So we have named our dinghy Pup Pup, because it is always following behind us on Viatori. For a while it was nicknamed Poop Poop and the outboard Turd, because we had quite a few very wet and rather long and uncomfortable dinghy rides to the beach or into town.  We bought a Duras high pressure, soft bottomed inflatable dinghy which is nine feet long with a Tohatsu 6hp outboard.  Now, hindsight is always twenty twenty and after a few months of using Poop Poop, we’ve found out a few things.  For any cruiser, your dinghy is like your car.  You hop in it to get to the grocery store, to the beach, to another boat, to haul water, to haul fuel, to haul kids and snorkel gear and for a lot of other things as well.  We quickly discovered that our dinghy was too small and underpowered for transporting our family of five.  That little Tohatsu could not get us to plane so we bounced along at a slow pace getting sprayed with salt water the entire time.  We don raincoats and the like in an attempt to keep us dry, but it usually doesn’t work, except for James who has the perfect wet dinghy ride solution.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zFdFjMXKWI[/youtube]

We are loving our new Yamaha 15hp.  It has the jam to get us on plane, so that we can skim along the surface of the water and we get to our destination a lot quicker.  We are all much happier and dryer with our new motor.  And the great thing is that we even managed to sell our old outboard to a boat on his way out of Georgetown!  Sweet!

Here are a few pics of dinghies:

Using the dinghy to haul water at Black Point.

Dinghies come in all shapes and sizes. This one is homemade.

Dinghy driving lessons with the boys. James is trying to start up Pup Pup.

James is driving! Look out!

Being silly.

Hi Mom!

Gaye’s own personal smoke box at a potluck on Oh My.

Loading up the crew onto Celebration’s dinghy for a long, wet ride back to Red Shanks anchorage.

All set!

Having the right dinghy for your crew and your needs is important as your dinghy is used every day, in all kinds of weather and under many different circumstances.  Our next project once we return to the United States may be to build our own dinghy.  We’ll see.

L