The Hunt for a new Dinghy

Our hunt for a new Dingy

Our 7'11" Mercury Dinghy has passed it's expiration date, it's intent on letting go of it's preferred position atop of the water, it's time, it's overdue. Time to give up and let it go. Sad, but it's pretty insistent. First the slow air leak from all of the (3) tubes, a couple of seams began to let go and the latest, the sadest, is the sloshing sound of water inside the boat.

There are a few fundamentals when it comes to owning a boat:-

• Keep the water out
• Keep the Keel down and the Mast up
• Keep some method of propulsion
• Keep on smiling - you've got a boat!

That first one, 'Keep the water out' is #1 for a reason and if you have ever seen a sadder sight than a sailboat's mast sticking up out of the water then you'll get it. Keep the Water Out and our dinghy is not doing that anymore.

According to the Google University, our Hypalon Dinghy should have a life of between 7 and 15 years. We've had ours since 2011, it's 11 years old. We could get it repaired, probably cost between $500 and $1000 to fix depending on how many air leaks the pros find while fixing the water leak.

The current Mercury 240 Hypalon Dinghy is now off the boat, I have started to recover a few things from it that might be of use to us or to someone else.

Besides the old Hypalon fabric that is not worth a dime ( but if you're quick you can have it, reach out to me to see if it's in the garbage yet.)

I was able to save a few things:- 

• The fittings that our dinghy nav lights attach. They are really good and will get fixed to the new dinghy when we get one.
• The Fiberglass Seat. Can't see a use for it. Want it? reach out to me.
• A Sunbrella cover I made for the underside of the dinghy. We keep the dinghy on our foredeck and the Sunbrella cover minimizes the UV exposure of the dink. It probably won't fit a new dinghy, I made it custom fit for the old Mercury Dink. The Sunbrella cover is in great shape, but it will not fit whatever dinghy we purchase, so anyone want, $25, pick up sounds like a good deal for someone.

OK, now the search for a new dinghy. It's not the best time to buy as inflation is crazy right now, especially if it's anything to do with boars.

Most suppliers are just out of stock for 10' or shorter dinghies.  Most websites are showing not available till 2023. Most of the distributors I have called don't even reply, not by phone or by email and that's mostly Florida companies. One company did reply, Inflatable Boat Pros in Pompano Beach, I'm going to visit them when they have completed their move in a few weeks time. They actually have a few boats in stock, we'll see.

Ok, that's the plan. Wish me luck. Oh! If you want that seat for the Mercury Dinghy or the Sunbrella Cover, reach out to me (leave a comment with your contact info)

Paul