Need a tender to get out to our new (to us) 27' yacht.
Yacht was < $20,000, so not going nuts with a $5000 tender inc. outboard.

Mooring is only temporary, near Huskisson. Short row for now.
2 adults = up to 170kg

Not much I can find locally for sale, other than:
1. tinny + 7 year old 4 stroke, 2hp outboard, asking $1300
2. larger inflatable + outboard, asking $2750.

Advise on outboards e.g. Brands to avoid, 2 stroke vs 4 stroke?
Ideally would like to leave solid dinghy chained on beach, take outboard+ oars in car.

Thanks!

Dont buy an expensive dinghy and leave it on the beach what ever you so at it will be gone in no time
The cheapest nastiest look piece of junk you can find and buy a inflatable for on the boat cruising

Exactly. Get a piece of ****
Make a hole in it and put a screw in Port that you take out when you leave it rendering it useless to anyone. 2 stroke motor if you must on dinghy.

I second what HG and Sector said.


Get a tiny outboard you can carry with one hand. 2nd hand maybe $200. Lugging a heavy outboard can take the fun out of boating.

It wont have a gearbox, you have to swivel it around to go astern. Fuel tank built on top so you don't have to lug that either.

Then figure out a good way to keep it upright in your car when you travel, so you don't have to lie it down in your car which means you have to drain its fuel tank every time you go somewhere. I used a piece of rope on one of the coat racks over the back door to sling mine up sometimes. Eventually I made a wooden stand for it that sits on the floor behind the drivers seat.

A wreck of a dinghy is a good plan to keep it inconspicuous to thieves.

An alternative to that is an IRB. $700 for new one, $200-$300 for a used one thats passable. Then you can deflate it and put it in the boot. Except it adds the step of inflating and deflating each time you want to go out sailing.

The IRB has a big advantage that if you sleep over on your boat when it drifts along side your hull it wont bang and put dings in it. They're also fun for kids, ie. no sharp edges to hurt themselves on.

2.5 or 3.5 two stroke Tohatsu/Mercury[same motor different spelling]. Nice and light and can be laid down in the boot of your car with out worrying about sump oil.
Someone was trying to give away a dinghy the other day, will have to look around.

I second the tohatsu/ Mercury 3.5 outboard as that's what I have . You can lay it down as long as you close the vent in the cap and turn fuel off ( put a note on it to remind you to otherwise fuel every where ) . I used a cheap $500 inflatable for a while which I put folding wheels on . Pumped it up with a 12 volt 2 stage pump ( about $120 from memory ) took about 5 mins and no effort . Did that every day for about 3 months before i got a fibre glass dinghy . Found the inflatable great and versatile as you could deflate and put on boat when out side , still use the inflatable when I have people and gear to Carry . keep an eye out I got the motor and a 10 ft tinnie for $450 the tinnie is still chained up on the beach at port Stephens , one day I will go get it .

I've got a Nylex Pioneer 8 with a Tohatsu 3.5. Dinghy is indestructible but HEAVY. Motor is light as. Do your research regarding motor weights. 3.5hp is 13kg but 5-6hp is close to 30kg - way too heavy for a little dinghy. If you want a p.o.s dinghy I have a glass 6 footer available for nix.

Chris's dinghy is priced right and matches your requirements cosmetically but you will need something a little larger, probably 9 to 10 feet for the creek. Something like this http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/9-5ft-Fiberglass-dinghy-/272039561190?hash=item3f56d247e6:g:AREAAOSwu-BWPnVj

Check the recycle shops locally.

The other alternative is to go bigger and trail it home. There is a good ramp nearby and plenty of parking. Something like this. www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/bexley/tinnies-dinghies/fibre-glass-boat-tilt-trailer-/1094935435

Friend locally bought a similar unit off the side of the road here, gal trailer, electric start 35hp, $500. It;s a perfect tender for his yacht he just bought from JB.

Yeah the 6ft dingy would be too small for a 175kg load. That's why I got a bigger one ?? It's actually set up for sailing so I might start collecting mast sails etc and teach my daughter in it if I can't get rid of it...

Thanks, ChrisJ for kind offer.. shame I'm a bit fat :)

All advice much appreciated...

Feel free to msg me if anyone has/ sees something suitable around the Shoalhaven area.

Ive been looking for over a year down here in Vic to find a Zodiac final got one 2006 2.4 roll up been used for fishing mainly rivers and sea and looked after no patches the kit came with it plus a foot pump and a 12 volt air pump and the electric thruster
its made out of Hypalon .So I'm hoping it will last if I look after it

ozwrangler is looking for a hard dinghy to get to a mooring and leave there while out sailing. Inflatable with an outboard may not be there when they get back! A good hard dinghy may not be either. Tender needs to be sea worthy and stable when stationary but look like it's worthless. Painted baby poo colour with lots of brush marks.

Thanks, everyone.

Am open to all ideas.
An inflatable has some advantages, but would need to come home.
Adds an extra hassle to get out sailing, but might also be used by me and 1 kid to putter up Currumbene Creek? (Unsure).
Atm, it's pretty easy to get to the mooring, but that is only temporary and don't want to buy twice.

BCF have this deal on an Inflatable + outboard
http://www.bcf.com.au/online-store/bonusbuys/3-1m-blueline-inflatable-tender-5-8hp-parsun-motor-1799.aspx?BonusBuyId=CM16WK01BD-9
Unsure if a long or short shaft motor needed? (Yep, total newbie).

You don't want either an inflatable or a Parsun.

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Ramona said..
ozwrangler is looking for a hard dinghy to get to a mooring and leave there while out sailing. Inflatable with an outboard may not be there when they get back! A good hard dinghy may not be either. Tender needs to be sea worthy and stable when stationary but look like it's worthless. Painted baby poo colour with lots of brush marks.

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Ramona said..
You don't want either an inflatable or a Parsun.

Ramona is on the money

Hi Hg
thats what I ended up with,great compromise,very stable,
plus water snake 28
prob ok on calm days
not enough grunt in strong northerly
initial Li battery didn't last the distance
being too tight
what sort /size of battery do you use?

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scaramouche said...
Hi Hg
thats what I ended up with,great compromise,very stable,
plus water snake 28
prob ok on calm days
not enough grunt in strong northerly
initial Li battery didn't last the distance
being too tight
what sort /size of battery do you use?

Next year might look out for a 2 to 3 hp for stoke eg honda suzuki merc
5 hp is a bit hard to lug on and off ghe dinghy
And the zodiac i bought is a roll up with the ply wood bottom so they dont plane
But really is exaclty what i wanted

I guess your back in the water now

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Ramona said..
Plastic dinghy close by. Priced fairly well if it includes oars. Bit small to be ideal but will get you by for awhile and fairly easy to sell on if you upgrade.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/erowal-bay/tinnies-dinghies/pioneer-8-plastic-dinghy-tender/1095352329

Right on the money, and don't wash it or clean it up in any way. You want it to be there on the mooring when you return.