Which dinghy to sail

Your data is safe with us and you can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please see our Privacy policy. We also work with a few, carefully selected retail and leisure partners. Please click below if it's ok for us to send you offers and information from these partners from time to time. Registered in England No Table of contents 1.

High-performance dinghies 2. Racing dinghies 3. Cruising dinghies 4. Cruiser-racer dinghies 5. Classic dinghies 1. High-performance dinghies High-performance dinghies are powerful, fast-moving, and they make everything look effortless. Here are some examples of high-performance dinghies: The Fireball is an international sailing dinghy. Although its name sounds intimidating, it looks friendly and fun enough to use by any competent sailor and in any wind strength.

The International is a high-performance two-person monohull planing dinghy has been raced in over 18 countries on five continents for a reason. The Thistle is a high-performance dinghy in one design that is commonly sailed with a three-person crew.

The boat planes effortlessly in knots of wind but will glide in the light wind too. Fuel passing through a filter also runs more slower than fuel in the line, which will allow any suspended water particles to drop out. Beyond that, it is important to use your outboard frequently over the sailing season. Equipment that is used regularly runs reliably and you want to burn up the fuel to keep the fuel tank fresh.

If you carry your tender on davits, take precautions in a seaway. Life jackets: In my cruising, I have found that running around in the dinghy apparently makes me much more visible to the local marine law enforcement than the main boat.

We keep two life jackets and a waterproof copy of our registration in a small sail bag under the seat in the dinghy at all times.

Anchor: For the first five years that we cruised with an inflatable, each time we landed at a beach we would carry the dinghy up the beach above the tide line.

Eventually, we had an epiphany and bought an anchor. Now we simply approach the beach and toss out the anchor. A small claw anchor will hang on the transom, out of the way. Navigation lights: If you cruise in Florida and are in the dinghy after dark you there is a pretty good chance that you will be stopped if you do not display navigation lights.

The navigation rules specify that if your dinghy can run faster than 7 knots you must have red and green sidelights and an all-round white light. If your dinghy cannot plane, then a flashlight is all that is required under the navigation rules, but in Florida, you would not want to be caught operating with just a flash light, so almost everyone has an all-round white light for nighttime travel in the dinghy.

Before heading out make sure that you check the legal requirements for your local cruising grounds. Air pumps: It is not necessary to carry an air pump in the dinghy unless you bought that used one. However, if your storage solution involves deflating the dinghy and rolling it up each time you go sailing, a low-pressure high volume 12 volt inflator pump can be mighty handy. If you have a high-pressure air floor you will want to have a low-volume, high-pressure pump. I found that even with an athletic year-old son, a foot pump was not adequate to get the air floor fully inflated.

For a high-pressure air floor dinghy, you will appreciate a two-speed electric pump. Odds and ends: Other gear you might want to carry when you are off exploring includes a dry bag with bug spray, a multitool, spare engine lanyard and a hand held VHF always comes in handy. Tube covers: Finally, canvas covering for the tubes, also known as chaps, are important if your dinghy is used year-round, especially in the tropics.

In fact, chaps offer several advantages. First, they provide UV protection to the fabric. Second, they provide a first line of defense against slits and punctures. Unfortunately, it is fairly common to accidentally put a hole in the top of the tube as the crew steps out onto the dock and the dinghy rubs against the pilings or gets under the dock. In fact, over the years I think I have seen more holes above the rub rail than below the rail.

Some chaps have straps and buckles to hold a pair of oars inside the dinghy, while chaps with several mesh pockets will give you places to store things like the anchor line, a second painter, bug spray and sunscreen.

Conclusion While traditional dinghies may continue to provide therapeutic exercise during an afternoon row through the mooring field or as a sailing tender, the inflatable dinghy provides an entirely different kind of utility, enhancing the traditional role of the dinghy as basic transportation to shore, by extending the capabilities and range.

With an inflatable, you can go further, explore new places and have new experiences not possible with a rowing tender. Your journey continues even after the anchor is down. A fabric cover for the tubes will extend the life of a dinghy, especially in the tropics. Photo by Peter nielsen. There are two fabric choices used in inflatable boats. Both have excellent performance and durability. PVC coated polyurethane cloth is lighter weight and more flexible. It is good fabric if you are cruising seasonally or if you store your boat deflated.

PVC fabric can be heat welded, and heat welded seams are virtually leak proof. PVC tenders hold air exceptionally well. Neoprene coated nylon fabric, Hypalon, is heavier and all the seams must be hand glued. This is the material to use if you are using the dinghy full time in the tropics. Regardless of the coating material used, manufacturers use different weight cloth as the base of the fabric. A denier fabric has less than half the woven material of 1, denier fabric. Not all boat manufacturers use this scale, some use desitex and other materials that make it hard to compare fabric between various brands.

The staff at an experienced inflatable boat shop can help you make the comparison between brands. Higher denier means stronger fabric. The lowest priced inflatables have unsupported fabric. They have no cloth in the fabric and are merely heavier weight pool toys. Although they are inexpensive, you get what you pay for. Mobile Apps. Search for ASA Schools. International Schools By Country. Become an ASA School. IPC Application.

Instructor Login. These are safe and simple offering stepped levels of learning. Singlehanders - dinghies designed to be sailed by one person. These are useful as you don't need anyone else in order to spend time afloat, and you handle every aspect of the boat yourself, which helps the learning process. Doublehanders - dinghies designed to be sailed by two people. Having a second person in the boat is both sociable, and gives you someone to bounce off or learn from.

Dinghy cruising boats - dinghies designed for cruising. Ideal if you want to sail as a whole family and explore estuaries and creeks Swallows and Amazons style. Multihulls - dinghies with more than one hull catamarans or trimarans. Multihulled dinghies are very stable as well fast, especially useful when learning a new skill like trapezing. And try to buy a boat which is sailed at your club, since this will provide a ready source of friends, help and advice.

The right boat will increase your love for the sport: The Wayfarer dinghy can be raced or cruised, sailed singlehanded, doublehanded or with a whole family.