MacGregorSailors.com

We have an 8' hard Walker Bay and love it!

It rows and tows great, just the two of us so lots of room. Sails like a dinghy, all about moving body ballast. Lots of room for setting crab traps. We run a portable depth-sounder/fish-finder which helps locate crab spots, and even run a small downrigger.

She only weighs about 80 pounds so easy for me to lift on and off the foredeck, which is where we keep it on longer transits or foul weather, but short stints she runs behinds us in a 50' painter. A Mercury 2.2 hp gives plenty of power. We also have a matching black sunbrella cover that keeps her dry on rain days.

Lots of good points here!

A few things I want to drill down on ... I want to make sure I am not getting the quality equivalent of a pool toy. You know those "3man" boats you get for 50 $ ... I assume I can get in to a good quality level by getting one with a motor mount even though I will not use it. Other then that they seem.. Expensive.. It is like you pay 100 for crap or 1000 for good with nothing in between. Was wanting to spend 2or 300 but is what it is.

Also how big are these deflated and how easy to store "in" the Mac and where do you store it.

Seems z goidly number of people are also using the bow or towing.

kevinnem wrote:Lots of good points here!

A few things I want to drill down on ... I want to make sure I am not getting the quality equivalent of a pool toy. You know those "3man" boats you get for 50 $ ... I assume I can get in to a good quality level by getting one with a motor mount even though I will not use it. Other then that they seem.. Expensive.. It is like you pay 100 for crap or 1000 for good with nothing in between. Was wanting to spend 2or 300 but is what it is.

Also how big are these deflated and how easy to store "in" the Mac and where do you store it.

Seems z goidly number of people are also using the bow or towing.

I listed the packed size above. New can be expensive but if you troll kijiji, Craigslist etc I bet you'll find something decent in your price range or check for flyers at local boat shops or marinas hull check your local classifieds, someone's almost always selling something. The one thing I'll give a ridged boat is they have way more room than inflatables.

Do you know the "Banana Boat dinghi"?

Maybe not as it is made in Germany.

http://www.banana-boot.de/dinghy/





You get waranty for 15 years.

Can motor, sail etc.

Just ask if you can stow it at the railing...

Boby Schenk love it much (but the text is in German...)
http://www.yacht.de/schenk/banana.html

My favorite is a paddleboard...much easier to step right on and off a paddleboard than trying to sit down in a kayak or dinghy, but probably not what you or most people want. I like the idea of the walker bay and sail kit, may pick one up eventually.

A few things I want to drill down on ... I want to make sure I am not getting the quality equivalent of a pool toy. You know those "3man" boats you get for 50 $ ... I assume I can get in to a good quality level by getting one with a motor mount even though I will not use it. Other then that they seem.. Expensive.. It is like you pay 100 for crap or 1000 for good with nothing in between. Was wanting to spend 2or 300 but is what it is.

The only thing I have found in that price range is the mariner boats. They are not anything like the cheaper inflatable boats with round bow. Its made of heavy PVC (weighs about 60lbs) and rigid when inflated. Guys actually fish in them and use gas outboards, there are some very long threads about them online. We bought one about 10 years ago when we would get a rental car for a week (fits in the trunk) and have taken it to Canada and the keys. Looks like they are about $200 now.

http://www.amazon.com/Intex-Mariner-Boa ... B00ACBCOII

Chinook wrote:I'm partial to the 9.5 foot zodiac we bought from West Marine. It has a high pressure inflated floor and an inflated keel tube which gives it a vee shaped bottom. I hang a 2.5 hp kicker on the transom, and it runs around pretty well. It weighs around 65 pounds and can stow on the foredeck or in the kingberth of our X.

How interesting Mike

With the exception of your power source, you just described my Achilles The Achilles is rated at an 8 HP, but I use a 6 HP Mercury 4 srtoke.

Ray

P.S. I have been fixated with reading your blog. It has been great reading, with a wealth of information. Keep it up, and the Admiral and I wish you and Sandy all the best.

This is the one I have. It is a big sucker, and can handle up to a 20hp motor. I run a 6hp Mercury on it, and it cruises about 5 mph. It is extremely stable, and rows easily. I have rowed it a mile before, and wasn't tired. It also tows great!
http://newportvessels.com/baja-inflatable-dingy-boat/

This is the one I have. It is a big sucker, and can handle up to a 20hp motor. I run a 6hp Mercury on it, and it cruises about 5 mph. It is extremely stable, and rows easily. I have rowed it a mile before, and wasn't tired. It also tows great!
http://newportvessels.com/baja-inflatable-dingy-boat/

I went to website and one of the paragraphs talks about the differences in PVC. Your manufacturer makes a big point about his PVC coming form Korea and not China. I now have a hypalon Achilles with which I am very happy, but as I mentioned above, my two previous inflatables were the cheaper PVC. Yes, they were from China. I am convinced that choosing an inflatable requires some homework into what kind of materials it is made of. I took my Intex boat from Florida to Michigan to take my two granddaughters sailing (I have a sail rig for my inflatable). The picture below shows the girls trying to have some fun in it when we noticed the port side was "inflation challenged", and the other picture is me tossing it into a dumpster! One unhappy grandpa.

I have been doing some research. Hypalon as a name is not used anymore, but if you see Chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSM), that is Hypalon.

Ray

kevinnem wrote: I want to make sure I am not getting the quality equivalent of a pool toy. You know those "3man" boats you get for 50 $ ... I assume I can get in to a good quality level by getting one with a motor mount even though I will not use it. Other then that they seem.. Expensive..

This is an excellent point. As a rule, I treat companies that make pool toys different from those who make marine parts. You often get what you pay for. I've seen motor mounts on cheap boats. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
A quality real rubber boat is much different from a vinyl pool toy.

We have a West Marine inflatable. It's made in France. Very well made. It won't hold more than 2 peeps, but it folds up nicely and goes well with the 4 stroke 2.5 Suzuki that weighs 29 lbs and runs on the same gas as the Mac. We keep the motor mounted on the stern and strap the deflated dink on the bow.

Before buying an inflatable, I'd sit on one and compare the construction to others. If price is an issue, perhaps Craigs List will find a gem this time of year.

Buzzes nice with the 2.5


Strapped to the foredeck

Russ has brought up some good points.

As I previously pointed out, do your due diligence and actually see the product. Ours is large enough for four, but with just the two of us, it's quite spacious. I don't have a picture, but here is a painting I did of us.


Ray

When you try to do your homework on buying an inflatable you run into descriptors like this: "triple layered 1,100 denier PVC". I get the triple layer part and the PVC part but, can someone tell me what is 1,100 denier? And does anyone know if a hypalon/Chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSM) is stronger/better than a "triple layered 1,100 denier PVC" . Honestly, we can swap stories about how good/bad our dinghy experiences have been, but can anyone make an intelligent decision from what the ads tell us about the actual construction?

Hopefully this helps. This is off the internet.

Ray

PVC Fabric Vs. Hypalon.

PVC
Pro: significantly less expensive then Hypalon.
Con: won't last as long in the direct sunlight as Hypalon. (if left unprotected).

Hypalon
Pro: will last significantly longer than PVC when exposed to prolonged periods of direct sunlight.
Con: significantly more expensive then PVC.
Con: looses air over time due to its structure.

There is no doubt that PVC fabric won't last as long as Hypalon fabric if the boat is subjected to prolonged periods of direct sunlight and no measures have been taken to protect the PVC fabric from the sun (i.e. boat cover or UV spray). After a number of years in direct sunlight the PVC fabric can become sticky. After that it can also become discolored.

When not in use, it is highly recommended to store PVC inflatable products in a well ventilated, shaded area. Humidity and heat are killers for PVC glue used in the assembly of inflatable boats. Do NOT store PVC inflatables in closed containers, boxes or storage areas with no ventilation and under direct sunlight. Humidity will accumulate in tightly closed storage areas and will weaken the chemical bond of PVC glue once significant heat is present.

Post Script:

I have never had a loss of pressure in my 12 year old Hypalon Inflatable. One has to be aware that if you spend a lot of time in the sun, all inflatables will expand when the contained air expands.

Herschel wrote:When you try to do your homework on buying an inflatable you run into descriptors like this: "triple layered 1,100 denier PVC". I get the triple layer part and the PVC part but, can someone tell me what is 1,100 denier? And does anyone know if a hypalon/Chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSM) is stronger/better than a "triple layered 1,100 denier PVC" . Honestly, we can swap stories about how good/bad our dinghy experiences have been, but can anyone make an intelligent decision from what the ads tell us about the actual construction?

Has to do with the weave. A higher number means a tighter weave. A 1200 denier cordura fabric is what you'll usually get as knee wear patches on a good set of sailing or ski bibs (I think seatbelts are around 2000) Whereas a 500 denier nylon would be a really cheap kids tent.

So, for the complete answer; combine Bob's post with mine, and if your budget permits, go out and get a CSM inflatable.

Ray