MacGregorSailors.com

Hi everyone,
Looking to purchase a new dinghy for our 26X - the ones we considered so far are:
1) the Walker Bay - 8 or 10 (with possible sail kit)
2) roll-up inflatable (this would allow us to store inside the boat for long journeys or rough weather)
3) a lightweight rib that possibly could be stored on deck, if deflated?

Would love to hear from you about your favourite choices for a dinghy.

Our motor size would probably be 2.5 HP to a max of 4 HP (because of the weight).

Thanks in advance
MacX

I use a 9 foot zodiac with slatted floor. I can store it on deck just in front of the mast deflated and rolled up for longer crossings. It works great and can be inflated with just a very small high volume inflator in about two minutes, then topped off with about six steps on the foot pump and tossed over the side. I keep a 4 hp on a swing up outboard mount on the stern of the Mac and can lower it down to almost Zodiac transom height to swap it over. Works great, I can tow it behind with bridal without even knowing it's there, and can use the 4hp in an emergency to move the Mac around if the wind and main motor die.

How many passengers is the question? We are two up. usual tendering and small river trips.

Having both a 3m inflatable keel/floor dinghy and I small 2m slatted floor one, very quickly we ended up going for the latter every time. just so convenient/quick to inflate and store above or below. wights just 17kg. the reality is you can get wet in both anyway, I use the larger one for longer river trips. and use a Coleman 12v pump to inflate the 5 chambers. (Quick 5 minutes on the foot pump on the other)

I had a brand new tohatsu/mariner 3.5hp I got very cheap. but again, the weight is just enough to make it a pain so sold it and got a Suzuki 2.5hp @13kg. with little difference in performance. sounds nicer too.

so, real world convenience quickly comes in to play in my experience.

To answer that wisely, there are many considerations.

How will you be using it? What for? (eg: Bring the dog to shore. Explore anchorages. Get to the mooring)
How many people does it need to hold?
How do you wish to tow it? Do you wish to keep it on deck?
Do you want to sail it? Row it? Paddle it? Motor it? and how much of each?
Does it need to fit on the roof of your car? Inside your car?
How important is stability? Convenience?

I have found many dinghy solutions that vary from boater to boater. Each has their own merits. No one solution fits all.

--Russ

For the MAcX , the 7.8 kodiac works great, at 37lbs and takes a 2,5 hp Suzuki and folds to fit in forward berth.
This is good for 3 persons, maybe 4 in calm waters.
Easy to inflate with high pressure floors and inflatable keel.
Easy to tow , let out 20 ft. line and in a heavy wind bring it 4ft. from motor.
I plane this dink in my 225lb butt with the Suzuki 2.5 hp.( Weighs 27 pds. )
So 37+ 27 = 64 lbs plus weight you put aboard.
I hang my outboard on a fix bracket at stearn.
Dave

Mikex wrote:Hi everyone,
Looking to purchase a new dinghy for our 26X - the ones we considered so far are:
1) the Walker Bay - 8 or 10 (with possible sail kit)
2) roll-up inflatable (this would allow us to store inside the boat for long journeys or rough weather)
3) a lightweight rib that possibly could be stored on deck, if deflated?

Would love to hear from you about your favourite choices for a dinghy.

Our motor size would probably be 2.5 HP to a max of 4 HP (because of the weight).

Thanks in advance
MacX

Thanks for the email through the MacGregor Yacht Club of B.C., I've been out of town and not replied to your email yet, so thought I’d reply back about our Walker Bay here (if that's ok)

We love our 8’ Walker Bay with Sail Kit.

- It only weighs about 70 lbs, so I can lift it myself onto the top of the Grand Cherokee for travel.
- It fits on the foredeck no problem, and being so light it’s easy enough to haul up in rough water. The “J” dimension on the MacX is 10’.
- It has a lap strake hull design so it rows and tows like a dream in a straight line.
- We do not notice excess fuel burn or drag under tow. We tow out as far as possible on a 50’ painter and on the front side of a wake i fpossible to reduce drag. but ask any tug-cap and he’ll tell you the longer the tow line the better. (But he will also start jabbering about catinary factors and formulars like: tow rope is 10 times the length of towed vessel divided by estimated speed) But I think that is another thread.
- We use a 2.2 Mercury. Hull is rated for max 2 hp. We stow the engine on the port side ladder while underway.
- Being plastic hard shell there are no worry about holes from the crab traps or fish gear.
- Great size for one person and a crab trap and fish gear, or: two people & provisions, but ... 3 people and a small rock and the gunwale gets pretty close to the waterline.
- Great to fish from. I have 2 down riggers for it that work great, plus a portable fish finder. (boysneedtoys).

… and the sail-kit is a blast!

Darry Major

Hello all, and thanks for all your feedback.
The dinghy is just for two of us (& a small dog), to use when anchoring, or just to explore, etc.

Darry, thanks for your reply. We were thinking seriously of the Walker Bay 8 with the sail pkg, but had 3 concerns: would it be too tippy, could I mount it on the bow (which you've answered), and lastly as the boat is hard material, is this a problem if it was to bump into the MacGregor while anchoring (or do you have a method of protecting it?).

Cheers,
MacX

There are many different sailors here, and there are just as many opinions, some may even overlap.

I have a 9' Achilles which has both an inflatable floor, and an inflatable keel. It carries a 6HP Merc four stroke, but is rated for an 8HP motor. The dingy weighs about 70 pounds, and the Merc weighs about 40. I am able to handle both, and enjoy the power of the six. With the two of us old folk on board, it will get up on plane. If you are going to be hoisting the boat up and onto the Mac's deck, then a 6HP is too heavy. If you are going to be towing it, then I would want all the power I could get. We have traveled on it for hours at a time. Here is a painting I made of us traveling on it on Lake George.

I purchased the Achilles after originally looking at the Zodiac. The Achilles is just as good a craft, and at a better price. I truly believe that Zodiac ups the price because of its name recognition.

Ray

we have the achilles LT2
http://www.achillesinflatables.com/boat ... nghies/lt/
its great, and easy to store, and excellent quality.
but in hind sight i might have bought the walker bay 8- only because we have rocky beaches here- and the hard shell would have been better- maybe i should sell the still new inflatable and get a walker bay!!!!
i am building davits, and will store either one on the davits.
have only read good reviews about the walker8
very tough!!

Hey Mike,

The Walker Bay 8" is like the Mac - a little tender but won't fall over. The hull shape is almost identical.

Walker Bay sells an inflatable rib kit. It's about 6" in diameter and goes around the boat from stern to stern. (not around transom). This makes the boat more stable and creates soft sides.

Although we do not have the rib kit, we've had ours about six years and never a problem, if you look close in the picture (click on photo to enlarge) we have fenders on the Walker Bay. Small white fenders we hang from the mid seats at the beam that stops knocking on the Mac hull under anchor.

Re: New dinghy
Post by Mikex » Mon Apr 28, 2014 5:51 pm

Darry, thanks for your reply. We were thinking seriously of the Walker Bay 8 with the sail pkg, but had 3 concerns: would it be too tippy, could I mount it on the bow (which you've answered), and lastly as the boat is hard material, is this a problem if it was to bump into the MacGregor while anchoring (or do you have a method of protecting it?).

Cheers,
MacX

I have a Walker Bay 8. Have used it only once on a two-night cruise - found I couldn't row against the tide -> bought a Honda 2.3 hp. This is definitely the weight limit for the little dinghy, I'd say. When by myself I have to sit in the midships seat to balance the boat. Use a polypipe extension to the outboard.
As I have only had a try out with the whole rig, I can't say at this stage how successful the setup is. Am going on a month-long cruise in a couple of weeks to try it all out.
I have put the poor man's version of the inflatable rib kit on: biggish foam rubber swimming spahettis all around the gunnels. These are good buffers, but I'm not too sure about their worth in regard to stability. If the cruise shows that they're inadequate in this regard, I'll look at purchasing the real rib kit.
I don't use the oars - I sit in the midships seat facing forward, and use kayak paddles (I purchased one that detaches into 2 halves for easy storing)
Things I love about my WB:
- light - I can put it up on top of the ute/canopy by myself
- tough - bounces off anything
- little wheel at the stern for wheeling along the ground
- easy to row/paddle
I've found that towing it on the front of the second wave seems OK.

Hope this helps

Stan

Walker bay 8' w/ inflatable RIB kit. Rows well and much more stable w/ the kit. Bought a Honda 2.2 waiting for the Spring shakedown cruise to try it out.

NiceAft wrote:There are many different sailors here, and there are just as many opinions, some may even overlap.

Very true. Everyone has their own idea of what works best for them.

We have a West Marine inflatable with a hard floor (slots). It rows adequate and is very stable. It won't sail, but won't tip over or sink easily. Gets us to shore if we want.
It's powered by me (oars) or our 2.5 Suzuki outboard. The outboard is 4 stroke, lightweight and easy to handle. Pushes the thing along nicely. Nice to be able to use the same fuel as the Mac.
When not in use, we deflate it and store it on the foredeck with motor on the stern pulpit (seats).


--Russ

I use a Bombard by Zodiac...probably the k=mart/Wal-Mart version , but so far has been doing a fine job. I have the Tohatsu four stroke 6hp , and it's overpowered....but the Grand Kids disagree when I drag them around on a water toy I think it would get Me upstream ,against any current I need to be in Ron.

I know this thread is about dinghy use in the Pacific Northwest, but I thought there might be some value in introducing the aspect of choice that relates to the creatures with whom we share the waters where we sail. For example, I do a lot of traveling on Florida's St. Johns River where live quite a few alligators. When you see one of these "babies" just a few feet away, the fiberglass shell in my dinghy feels a little more secure.