drain valve
# High pressure recessed valve
# Easy Carrying handles
# Motor ready transom
# Accessories includes high pressure foot pump, set of oars, carrying bag, repair kit, and pressure gauge

# Length: 8'4"
# Beam: 4'10"
# Total weight: 101.4 lbs.
# Airtight compartments: 3+1
# Passenger: 3 adults + 1 child
# Max power allowed: 9.9 H.P.
# Max payload: 705 lb

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/naviga ... tem=206352

[DLT]

That's not the one I found.

It is an idential shape. But, the one I saw had two inflatible tubes running accross the internal width to sit on.

Here is a link to what I bet is the boat I'm talking about. Too bad it doesn't include a picture...

[ronacarme]

I found the Sevylor I mentioned at....

www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/SEV/SEVSVX250.html

It appears not to be the Sams Club unit....e.g. 41# vs. 100+#, etc.

Ron

[ronacarme]

we saw the $100 inflatable. Imitates the shape of the usual outboard powered $1K inflatable, and may well be worth $100, but differs e.g.

1. Nylon???? jacket has hollow chamber extending in a U shape from port stern fwd around the bow and back to stbd stern. Port and stbd sides of the U-shape hollow chamber are connected by front and rear transverse tubular seat chambers and a transverse transom. Each seat chamber contains and is shaped by an inflatable bladder. The elongate U shape chamber contains and is shaped by an elongate inflatable bladder of yellow PVC??? sheet material, which seems like that of my $35 Seyvlor beach toy dink. I guess the thing is assembled by inserting the bladders in the nylon jacket , closing the zipper, and then inflating the now enclosed bladders.

2. Bottom is single panel of waterproof fabric, floppy, noninflatable, no bottom boards.

3. Transom is floppy and weak looking , 1/4" ply??? permanently encased in a vinyl??? cover sewn to the jacket sides and fabric bottom, rated for 30 # thrust max electric motor (no gas outboards).

4.No oars or oarlocks, but does come with 2 paddles of 2 piece type. Not sure how just one person could get anywhere by paddling. Much wider than a canoe or kayak.

5. I did not buy one.

Ron

[richandlori]

Whose got Paint handy...wouldnt Lori look perfect with a cartoon bubble saying "Why didnt Rich get a 36?" in photo 2?????

Not only was she thinking it...several weeks after that trip...it was her idea to start looking for a larger (read heavyer more stable boat)...well...I'm no dummy...the Admiral gets what the Admiral wants!