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I’m currently in the market for a new dinghy that I will be using in tandem with my Allied Princess 36′. We plan to do quite a bit of offshore cruising over the next few years, and we want to make sure we are well equipped with a dinghy that suits our every need. We will be doing all of the normal stuff – provisioning trips to shore, a bit of fishing, some scuba diving, and backwater exploration of mangroves and inlets. We are willing to pay what we need to pay to get something that satisfies our needs and leaves nothing to spare, but we aren’t sure which route to take regarding storage and transport on and off the boat. We were hoping to get some advice and hear some of your experiences. If needed, we can buy davits to load and offload the dinghy – especially if we are getting something heavier like a RIB – but it would also be nice to keep that space open on the deck. What has worked best for you? Do you think a RIB is the only way to go for the heavier, offshore boating, or is there a decent alternative that has worked out for you? I’m mostly worried about making it through rough seas and chop when conditions aren’t ideal – especially if we have to get somewhere in a hurry. For context, there will be 3-4 of us on the boat at any given time, so ideally the dinghy needs to handle all of us, plus provisions and gear – be it diving or fishing gear. I wonder too, at what point does a dinghy outboard become more of a hassle than it’s worth? What I mean is, the more powerful outboards are most often heavier, so at what point do you sacrifice weight for power? Any advice would be great, thanks!!
Hi Johann, thanks for contributing to the forum!
We’re still in the beginning stages of building the #BoatLife community, but I’ll be happy to help answer some of your questions.
It sounds like you’ll be using the dinghy pretty heavily. That’s great! Having a dinghy as a secondary vessel to your small sailboat is going to open up a ton of opportunities – especially for those things like fishing, provisioning, and diving. However, with such a potentially heavy workload, I think you’ve at least narrowed down the “type” of dinghy you should be looking for.
RIB dinghies are going to be a perfect companion to your ALLIED PRINCESS 36 – Rigid Inflatable Boats offer the best of both worlds. The hard-bodied hull makes for a stable and damage-resistant body, while the inflatable tubes add optimal stability. The one thing you’ll want to consider is your storage options. RIBs can’t be deflated and rolled up, so you’ll need to store it one of a few ways:
– Dinghy Davits
– Towed (Inshore only)
– Lashed Upside-Down on the Boat DeckAs far as the outboard motor goes, a RIB dinghy will generally support a wide range of outboard motors due to its strong build. Many choose to equip their 10-12 foot RIBs with a 10-15 horsepower outboard, and that gets them around just fine. For more capability, you can obviously opt for a stronger outboard – somewhere in the 20-50 horsepower range – although it’s not common that you’ll need the added power. The larger engines are also a bigger pain to transport, and the process of deploying and retrieving the dinghy can become troublesome. If you do choose a bigger outboard, be sure that you have a solution in place for mobility.
For more information about purchasing a dinghy, you can reference an article we wrote here: https://www.hashtagboatlife.com/choosing-a-dinghy/
All the best in your future endeavors on the water! Check back in from time to time to check for new content!
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