Can You Row an Inflatable Dinghy?

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

This video was meant to be a fun practical test of our current dinghy and setup. I was just curious if ours would row reasonably if we ever had to row it. Obviously if we had longer oars, took the motor off, and had a sail it would go much faster but that's not the setup we would have if our motor ever broke down and we had to row (maybe longer oars in the future because that's easy enough). Ben's dinghy was just more of a representation of how a real rowing dinghy would be.

[@sailingonchallanger4024]

What fun. Two of my favourite channels together. Dan

[@bokendrick6553]

GREAT pairing with Sailboat Story. Super subject matter. Look forward to seeing more.

[@randylinn502]

Sailboatstory & Tula's endless summer, love both you guys!! Great channels...

[@fxpthl]

Whar fun people the Sailboat Story family are! Great comparison of these two very different dinghy. Missed seeing Sierra!

[@BernieYohan]

I watch both your channels.

[@michellesar6]

WOW! My two favorite KZbin channels together. Life is good. 😉

[@hotrodhog2170]

"Life is Good" is another youtube channel altogether.

[@wickedcapital9765]

Two of my all-time favorite sailing channels together at once! Loved it! Thanks for both of you making my Thursday night soooo much better :)

[@corvairchris82]

I loved it, two of my favorite channels Tula and Sailboat story together to race dinghies. Ben did an awesome job on his Chameleon.

[@dirkhelmstaedt2072]

Best advice we ever got was...get the biggest dinghy and OB you and your boat can manage...yours is awesome! So, I used to raft guide and paddle, a lot, and you could try "bow guiding" your RIB in a pinch too. Use one oar like a canoe paddle and lay out the front of the boat over the bow, and sort of paddle/draw the water...you'll get wet but it can be easier depending on the situation...cheers, hope to run into you guys out there some day, we are about 9 months away from heading our again!

[@paulkube3901]

What a treat! Billy and Ben, Molly and Tambi . Great to see y"'all together; but where's Sierra?

[@philabbey3315]

Great video for those looking to purchase a dingy. Thanks love all your videos.

[@bmorrison0070]

Great video and really helpful. I watch both channels and love each of them. The KZbin community of sailors is so helpful to each other. So much better than regular drama TV. Cheers to both of you.

[@graeme-sailingskeptic]

so cool to see you guys hanging out together.

[@orgazmic13]

Definitely think you need some longer oars.

[@richardshippful]

I love Sail Boat Story, Ben is an excellent editor, and makes very enjoyable videos, plus who doesn't love Molly and Tamby.

[@MsStrong30]

Thanks Billy! I've been thinking that I will want a dinghy that I can sail and this was a good comparison!

[@MrRourk]

Do you watch Sailing Yacht Florence?

[@MsStrong30]

@@MrRourk I guess I do now! Thanks for the heads up.

[@satguy]

Two of my favorite's together 👍👍

[@danielthecyborg8933]

Would have been more interesting if you had longer oars for the inflatable. Also if you would have removed the extra weight that Ben didn't have in his. Both of those factors would have had an impact on performance. Ben really did a good job on his dingy, been thinking about building one myself for use on my local lakes around here in Missouri.

[@SugaSuga76]

The teacher in me absolutely loves Molly’s participation in this. Very awesome.

[@carleenh4946]

So I'm only 3 minutes in to the video and I LOVE it! Two great channels coming together with a really great comparison. We have both kinds of dinghy and our hard dinghy rows like a dream, the inflatable ....not so much. ok, now to watch the rest.

[@fairwind3111]

That was cool too, from a rowing family will say just for fun,,,but on the outher hand last year we got a small takacat inflatable, with no intentions to ever row it, It rows great way better than a rigid inflatable or soft bottom, now we row more than motor for beach landings. Never would have thought it but very happy with it!

[@jpthedelawarebeeman6239]

Looks like you had some rain coming in ! Stay dry warm and safe guys. We missed Jetty and Sierra

[@davegibson3517]

Two of my favourite Channels. Awesome video.😀

[@robertgarbe6348]

Very cute video, sandflea is a cool boat great to see you together.

[@daveamies5031]

I had an inflatable (inflatable floor and centre tube to make the V) with the same oarlocks as yours, I rowed it regularly and it was much harder to row than a hard dingy same experience as you, but much easier to load on roof racks (I don't think I could lift the fibreglass dingy to the roof racks). What eventually happens is the rubber pads that the oarlocks are mounted on peel off the hull of the inflatable from rowing, I rowed it about 1-2 times a month for about a year then the oarlocks just peeled off one day when rowing. so really it's not designed to be rowed regularly.

[@gregmiller1951]

4k looks great guys....love your vids and adventures! Can't wait to see where you go from here!

[@timharrison9060]

Having Molly call out your speed..... really nice..... watched the build of the "other" dinghy :)

[@richardluyet5696]

Good to see the two of you together. I follow both of you.

[@nsw1959]

Two of my favorite channels! Great fun and an excellent comparison.

[@netpackrat]

When I was growing up my dad had a 12' Achilles that we used as a river skiff for fishing. We had the oars and oarlocks for it, which we only used once or twice I think. To say that it sucked to row would be an understatement. We still carried the oars with us but they mostly got used for fending off the riverbank, etc. I built an 8' D5 dinghy last year and I was a bit surprised at how well it rowed once I got the collars on my 7' oars positioned correctly. Of course my wife is in the local rowing club and is used to racing shells, so she hasn't expressed any desire to try rowing the dinghy.

[@ryfish5]

Two of the best, together. Made my day!

[@byronjamerson4198]

Cool to see you guys together- two of my favorites. Nice boat test!

[@bobhidley9037]

What a fun episode, thanks! It was a brilliant idea to conjure up this 'battle of the oars.' Had me smiling for 17 minutes!

[@joesphbest3120]

I use to row a wood boat in the canals & ICW when I lived there, had to watch the tides so I wouldn't get pulled out to sea, tie on some ones dock. That was way before your time.

[@chriss8718]

it was a great series watching him build that dingy

[@jessereedpaintingsvmatador7009]

I had to row my zodiac a half mile into the dock with an out going current= not fun, lol... I almost got taken out the channel but I made it in, I always have a handheld VHF just in case.. Cheers !

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

yes, we always carry a handheld especially when going out a ways in the Bahamas!

[@paul-kayak]

Thanks for sharing. Fun experiment would be to see if having the motor down to hold a track would slow you or let you focus your power on forward momentum. Just a thought.

[@bestfriendsrving-sailing8329]

our favourite two youtubers...

[@kendalvandoren8597]

Looks like a great back and arm workout😊

[@joninewton3873]

That was an awesome experiment to all, very interesting!!❤

[@brianjernigan1559]

Great video man thanks . Knowledge is always helpful 🤟

[@waynemazan7485]

Love the crew of the sandflea

[@petermyers479]

Cool comparison. All boats, in my experience are a trade off. Really nice rowing dinghy. I had a 9’ sailing dinghy, not terribly practical but a lot of fun but I didn’t cruise much, mostly weekending. Anyway, thanks for an entertaining video.

[@chasemixon6327]

Loved the collaboration! great job!

[@klausmontag2801]

Hi Guys, has been a wonderfull comparssion of the two dinghy's. Thanks for that. Have you ever thought about sailing your inflatable instead of rowing? Daggerboards can be mounted at the orelocks, rigging up a little mast, may be a Surfboard rigg or something similiar, won't be a Problem. Might be interesting too. Fair winds and following seas

[@pbnn735]

Cool comparison. If you want an inflatable that rows ok (if it doesn't blow too much) then I recommend Taka cat. I have the "lite" one and it's super easy to get in and out of the water! They are catamarans so they do not exist with hard bottom.

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

that's an interesting little boat. what length oars do you row with it? do they clear out of the water on the recovery stroke?

[@pbnn735]

@@Tulasendlesssummer I do not have the exact measure of the oars but they are the originals. They are longer "inboard", the distance between the handles is about 30mm (1") which gives more power. I'm thinking of doing a little longer new ones in carbon. I think the attachment of the oars to the hull puts the limit on how much force can be transferred. Your dinghy has too large a wet surface to be easy to row but is therefore wery stable instead. My Takacat is stable, fast for engine, easy to row and wery light but not as rugged as a dinghy with hard hull but I chose it because of the weight (I have a trimaran). All dinghies are compromises it's about taking the one that suits you best.

[@MrRourk]

Careful Billy Sierra will want one of those! I'm not talking about the dingy. :)

[@richardshippful]

Molly is a treat

[@gg5115]

I hope you two are okay. Not sure you've gone this long without posting. Best wishes. :)

[@robfraley4210]

What a contest, Molly was a trip...!!

[@ernestdougherty3162]

That was a good video I would have never thought about doing that challenge hope you all are doing good miss the little lady I hope she's doing good and jetty Happy New year to you all

[@robertaderholdt890]

Another great video Ben, oh ya, good one Billy!

[@mrdave22]

i've said it before, i'm not a fan of inflatables. lots of people are though, to each their own. i liked your old boston whaler, they are great boats. ben explained it perfectly, you assess your wants and needs and get what's best for you. thumbs up, thanks for sharing.

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

exactly, there is always a trade-off somewhere. Which whaler did you like, the squall or the 16'?

[@mrdave22]

@@Tulasendlesssummer i really liked your 16'.

[@TODDFINK1]

Great vid! Love both of your channels.

[@tzepp27]

Great Video Thanks!

[@frankrice5364]

Guys friend goes a long way great vedio thank u

[@ianmoone2359]

Inflatable Dinghy? Cute! Round here that’s a euphemism for “Crocodile Teething Ring”! 😂😂👍

[@mattwhite9398]

Hey Billy, you mentioned posting another video with Sailboat Story 17:09 - did I miss that or did it not come together given all the work on the boat that followed this? Thaks! Love both channels!

[@bill4nier]

Great video, Billy! I think some longer oars would sure help, but then it's only for when the motor quits so... Good points made after the comparison.... Thanks for sharing... 👍👍👍👍👍👍😊⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵

[@atlanticocean640]

Only way to get a rubber zodiac or similar make rafts is to scull row it. Easy to make the ring that the oar goes through on the transom. It acts as your propulsion and steering. Kinda hard getting the sculling technique down but once u got it. Your mint.

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

interesting, i've always wanted to try sculling a dinghy. interesting to hear you think it would work better than rowing an inflatable. we might have to try!

[@atlanticocean640]

It works. It’s how I get around in tight and shallow areas without using an outboard or an outboard that’s broken down. It really works.

[@dandixon4034]

Cool comparison, there’s no way that the rubber is going to out run the fiberglass, but longer orders on the rubber dinghy would help, love ya,ll

[@babyboy6179]

best two youtuve channel

[@SVImpavidus]

Great video guys. Ben's summary was very good. Excellent data collection by Molly! Just wondering does your Highfield seat bag detach? Ours needed some mods on the sewing machine to make it a shoulder bag. We can now get our sandbags in it to carry ashore :-) We did a vid, "Love me tender" from last year. We had not got our video software then so its a bit jerky but your get the point. You may want to take a look. Sail safe all of you. Thanks for an entertaining video, looking forward to the next one!! Ant & Cid xx

[@unclebob6728]

In Belize, our dinghy motor died a 1/2 mile downwind from our boat at night in 25 knots. We could make no headway back to the boat against the wind & chop with the oars. 5 were people in the dinghy. It had an anchor onboard and we got back to the boat by throwing the anchor forward 10 ft at a time and kedging.

[@whitewaterplayboating]

Love Sailboat Story!! Fun video!!

[@mikeg7924]

Great collaborative video. Both great channels. That's a big RIB. Lucky you've got the beam to carry it. What size is it?

[@brettschultz3866]

my two favs

[@gavsintasmaina]

Love your work !

[@scottpetrone6284]

Looks like your orders are on the shorter side due to the fact that there portable if I saw it right. The other or seem to bite more of the water hence propelling you a little quicker. Another thing that were determined your speed is the chine of the power of the haul. Pointier bow chine cuts through water versus flat. Excellent content none the less.

[@svmagnolia]

Was that in Hobe Sound? Great video, as always.

[@linda-MyLifeAndOtherAnecdotes]

“TAKE IT TO 10!!” 🤣🤣🤣👍🏻

[@Bobswartz]

I guess another consideration in choosing a tender is whether or not you have a life raft on board?

[@MrRourk]

There is a tender that is certified as a life raft.

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

we do not have a dedicated life raft and would use this inflatable if we ever had to abandon ship

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

what's it called?

[@MrRourk]

Portland Pudgywww.portlandpudgy.com/

[@Sun-Soul]

That was fun to watch!

[@RVLifeNOW]

Fun video...just subscribed!

[@sailingtoatlantisandliveab2455]

Interesting comparison but …. It would be almost impossible to row any dinghy which has oars so short relative to the size of the boat. Your hands should almost meet when holding the handles of the oars in order to give you leverage and with a proportionate length of oar outboard of the dinghy. I recently bought a slatted inflatable dinghy which was on offer at the local chandlers. That was a mistake because when I got into the dinghy, the floor and dinghy wobbled all over the place. So I dropped in a piece of plywood on top of the slats as a floor. It came with two reasonably long aluminium oars in two sections. I inserted the seat that came with it and which was mounted in the centre of the boat. It was impossible to row because the position of the seat forced my legs into the air (ie not enough legroom) and I could not pull on the oars as my knees were in the way. So this morning I ditched the seat, and inserted an upturned beer crate which I positioned further forward. This time I was able to row the boat fairly well, and it went straight though I doubt if I could do so for long distances without making further improvements. As your dinghy looks fairly expensive and has a solid floor, I suggest you buy for it (or have made) some sensible oars and if necessary even invent some proper rowlocks too, because the oars that came with it are, in a word, useless.

[@asterixky]

Wondering if stern sculling would work better for the inflatable.

[@DavidSmith-ks2nj]

Two great sailing channels having stroke/row off.

[@stephenferguson1870]

Great video like always, where’s Sierra and Jetty????

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

they were spending time with Sierra's fam

[@edwardtye4119]

I managed to row an inflatable at 6 knots flat out, with my brother, two litres of water and an anchor on board, but no engine. I could cruise at about 5/10 effort at around 4 knots. I haven't measured speed in a rigid one yet, though.

[@TheBanjoman]

great video content - we all know a motor on a dingy can get you somewhere - is there a way to lock a motor to a boat?

[@learjet45]

While you guys are back in Florida why not spend some time with Darcizzle for some fishing tips, they're down in Boynton.

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

put us in touch!!

[@silentsupreme4874]

7:14 Molly is going places

[@giovannibazzini1403]

Really cool video!

[@stanthology]

Rowing must be the best whole body exercise.

[@howtopopo7118]

You should teach Jetty some neat tricks and make a video on it!

[@jrp616]

The length of those oars was more of a factor than the boat itself. I rowed much larger inflatables down the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. They always taught us that the proper size oar was the inboard loom in inches(half distance between the oar locks) times 25 divided by 7, gave the best oar length in inches; and for best leverage you should have 7/25 of that length inside the oar locks and 18/25 outside. Best when your hands are only a few inches apart when rowing.

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

very interesting, thanks for the info. according to that formula our oars would be just over 15' long. maybe practical for another application but never for a dinghy. I would say that we could probably get 7' or 8' oars that would be practical, a big improvement, and fit mounted inside the boat where the old ones mount but hopefully we just never really have to row it too much. anyway, I definitely think it was still a fair test because these are the stock oars the boat came with. Thanks for the info!

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

just checking that math again, are ya sure you have it right? by inside look do you actually mean oarlock to oarlock or do you mean oarlock to halfway? 7/25 of 15' is almost the measurement between the locks

[@jrp616]

@@Tulasendlesssummer sorry I did leave out the "half". if your oar lock to oar lock distance is 48", then its 24"x25 /7 = 85.7" rounded down to 84 or 7 ft

[@danasims6074]

Awesome video...Stay Safe❤️❤️❤️

[@Michael-cf9lf]

Good fun.

[@srqlisa7881]

speaking of emergencies how often do you have to check your emergency liferaft?

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

we do not have an emergency life raft and probably never will on this boat

[@beeamerican3767]

very interesting but do you like lay awake at night thinking up this stuff LOL

[@MrRourk]

That's Sierra's Job!

[@embarcadosviedma]

Hi!!! what is the row lenth? thanks!

[@taythorn]

I miss the Boston whaler dingy. I can’t remember if he demonstrated the sail.

[@manateediyclub]

I love and follow both channels here on you tube. Would like to start my own sailing channel in Hungarian language.

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

Do it!!

[@hotrodhog2170]

You talked about the weight of your dinghy and engine and stuff in it bit you didn't do a comparison weight of the other dinghy. That is something else that made it glide better also

[@snapstring3134]

The verdict is in ( DOABLE)

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

absoultely!

[@MegaTriumph1]

Billy is the rowing Hulk.

[@SuperDave-vj9en]

Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, as long as there is no wind.

[@akbmunsell]

Shorter but quicker strokes are more efficient, less energy goes in to the oar going down in the water and up.

[@richardsteele928]

What did you do with Seara?

[@Tulasendlesssummer]

Sierra was spending some time with her family

[@dreupen]

OK, poor comparison. You should be more realistic. Try rowing an actual inflatable and not a rib. BIG difference. The rib rows much easier whereas rowing an inflatable windward in moderate winds is really TUFF! Also, compare rowing without the engine (or put your engine on the hard dinghy), and your rib oars are too short for the rib. With longer oars and no engine, you would hum right along (but still not as nicely as the hard dinghy)