Actually, even if you don’t want to rip around like you have testosterone poisoning, these new inflatables may prove to be a significant innovation. It’s kind of a “why didn’t I think of that?” design, but by adding some 6 inch diameter speed tubes to the bottoms of the regular tubes on a flat bottom inflatable, you get the equivalent of a tunnel hull catamaran hull form. New in the West Marine catalog this year, these PVC inflatables from CI Marine come in two designs—the Sport, which is an all out performance model, and the CAT, which looks more like a regular dinghy when it’s sitting still. Both models have removable floorboards and roll-up for easier storage than a RIB. They promise high performance and great stability, and seem to be able to be able to handle larger outboards for their size. And there’s some suggestion that a Hypalon version may be coming (repeat after me, “I will not buy a PVC dink for cruising…”). It occurs to me that a design like this might be more amenable to rowing and sailing rigs that a RIB—I’ll be interested to see if they expand their horizons beyond going fast as heck.
Xtreme Dink
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