I didn't find a more suitable place to post this. If it's not of any interest to people, feel free to delete it.
I was in the market for a center console dinghy for my boat all summer long. I tried to find reviews of different manufactures and models, motors, etc. but I haven't found much of anything.
Maybe this is something that people don't care about. Maybe you just go to your local shop and buy what they have. I'm not like that (as anybody who has read any of my posts can probably figure out).
I was looking at a 12 or 15 foot RIB, center console with a 4 stroke motor on it. I was planning on towing it behind my boat, so davits or lifting wasn't going to be an issue (at least not at first, but maybe later).
I looked at the 'no names' first, wanting to save some money (Hey, these things are EXPENSIVE!)
I looked at Grand (I have one currently and like it) and Brig (a have a buddy that knows the distributor and can get them at cost). The higher end units from Grand are nice, but they're not really much cheaper than the big name brands. The high end Brig units pretty much sucked. Normally I wouldn't say something as inflamatory as that without lots of information to back it up (like my negative comments on the Raymarine E120), but I am confident I will not offend anyone with this statement because anybody who's bought one, must have recieved a better deal than I could get!
I then looked at Avon, Zodiac, and Caribe. First I went to their websites. All their websites are beyond useless. They don't really even show good pictures of the models. Avon's site shows a completely different model from what I've seen with the same model number. (If anybody is interested I can post links and pictures.)
I looked at the Zodiac, it's pretty famous for this kind of boat, after all. I didn't like the seating. The driver seatback is 90 degrees from the seat. It's not comfortable. The overall looks don't do anything special for me, and finally, Zodiac is French. Do I really want to drive a dinghy made by Cheese-eating surrender monkeys? (who can resist a joke at the expense of the French?)
I looked more closely at the Caribe's. I'd seen a few on the water, and I went to a dealership that had one when I buddy bought another inflatable. I liked them. My wife went in to the same dealership and the salesman pointed her to the Caribes (they also sold Avon and Zodiac) as being the smoothest ride, if not the fastest.
I started monitoring prices and deals. I thought that there may be some deals at this time of year because I figured there wouldn't be that many people buying boats right now.
After some emails and discussion, I made a great deal on a 15' Caribe with a 90 HP Yamaha 4 stroke. I got a depth finder, carpet, trailer and sunbrella cover included.
I still don't really know if I got the best dinghy I could, but I did the best that I could with the information I had. Maybe others have some more info??
Joined: 2007-09-24