Tender/ Dinghy to yacht?

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

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.

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 .

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.

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.

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.

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

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?