There is so much to think about, learn and buy for the boat and this trip! One big hurdle for us was finding the right dinghy. We need to have one if we plan to anchor out at all and especially if we have either of the dogs with us. We didn’t want to have it be too big or heavy. How much are we actually going to use it?? Where do you keep it on the boat when inflated? How will we lift it? Who knew there were so many different types of dingys?? Chad did ALOT of research and ended up picking Takacat. He saw them at a booth at the MN Boat Show last winter and was really impressed. Takacat is an inflatable, lightweight dingy. It weighs less than 70 lbs!! Chad picked it up earlier this week so that we could try it out this weekend. There is an electric motor being delivered to our marina in VA later today…that way we don’t have to transport it ourselves next week and we also didn’t have to pay sales tax! We really like the idea of an electric motor. It won’t go as fast as an outboard, but it is much quieter, lighter and seems easier to lift and move around – plus we don’t need to have gas on board. Blue Odyssey is diesel and that would be just one more thing to worry about. Chad already has a solar panel and a battery to keep the electric charge up.
I didn’t get to try it out since I am still in my boot – don’t want to get it wet or sandy!! Linda probably wouldn’t let me back in the house!! Chad is happy. He says it moves right along and doesn’t take much to get moving. We had hoped to get a blue one, for the Blue Odyssey theme – but the one we had planned to buy, ended up with a hole in it and there were no more blue boats available anywhere in the country! So boring grey it is. I may try to make “chaps” for it at some point so we will have to look for some blue material! Dinghy chaps are like a leave-on cover for the topside of the tubes – protecting the tubes from harmful UV rays and chafing. Who knew??
