[Rhodes22-list] dinghy selection

[Mike Riter]

When I got my Mariner 4 I was surprised at the small size of the box it
came in. In my head I was saying it will never be that small again. It
comes with a carrying bag and despite all the bad reviews about it, I've
never had a problem with it. I don't break down the oars, but the boat does
fit into the carry bag just fine making it about 2.5' on the sides and
about a foot tall. Mine lives in the bag in the v-berth on the Rhodes. Set
up and take down with the manual pump takes about 10 minutes once you've
done it a time or two. It does have four separate chambers and if you have
any hope of getting it back in the storage bag you do have to pump out all
the air. After that, tri-fold into the middle length wise and then fold end
for end. I did add a strap around the middle to hold it folded up while I
shoved it in the bag.


Mike Riter
SV Emma B



On Sun, Mar 1, 2020 at 8:02 PM Jesse Shumaker <
jesse.laten.shumaker at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Mike, thanks for chiming in.  I haven't made a decision yet since I
> planned to hold off for a bit in case some more insight from the group
> might
> sway my opinion.  A lot of people on this list have experimented with
> different options so it's good to hear what has and hasn't worked for
> others.
>
> I had seen the Mariner 4 on Amazon when looking through options.  It gets
> great reviews and is very affordable.  It is helpful to hear your
> perspective since you have used it as a tender for the R22.  I plan on just
> using paddles/oars for whatever I end up getting for the trips in the
> foreseeable future, but it would be nice to have future flexibility to add
> a
> motor mount for a trolling motor for some longer trips down the road.  I
> see
> that there is a Mariner 3 as well which technically could hold 3 people but
> looks like that would be a squeeze, especially while rowing.
>
> I plan to use this for me and one or two other people.
>
> The mariner 3 is about double the weight of the kayaks I was looking at,
> and
> the mariner 4 is a bit more than that.  I was trying to stay on the light
> side so I could easily store it in the boat while trailering.
>
> The foot pump on the Sea Eagle seems like it would be easier on the back
> than the pump that comes with the others.  However, I have an 12V electric
> pump that I got for my stand up paddle board so as long as I pump up the
> dinghy by the vehicle (I wouldn't want to drain the battery on my R22 by
> doing that) then the manual pump isn't a big factor.
>
> How compact is the Mariner 4 when stored?  I live in a condo with limited
> storage space so that is a factor.
>
> Thanks for all the info!
>
>
>
> --
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>