Psst.... Wanna See My Dinghy?

Sometimes, when we do a family sail to a nearby beach, we tow along my West Marine inflatable 9-foot dinghy, "Ruf Ride."  The O'Day 23 has a 'shoal keel' with retractable centerboard, and with the board up it only draws 2'3" -- making it possible to get in rather close to the shore.  Of course, you still need to pay attention to charted depths.  If you anchor in five feet of water at high tide, you still might find yourself "high and dry" when the tide goes out.

Oops....

In any event, the dinghy makes it easier to get ourselves, and all our gear, to and from the beach: towels, buckets, nets, plastic digging tools, beach chairs, cooler.  I keep in it a small collapsable grapple anchor (bungeed closed) and a small bailing pump lashed to the underside of the thwart.  I like the inflatable.  So too, it seems, do other people.  I often return to the dinghy dock at Dexter's Cove to discover someone has used it in my absence.  I can tell because they tied it back up in a different place, using a different method than I use.  I thought about putting a padlock on it, but then decided that might only invite vengeful vandalism.  If its available for anyone to use, then maybe everyone will take care of it.  Or will they?  Did you ever read the essay, "Tragedy of the Commons?"

'Ruf Ride'

My West Marine 9-foot inflatable dinghy

The inflatable is much lighter and more stable than "hard-shell" fiberglass or wooden dinghies.  While it is not the most ideal platform to use when changing out your winter stick for mooring ball (when you need to drag all that rusty chain across the rubber hull), it is easier to haul around when you go sailing.  You see a lot of sailboats towing inflatable dinghies; some larger boats stow them on deck or on davits.

Towing a Dinghy

(that is not 'Piao', by the way)

Dinghy Stowed on Deck

(that is also not 'Piao')

 Dinghy Stowed on Davits

(that is not 'Piao' either)

Dinghy Garage

(that is definitely not 'Piao')

But there really isn't any space aboard 'Piao' to stow that dinghy: that 9-foot inflatable dinghy is roughly 40% the length of the sailboat.  Moreover, sometimes towing a dinghy can be inconvenient.  Still, I have been wondering, if I go somewhere and anchor or pick up a mooring, and there is no launch service, how will I get ashore if I don't have a dinghy with me?  A buddy of mine suggested I get an inflatable kayak.  That sounded like a great idea, but we have two plastic tandem kayaks already, and I didn't think the Admiral would approve to requisition.  And it might still prove difficult to stow out-of-the-way on a small sailboat like 'Piao.'

Then last week, as I bemoaned the need for a new pair of water shoes, the Admiral sent me to Ocean State Job Lot -- a regional discount store.  "Don't you dare go to West Marine!" she warned me, ominously.  While there, I espied a small Intex Seahawk 2 inflatable dinghy for only $30.  A closer inspection of the box revealed that it had my name on it.

It ain't fancy, but it was cheap.  She can't accuse me of undermining the financing for the kitchen renovations.  More to the point, it is only intended for infrequent use, in a pinch.  It even came with a manual air pump, a storage pouch, collapsable oars, "welded" (!) oar locks, and (my favorite) "motor mount fittings."  I just can't imagine.  For now, I keep it rolled up and stowed in the small hanging locker forward by the V-berth in 'Piao.'  It could fit in a (large) backpack.  Now, I just gotta think up a good name for her.....