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Old 02-01-2009, 11:48 AM   #1
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We recently purchased a new dinghy... We have kept our 9' Achilles inflatable with the inflatable floor and we will likely cruise with it, but we are thinking that the piece of mind a good hard dinghy brings may cause us to stow the achilles and take the "new to us" Trinka.

After a bit of research on hard dinghies the Trinka rose to the top for us. Hopefully we have made the best choice? It rows like a dream, and we have the sailing rig, though we have yet to use it so far (soon!). Areas that are full of coral and other growth infested rock with sharp spots have us slightly shore-shy with the inflatable. The Trinka is only rated for a 2hp outboard, but they say it moves it very well. That would solve our problem of lifting heavy outboards. As a matter of fact, the whole Trinka weighs only slightly more than our 9.9hp and we can lift it with a halyard, but are planning to install davits for evening security. Otherwise, it tows like a dream as well.

How many of you still swear by hard dinghies? I know that overall the cruising community is alledged to embrace RIB's, but our thoughts make me curious as to yours...

David

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Old 02-01-2009, 01:57 PM   #2
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Hey,

we were shopping for a dinghy few months ago. Our favorite was Walker Bay 8 and we had a chance to try out couple of dinghies before we made our final choice. We love rowing and we also want to be able to sail our dinghy and we don't want to carry outboard. Found no good reasons for RIB, perhaps storage since we are on 30footer. But WB8 fits nicely on our foredeck and we love it. It's unbelievably light and it was cheaper than RIBs and I guess we would have to try really hard to break it.
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Old 02-02-2009, 07:15 PM   #3
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Hi, All,

We prefer the "idea" of a hard dingy as you can really beat it up and it keeps going. And, considering RIB's are quite costly for what you get, we assumed that we'd be working with a hard dingy. Because we don't really like the idea of big things on deck and we're already committed to having a hard canoe on deck...we did think we might even end up with a folding boat such as the Porta-Bote (see link). They're fairly indestructible and we've seen several in hard use recently. The dingy dock at the local mooring field aways has one or more in among all the other dingies.

However, we ran across a brand-new Tinker Traveler with sailing kit (see Tinker link or Owners' group link) for sale for a couple hundred dollars and couldn't resist the purchase. It was less costly than any hard dingy we'd be looking to purchase. Even Nigel Caulder owns a Tinker (look at pics of it in use in his Cruisers Guide)...The Tinker wants a 2 to 5 hp motor if you wish to have one, btw.

We're likely to still purchase a Porta-Bote someday as it handles a larger motor, but for now, the Tinker and the canoe will do nicely for us.

OT: We're avid canoeists with years of wilderness and whitewater experience so we're really much more comfortable in a canoe than anything else. Our cruising boat purchase criteria included that there must be room on deck for a 17' canoe...So, if waters are fairly flat and don't involve coming in through significant surf, we prefer to canoe as we find it much faster than rowing a hard dingy or RIB. Further, the canoe we own (a 16' Prospector by Merrickmack) has a 900 lb capacity which means we can haul a lot of stuff to and from the boat in it.

Fair Winds,

Brenda
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Old 02-02-2009, 11:33 PM   #4
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Hi David,

The Trinka is a really good design, well worth considering - I sailed on a trimaran designed by Jim Brown (Sea Runner) which had on board one of his 10ft dinghy designs - VERY similar to the Trinka. It was great for rowing, and it would tow very well once the correct amount of painter had been let out. Two of us could easily haul it on board - and turn it up side down. 4HP drove it very well.

Couple of questions :-

Click image for larger version

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Red Arrow -- Is the aft flotatation chamber accessible for storage ?

Blue arrow -- Is this also a flotation chamber (non-accessible) ?

Richard
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Old 02-08-2009, 03:46 PM   #5
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We bought the ten foot model. The for and aft floatation chamber has access via screw-in ABS deck plates, but the forward floatation chamber also contains the pipe for the mast-step. We got the sailing rig, I'll send photos when the weather allows sailing it here.

David
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Old 02-12-2009, 01:55 AM   #6
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David,

We also hang a 10Ft Trinka off the stern of our Vagabond-47. It looks really "cool", I had spent a fair amount of time trying to determine what kind of dingy to purchase. I really enjoy either rowing or sailing the trinka however, I do regret selling my RIB, because as you know the Trinka can get a little tippy getting into and out, and on more than one occasion I have flipped it when the mast was up getting out at the dock. With all that said, I really like my Trinka and would buy another.

Kurt O

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Old 03-11-2009, 12:30 PM   #7
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I recently acquired a Fatty Knees 7 with a sailing rig. I've got about a mile row to and from my boat, which it handles very well. I recently got the sailing rig sorted out and took it for a spin. My sail is old and long past having any respectable shape, but the dinghy still got me around.

I'd love to move up to the 8 or 9 foot version so I could take someone else with me in sailing mode....
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Old 03-11-2009, 01:15 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by klubko View Post
... Found no good reasons for RIB...
I think the big attraction to RIBs is mostly just the people capacity and stability... I've been in a 7 foot RIB with 6 people + loads of groceries... add to this the fact that you basically can't flip them getting in and out and it makes them very attractive for less agile individuals who might find getting in and out of a hard dingy impossible...

That said I will definitely always have a hard dinghy that takes well to oar and sail... Probably a tinker... the Walker Bays have a good reputation but when I lay hands on them they just feel a bit light to me.... another option is of course to just build your own dinghy, there are LOADS of free 1 and 2 sheet of plywood plans out there that make for a very cost effective and rugged option.
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Old 03-11-2009, 02:34 PM   #9
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... Probably a tinker...
Oops, I meant Trinka... not tinker.
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Old 03-12-2009, 03:26 PM   #10
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Quote:
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The Walker Bays have a good reputation but when I lay hands on them they just feel a bit light to me....
Isn't light-weight a good thing? You could literally hammer on their bottom all day without compromising the integrity of their hull. 1 good whack would put a hole in my Fatty Knees....
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Old 03-12-2009, 05:17 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by Seafarer View Post
Isn't light-weight a good thing? You could literally hammer on their bottom all day without compromising the integrity of their hull. 1 good whack would put a hole in my Fatty Knees....
hmm... actually your probably right... still.. i just don't feel safe in a really light plastic boat.... just look at the yacht I'm guying... 35' LOD 22,000lbs... what can I say I just like the stability and (possibly false) security of mass.
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