have a look at the walker bay with the inner tube, I have an eight footer and can stand on the side tube and it will not flip over

 

You need a life raft in a bag. You can rent one for the trip. Rent an EPIRB too!
California:
Avalon Rafts - Wilmington 310-549-9665
Coast Marine - San Francisco 415-673-1923
Sal's Inflatable Services - Alameda 510-522-1824
Hewett Industrial Supply - San Francisco 415-371-1054

 

from where?

SF area?

 

I made that trip from SF to SD last May, and while I can't tell you what dingy to get, I can tell you how much you'll really need one. All the places that you said you're going to stop at have transient slips, except possibly Morro Bay (some transient slips and Mooring balls) and Avila (Mooring balls only). At Avila (Point San Luis) they have a water taxi service that runs on donations, and it ran every two hours during the day light hours. We took at dingy with us on our trip, but the only time we really used it was at Two Harbors in Catalina. If I was making that trip again, I'd just store the dingy on the boat.

 

Thanks a lot jiffylube. Yeah I'm going to bring one or a liferaft for sure, it'll be my first big trip so i'm a little worried, thats if i actually do go and not tow the boat down there. So putting the dingy on board is my best bet.. thats good to know. thanks. now i'm just going to have to find the right dingy unless i rent.


Steve

 

Stevy...Two differences between a dinghy and a life raft.
1. You have to blow up a dinghy. I liferaft self inflates. You just might not have 20 minutes on a stable deck to pump up a dinghy!
2. If it is rough...you and the dinghy will be upside down in the cold channel current...a life raft is stable.
Given your experience and an untested boat...rent a raft if you go.

 

Thanks camaraderie... I understand what you were saying, but i was planning on having the raft inflated before we set sail and made sure it was inflated everyday just so we wouldn't have to worry about that in case of an emergency... although i guess i would have to worry about untieing it if we were in an emergency. hmmm something to think about.

Also i'm still looking for a good brand name for the dingy (considering that if we don't have a dingy i'll rent a life raft before we go). I'm probably going to buy this inflatable dingy used but i would still like to go with a quality name.

Does it sound feasable to buy the dingy and then sell it once we've made our voyage? Hoping that I can get all or most of my money back?

 

In this economy I think renting would be the better way to go, especially since you're planning on getting rid of the dingy after the trip.

Don't be afraid of the trip. Go at a good time around Spring, and watch the weather. Port hopping will let you come into a port everyday (no night sailing required), and stay as long as you need to because of weather conditions. When we came down we had to layover in Montery for 10 days because of a storm around Pt Conception...but I can't think of a better place to layover! Once you get around Pt. Conception you'll be in Southern California, and the conditions all change. Call ahead to the next port if you want to check conditions, as that may give you some peace and mind.

 

One you might not have heard of is the Tinker. It's English and very expensive, but can be rigged to sail and/or used as a liferaft with a canopy. It packs up into something like 3x4x2 feet. The mast (3 parts), sails, daggerboard, etc... go in a separate bag.

 

BoatUS has a good EPIRB rental program. Don't remember what they charge per week, but a friend used it... read about it here.

Another good dinghy, but would be difficult to use on a 27' boat, is the Portland Pudgy... which has an available liferaft canopy system and such... it's a hard dinghy...so doesn't fold up...also has a sail option.

 

IMHO I would not store an inflated dinghy on the deck for going down the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com

California</ST1l</st1:State> coast. I store mine deflated and down below. It can get very windy (I've experienced 40kts+ in the summer off of Cape San Martin). And when it does, you will want complete access to your foredeck and strapping a dink to your push pit might give you windage you might not want to deal with. We do not carry a life raft for coastal cruising in our 34. Our boat is well founded, good crew, and we pick our weather window (albeit the near gale wasn't supposed to be where it was.) We do have a very good VHF with DSC. Interesting sidebar - Ocean Cat 1 equipment rules require that a life raft needs to be deployable in 15 seconds, which can be quite a feat when your 80# valise style raft is stored below!

Sal's in <st1:City w:st="on">Alameda</st1:City> is a great place to rent rafts as is Boat <ST1<st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></ST1 for EPIRBS. Unfortunately, this is a PacCup year and those respective inventories could already be spoken for.

 

I'll put a vote in for what others have suggested, rent a raft. Camaraderie is right on the difficulty of getting your dink right side up and untied, specially on a smaller boat and Jiffylube is also right that you don't really need a dink if you're harbor hopping down the coast. If you wanted to keep the dink I could see going that way but if you're thinking of selling it anyways I think the raft is a better way to go.

BTB: to answer your original question I've been very pleased with my Avon and would buy another if I was dink shopping.

Let me know if you opt for Santa Cruz instead of Monterey.

 

I rented an EPIRB from BoatUS when we came down the coast last Spring, and after keeping it for around 30 days it cost me $145.00. I had to make a reservation which was not a problem (but could be a problem depending on the time of the year), and they mail it to wherever you want in a returnable box...which made it easy to return.

 

For a boat the size of yours and 3-4 people, if you go with a life raft for emergencies I'd go with a portebote for the dinghy as it will fold up out of the way on the bow(or outside the lifelines aft) a lot better than most.
If you don't go with a life raft then I'd look at least a 9.5 RIB, with a 2-4 hp outboard mounted on your stern rail, towed vs carried even tho it will slow you down.

 

If your crew is 3-4 members be sure the raft or dinghy is rated for the combined weight and has room for 3-4 to sit comfortable.
If you aquire a dink why sell it later? They do have future uses and are nice to have for visiting around the marinas. I have a 26' boat and tow my dink around when I travel but keep it at the slip when not travelling for just messing around in. I kinda like checking out all the other boats and the dink allows me to see other boats that I otherwise would not see. I also like to use it for exploring once the anchor is down or even when tied up at a guest moorage. They have many other uses besides what you have in mind. I tried stowing it inflated on the bow and it was a tight fit between the pulpit and transom against the mast, not to mention how it blocked my view. It was also clearly in the way of tacking headsails, it is an unlikely spot for storage. Either tow it or stow it below.

 

Inflatable dinghys are made from either PCV or Hypalon. Hypalon is by far the better material. PVC does not last nearly long in sunlight due to UV deterioration. Achilles is one major manufacturer of hypalon dinghys.

 

Dinghy or life raft

Sorry to jump in a little late, but it seems to me these are two separate issues. A dinghy is not a good life raft, and in serious conditions will not do what you need done. If you want a life raft, rent one, if this is your only trip, as opposed to taking off cruising for awhile.

Dinghy should not be towed unless you are going a relatively short distance and can wait for weather. Also, and this relates to the life raft question, you are better off storing them below, not on the foredeck. I have done both, I have towed them. If you are offshore and you need to work on the foredeck, changing sails for instance having the dinghy there is not only inconvenient it is downright dangerous. It will also interfere with you ability to anchor. I have been there and done that - having to re-secure an anchor that had broken loose in 45, gusting 55, knots, climbing over the inflated dinghy and wedging myself between the dinghy and the forestay. That is on a 47 foot boat with a 10 foot dinghy. Even an 8' dinghy on the bow of a 27' boat will present the same problem.

So if you think you need a life raft, (and I have done any number of long coastal trips without them, then get a life raft. Finally, tow the dinghy if you want to keep it inflated, but only on short, (read that daylight), trips, when you have suitable conditions.

 

BTW, I'd second the recommendation of the Porta-boat as a good dinghy. They're very tough, row well, and motor well. The only caveat I have is the plastic seats aren't as durable as the older wooden ones, so that making wood ones that are fiberglassed over is often done to make replacements.

 

Thanks for all of the comments guys. I'd really like to have a dingy, but the reason I'd have to sell it is because I'm just a student and I don't have that kind of money to spend, although I do have a credit card which would allow me to buy and then hopefully sell it and get my money back on it. As much I want a dingy it looks as though i'm going to have to just rent the life raft. The dingy would have been fun to go out and explore though. I'm glad I put up this post though because I had no idea you were able to rent these items.

Thanks again guys.

Steve

 

Stevyboy-

I don't think it is realistic for you to expect to buy a dinghy, use it and sell it for what you bought it for. If you're hoping to do that, you're probably going to lose money on the deal. Don't you have someone you can borrow a dinghy for the trip from??

 

sea eagle

We carried a sea eagle inflatable kayak aboard our oday 22 for 3 years. It is easy to carry and pretty cheap - around $300.

It's easy to paddle in rough water and really easy to stow.

Not very fancy but it will get you to shore if you want to get off the boat.