[Rhodes22-list] Help re Dinghy

[Mark Kaynor]

Doug,

My wife Julie and I got an Achilles 8' inflatable floor hypalon dinghy for
Raven. It packs up and stores under the seat, but it's no lightweight at
around 75 lbs. It's way more UV resistant than PVC, it's rated for 600 lbs,
the nameplate rates it for up to 6 hp and it actually rows very nicely. It
tied in a dead heat with another dinghy that was reputed to not have even
bothered rounding the mark in the Great Dinghy Race at the 2002 Memorial Day
Rhendezvous in Swan Creek <g>. http://www.kaynor.org/rhendezvous/

We kept Raven on a mooring when we were in Maine a couple of years ago and
rowed in and out using the dinghy. I was really pleasantly surprised at how
well it rowed, even w/ about 10 knots of breeze on the beam. The inflatable
floor also includes an inflatable keel that makes a huge difference in the
way it tracks rowing. We like it a lot, but in retrospect, I think it's
overkill for the way we use the boat. Something more like Mary Lou and
Fred's would probably see more use.

Mark


-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Doug Mistler
Sent: Sunday, November 28, 2004 12:33 PM
To: 'The Rhodes 22 mail list'
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Help re Dinghy

Hi, Rhodies,

Your advice would be appreciated re an inflatable dinghy for the Rhodes 22.
What you have you found to work reasonably well? I have searched the recent
archives without success.

What fits and where do you store it?  What would you avoid?

A Mercury 6'7" inflatable with slatted rollup floor I have looked at weighs
35 lbs and deflates to 3' 3" X 1' 10" X 15".
How is that for storage?  Do I need to look at "light duty"
dinghys without the slats?

The dinghy will be used mostly on the Eastern shore of the Chesapeake bay
while gunkholing.  Most of the time I shall be singlehanding, but may have
the occasional company of my wife or son.

Fair winds!
--Doug
"Red Rover"
Deale, MD


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