Buying and choosing the boat itself: sail or power, new or used, the tender and its outboard, inflatables and RIBs, and personal watercraft — what each is good at and what it costs to keep.
For most cruising boats of 9–14 m (30–45 ft), a 2.6–3.1 m inflatable with an aluminium hull — an aluminium RIB — in Hypalon fabric. It planes with a 8–10 hp outboard carrying two people, lands on rock and coral without damage, and is light enough for two to lift onto davits. If you cannot stow a rigid hull, a high-pressure air-floor inflatable is the compromise: it rolls up into a locker but will not take rough beaches or plane as well. Buy for the shore trips you make every day, not the one long excursion a season.
What size outboard do I need for a dinghy?
It depends on whether you want to plane. A 2.5–3.5 hp four-stroke pushes any 2.4–3.1 m dinghy at displacement speed, about 4–5 knots, with two aboard, and weighs roughly 13–18 kg (29–40 lb), which one person can lift onto a rail bracket. To plane a 2.7–3.1 m RIB with two people you need around 8–15 hp, and those engines weigh 35–50 kg (77–110 lb) and need a hoist. Never exceed the maximum horsepower on the dinghy's capacity plate; in the US that plate is required by USCG rules for boats under 6 m.
Is PVC or Hypalon better for an inflatable dinghy?
Hypalon (now sold as CSM, since the DuPont brand was discontinued) resists ultraviolet light, heat, fuel and abrasion far better than PVC and is glued rather than welded, so it can be repaired reliably. It typically costs 30–60 percent more. PVC is fine for a dinghy that lives under a cover in a temperate climate and is used a few weekends a year. For a tender that sits in tropical or Mediterranean sun for whole seasons, PVC seams and fabric can fail within three to five years, while Hypalon commonly lasts ten to fifteen.