Dingy

H

hackalar

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Feb 17, 2005
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Guys have a 36 foot Silverton and don't really have a way of carrying a dingy. So I was thinking about buying the inflatable style and new small motor and pulling it behind. What do you guys recommend?
 
Bad idea, what are you going to do when you go in reverse? Get either weaver davits or C lifts for the swim platform.
 
towing a dink is a PITA. doable if you always have someone one board to handle the line when you need to dock. on a smaller boat, the best option is a roll up with an electric inflator. you can store in inside the boat and inflate/deflate in minutes.

add a 3.3 that you can store in teh cockpit or aft deck and you're set.
 
One word: deflate. We've got a 30' boat and now that we have the dink, we don't know how we survived without it. We deflate and store upside-down on top of our cabin. You might have room to roll it up and put it in a bag. We've got friends with a 34' Silverton that keep their dink rolled up in it's storage bag down in the engine room (outboard motor is stored in cockpit). We've got a Bravo Superturbo 12v pump that only takes a few minutes to inflate the dink.
 
Can you guys point to a good one to get. Not overpriced. What size motor?
 
i just picked one up for our 3607 at west for $850.00. going to hook it up to the swim platform and getting a 4hp merc.for next month (on sale) if a anchor out and use it 8 times to go to shore it's paid for in dock fees.
 
On my 28' Carver we use "C" lifts on the swim platform with the O/B on a bracket in the cockpit. Very easy to launch and recover.

Bob
 
Bob,

I was looking for a bracket to carry my 4 hp outboard (not a rail mount). I saw one option at the wm but it was rediculous expensive (go figure). Suggestions for where to buy one? Couldn't find one on Boatfix.
 
We have a small dinghy and pull the dinghy bow up on the swim platform and let the dinghy stern just drag in the water. This works fine for us as we have room in our slip when backing in. The SeaRay 38DA we have has a low swim platform and it's just wide enough to pull the dinghy up sideways if we need to, but I usually just pull the dinghy bow up. Initally I used the stern cleats to tie the dinghy off, but installed 2 stainless "U" brackets on the transom port and stbd sides to tie to. I have 2 pretied lines with "C" clamps that I use to tie off the dinghy. This makes loading and unloading the dinghy pretty easy.
 
Towing it at cruising speed is a problem. At anything other than no-wake speed it'll beat the hell out of it. It's way too easy to flip one and ruin it. You either have to keep it RIGHT AT THE STERN or put out A LOT OF LINE (like 60' or more). Sailboats can tow them if only because they're going so slow. I've got a large enough swim platform that I can pull it up, inflated with the engine tilted up. It takes a bit of a heave to do it but it's workable. Otherwise it gets deflated and stowed. I have heaved it up onto the bow and stored it there. But that requires taking off the bow cushions and you do lose a bit a forward visibility when up on plane.

I'm looking into a transom mount of some sort for the 6hp engine. None are cheap but consider the cost of having it break loose and then fall overboard...

In retrospect, for the short hops we take to shore I could have gone with a smaller dinghy and engine. We don't really need the 10'6" wood floor Bombard and the 6hp 2-stroke. It'd be enough to have a 8'6" and a 3-hp for most situations. Both would be easier to store too.

Also, give consideration to how storing it would affect your docking. Crossing stern lines are a bit of a problem when the dinghy's back there. That and the added length needed might be a problem if you're in a short slip.

My suggestion would be to consider the Weaver style brackets. They really do work nicely. I may yet go with them, if just to have a way to neatly stow the dinghy when tied up at our marina. I don't think I'll go with the engine lever gizmo as it's a bit expensive and the curve of our swim platform would make mounting it a problem. For a straight platform it works great.

Oh, and if you're un/loading the outboard while it's in the water, be sure to tie a line from it to a cleat. Should you drop it in the water you'd want a way to quickly pull it back up.
 
If you are going to deflate, I would recommend an air deck model. They fully deflate and weigh less. They are very strong.

After having a 6HP 4 stroke motor, I would recommedn finidng a small 2 stroke. I am disappointed in the 4 stroke motor. They weigh more and seem to have less power.

I like the mercruiser inflatables as they seem to have a higher capacity rating for the size. Not sure how many people you are looking to transport.
 
We have a Merc rollup and a 3.3 Merc 2 stroke.

We stowe it under the deck and it is nicely out of the way. The difficulty is that we don't use it as much as if it were always inflated. Since I want to store it dry, I have to plan to haul it, clean it, dry it and deflate it. That pretty much rules out my doing it for just a day trip somewhere.

Our last boat was a 36' Trojan F36 and I kept it inflated on the bow, leaning on its side against the bridge.

My .02
 
We've got a 36 Silverton.

We had a Hurley davit added to the swim platform (had to reinforce the swim platform b/c it's not designed for the weight).

Launching is easy. Getting the dinghy back on the davit is a little bit of effort - easiest with two people pulling/sliding. You don't have to remove the motor to get it on the davit - just tilt it up.

The dinghy is held on the platform very securely - even in big waves it does great.

Got the dinghy and outboard on craigslist. Defender Marine has good prices on dinghys, including Merc.

Regardless of which approach you use - when it comes to outboards, if you only need it to get in/out of the anchorage, the lighter the better. Otherwise, it's a pita to lift due to weight.

- Ed
 
Agree, don't tow. Buy a good small inflatable. If you want a dinghy which will plane, then the Air deck/floor is good, but you need a good high pressure pump (Bravo 12 HPP) and at least 6--better 8 hp. = weight. We carry dinghies in the 8 to 8.5 foot range, with slat floor, weight in the mid 30 lbs, and a 2.5 to 3.5 hp outboard, with weight in the low 30's. It only takes a few minutes to inflate when you arrive at the destination--also easy to hoist the light inflatable aboard any size boat.
 
Question.

What model Silverton?
What is the beam?
How many people do you plan on having in the dingy?
how much do the people weigh?

This will determine the correct dingy and motor.

As for storing the dingy, probably the best solution is a Weaver snap davit and Weaver Leaver system for you installation. This will allow you to store your dingy vertically on the transom and allow the motor to be stored safely with the dingy. This will allow for easy removal and storage of your dingy. I used this system on my prior boat. I still have the weaver leaver and upright motor mount. I also have a 2000 Yamaha 2 stroke. If your interested I am willing to sell it.
 
We had a 37 Silverton convertible and were involved in an accident. As a result we were surveyed and the surveyor looked at the Weaver Davits and screamed at me. Why? Because people get hooked by the ribs when the slip off the swim platform. He told me this and we switched to the removable style so we could remove them when we were going to leave the dink off the platform for extended periods of time, like at the home dock when we dink around the creek.
If you decide to tow, you need two ABLE people. One to drive the boat while the other hauls in the dink so as to shorten the line for docking or picking up mooring balls. If you travel at 15+ knots the dink will plane and you will wish it was a solid bottom dink. The vibration will rattle the crap out of the outboard with a soft bottom. Fuel will spill and it will be a PITA. And that is with the outboard tipped up! I don't think towing is an option unless it's a hard bottom dink and you have plenty of hands aboard.
 
I have a 34 Silverton convertible and we store a rigid bottom inflatable on the bow inflated. Outboard is stored on a bracket behind the bidge ladder.
Takes two to raise it over the bow rail, but one of them two is my wife, not hard to do.
Can have up or down and motor on in 5 min.
 
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