We have always thought of a properly prepared dinghy as a better option than the life raft in most situations. Our dink on Wind Horse always has its outboard spares/tools of course, along with ground tackle and abandon ship gear packed in watertight backpacks. There is a five-gallon (19 liter) water jug, and two six-gallon (22 liter) gas cans stored aboard as well.
The one weakness has been exposure – to cold and sun. So, this fall we called Ron and Ron’s Custom Canvas in Ventura, California, and put our heads together. You can see the result above.
That is a rescue orange Sunbrella fabric “tent” which will provide a degree of shelter from the elements.
The tent “furls” down the side, and will be in place from now on when we are passaging as well as using the dinghy for exploration in remote locales.
The same approach can be made to work on larger inflatables with a little thought.
Posted by Steve Dashew (February 28, 2008)
December 10th, 2012 at 9:36 pm
I couldn’t find the post about the diesel powered dingy that one of your customers was going to use. I did some research on that one and the availability seemed “iffy”. Has anyone tried one of these?
http://www.klaxondieseloutboards.com/category/outboards/ghseries/
Doesn’t look fancy (in fact it looks rather Rube Goldberg-ish) but it would be nice if they actually work…..
December 16th, 2012 at 6:31 am
These diesel outboards are sourced from two different manufacturers here in China and have the “Klaxon” logo added to them.
From what I remember, the FH series are an adaption of a well known Japanese brand of air cooled diesels which have been reworked by being made water cooled and most parts are interchangeable with the Japanese original. See: http://www.danchai.com/CPZS.html
The larger engines I have only in the last few weeks noticed as being for sale and I have not seen them exhibited at the Shanghai Boat Show in the last few years which is generally the showcase for many Marine Industry manufacturers here in China. See: http://ntlongfar.en.alibaba.com/productgrouplist-213422716/Marine_Outboard_Diesel_Engine.html#products but these guys may just be Agents not manufacturers.
I personally think diesel outboards are the way to go as it does away with the need to carry petrol plus the mileage is greater.