Dinghies and Outboards

Over the years I've had several dinghies. My first, when I lived in Texas, was a nine foot Boston Whaler Squall. That's a pretty good boat but it is way to heavy for a dinghy. After we moved to the Pacific Northwest we bought a traditional eight foot dinghy with all the sailing hardware.

With good oars and a good boat rowing is a very good way to go for pure dinghy functionality, that is, getting ashore, a little exploring, rowing out the anchor, etc. In the San Juans there are enough situations where your anchorage is within a couple miles of several really interesting things. We longed for a fast dinghy and considered a 11' Whaler with a good-sized outboard.

We never did get the Whaler but when we bought the powerboat it had an eight foot Livingston. That's a catamaran-style fiberglass boat. Somewhat more stable than a traditional dinghy but it doesn't row very well. Its in between a solid dinghy and an inflatable.

We sold the Livingston and got a ten foot Avon with an inflatable floor. It could certainly hold more than a traditional dinghy and was a lot more stable. Forget about rowing. A 5hp outboard would plane it with a light load but, all in all, I really didn't like the inflatable floor.

I also picked up a really small Achilles "donut boat" several years ago. It is easy to row but you don't go far with any one stroke. I powered it with a 1.2 hp Tanaka outboard and that made for a really lightweight, compact setup for one or two riders at a time.

We let the big Avon go with the powerboat so I looked around and bought a Mercury RIB. It is the right combination of price, size, and durability for the way we'll use a dinghy. I plan to power it with a late-'80s 5hp Mariner that has been giving really good service through the years.

Since the kids are older we plan on this dinghy being somewhat of an entertainment device. Not powerful enough for skiing, obviously, but the kids really love to go out on their own exploring or making trips to the store for goodies.

I also picked up a British Seagull Featherweight model (2hp) from the British Seagull Shop a couple years ago. I used it on a little 16' sailboat I had briefly. That's a great engine and the folks at the British Seagull Shop provide very personalized service. Even though that engine is quite a bit heavier than the Tanaka I think it will make a great combination with the little Achilles. If I can find suitable stowage on Scamper I will keep the Achilles and the Seagull on board all the time and only use the bigger RIB for longer cruises.