In your considerations, don't underestimate the toughness of the Hypalon type fabrics in that Zodiac inflatable (I'm assuming it's Hypalon or equivalent - if it's PVC then it's past life expectancy, see below). If you've never seen what river rafts and inflatable river kayaks etc. (same material) go thru...that stuff can take a lot of punishment. I've borrowed a friend's inflatable river kayak that is probably 20 years old at least and had a *lot* of use. It's scuffed up some but otherwise solid. Unless those crushed shell beaches are cutting up the soles of your shoes when you walk on them, they will probably not be a problem for pulling the Zodiac across them now and again. The west marine tender might row a bit better, but otherwise I'd go with the Zodiac for the reasons you mention. Inflation and deflation can seem a hassle if you do that frequently for transport or storage. But with a power blower it's not that bad. Age would be my one concern. If the boat is little used and stored inside it's less a concern. However aging of the glues could be a factor. Here's one article on what to consider: https://pumpupboats.com/life-expectancy-inflatable-boats/ If you do a search on life span of zodiac inflatable you'll get more info to consider. My hunch would be the build quality was better that many years ago. cheers, John On 5/20/21 8:40 AM, Andrei Caldararu via montgomery_boats wrote:
Hello fellow Monty owners,
For this year I have decided to moor my M17 in a small bay on Lake Michigan, by our house. To get to it I need some kind of dinghy. I don’t want something expensive, and I narrowed my choices to two options. One is an older Zodiac 8’ inflatable (C250, with rigid flat wood floor), the other is a West Marine 9.4 trihull tender. Either of them would come with a 2.5hp outboard, and the WM one would also come with oars.
My research shows that each has its advantages. The inflatable can be easily stowed under the deck when I go away for a trip for a few days. For the winter it does not take up space in the garage. Being lighter, I can lift it up easily by myself. The trihull can be left outside over the summer; can be rowed; and I can drag it over our beach (which is made of crushed up shells, so would puncture the inflatable). Plus it probably has a longer life. But I would not be able to take it with me to use as a tender, and would be a PIA to move anywhere. (I don’t have a trailer or a pickup truck, so putting it on top of the car is hard.)
I am now slightly leaning towards the inflatable, but I am concerned about its age. It is 32 years old, but appears to have been mostly kept in its bag. It holds up air just fine, a week after being inflated it was still hard.
What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks, Andrei.
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com