Inevitably we wake in the night. The latter is less preferred, and both require that sail- and boat-handling functions, such as reefing and anchoring, are not compromised. A selection of singlehanded dinghies. She’s been cruising for more than 20 years, from USA, to the Med, the Caribbean and currently in the South Pacific; she and Doug love their rowing dinghy. I already have a 9 ft fiberglass sailing dinghy, the only other boat I have owned. We also carry a backup tender – an inflatable kayak. They return later grinning with adventures found…stories from their snorkeling jaunt of caverns, coral, and glowering barracuda. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. It’s a gentler way of Being in the world. We lie there for a while watching the scene and listening to the almost imperceptible hissing and scuffling in the mud all around, where small life breathes and feeds. My friend Jan is anchored in an atoll in the Tuamotus right now. As we ghost silently down the river, a yacht passes under power. There is a feel of comfortable homeliness aboard. You friend was rowing in southern Grenada…. Topics covered include: sail areas, rigs and reefing, ballast and helm balance, centreboards and daggerboards, seats and sheets, engines, oars and anchors, trailers, launching and recovery. But we wonder if they realise how much they have lost. I like their reference to Pudgys as the F150 of dinghies! The Melges 14 delivers on a quick and modern singlehander and earns its stripes as one of the best dinghies you can buy. With most boats tending away from the choices made by Hanna and Rocinante‘s crews – is there a voice missing? Initially I thought maybe I could tow it. I’m glad what you has worked so well for you, you’ve had time to try options and work it out. We drift past an abandoned quayside, ivy cloaking the ruins of warehouses and limekilns. Stars carpet the heavens, and the dark shadow of the skyline sways past as she swings insistently to her cable. I guess what I’m saying is the stowing aspect is often a royal pain so I’d love to hear more about how other cruisers handle that. There is beauty in simplicity. Then the sleeping bags and cushions are shaken out and crammed into stuff bags, the mattresses are rolled away and placed with them in roll-top dry bags, which are stowed out of the way and lashed down. We replaced that with a 3.1m AB coming up on three years ago; it’s has been awesome, used mostly with our 18hp Tohatsu (newly with a 15hp Yamaha). We run in over the rough water on the bar and enter the shelter beyond. good onya, that’s great exercise! Comes with mast-head, buoyancy bag, oars with row-locks, painter, anchor with 30 ft rope, 40 ft tow rope. © 2007-2020 Sailing Totem. In general, RIBs dominate. Sounds like you got to figure out the best for you. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. Cruising World may receive financial compensation for products purchased through this site. Photo: Wayfarer Class Association. Choosing the Right Outboard. All rights reserved. At this point, plus practice on the water, you're good to go. The Fireball is a three-sail trapeze dinghy that offers high performance without too steep a learning curve. We look around our boat with pride as she breasts the swell. We row it much more than we use the 6 hp outboard. With our Portabote almost all the downsides are in the stowing process / design. It really is all about compromises! We would be utter failures with your safety rule – I get it, but getting out to remote spots is one of our joys! But given the choice between hard/rowing friendly and planing RIB, we come down solidly in the camp best described by my friend Pam Wall sings in our Cruising Women seminars: “bigger is better and faster is more fun!” Our current anchorage is just one example of why; it would be physically impossible to get back to where Totem is located during typically blustery afternoons thermal. Paula Irish reviews the market. I have never heard of a Porta-bote. Aboard a cruising dinghy on passage, the routine is the same as on any other sailing vessel. Triton packs a lot of boat into 28’6″! We used to have a backup “car,” an inflatable we kept in a ocker; after 5+ years on board it was used for about 2 weeks in Thailand between the Avon and Highfield. We lowered the center seat and got decent oars. The design is really interesting, but we have heard mixed reviews in practice (filtered though “people like what they have,” especially if it cost them a chunk of change). Here are five basic options. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Dinghy Cruising The coastal waters of Britain once teemed with simple small vessels. Very utilitarian for the quiet little sunset sail around the harbour or a pick-up rabbit-start race with the like-minded… great way to meet new friends. But we do pull out the outboard on occasion. Joining like-minded people at a club and sailing similar boats is a sure way to connect with fellow sailors and get involved in the sport.