Help Me Choose a Dinghy

To RIB or not to RIB: That is a Great Question!


As a Sail Boat owner you already know that maximizing space is the key to happy functional sailing. We intend to provide you with a few tips to choose the best dinghy option for your boat. Everyone wants a RIBs Rigid Inflatable Boats…But do you have room for an RIB? Will you be able to get it on the boat? Sometimes these questions can invole things like davits, motor lifts and swim platform mounts. If you determine you can make it happen there are lots of choices out there, choosing a quality RIB from a trusted manufacture can make you love your inflatable. We offer Zodiac and Achilles, both companies are trusted and tested through the years, The Achilles RIBs come in a deluxe and a light version making the options wide open to creating that perfect inflatable boat experience.

What if you are not in the “boat” for a RIB that’s fine too we have a great option for you, it is a high pressure air floor inflatable boat. These are offered by both Zodiac and Achilles and we would be happy to sell you either but today I would like to talk to you about the Zodiac Fastroller with the ACTI-V Floor and Keel. There is no other air floor inflatable boat like it. The Zodiac Fastroller is a PVC boat which gives them the ability to Thermobond or as we say “weld” the seems, by having welded seems you can get the pressure of the floor up to 11 to 11 ½ PSI versus a hypalon boat with glued seems that just have a working floor pressure of 8 to 8 ½ PSI. The Zodiac Fastroller also has a high pressure keel as the keel and the floor fill from one valve, not only is this convenient but the rigidity of the keel will give you a better performance over all. It is easy to inflate and deflate the average weight is 75 lbs and it stows in a bag. This option is great for boats with limited space you can roll it up put it away and when you need it again just inflate it, that’s right no assembly, no floor boards to get in place and no headaches.

There are also boats with wooden floor boards and the inflatable boat options are limitless, having a dealer who knows about the boats and the brands that stand the test of time can be a real advantage. We are here for you we not only sell the boats but we repair them that’s right a full service dealership specializing in fewer products so we can provide the best answer to every question even ones like “ To RIB or not to RIB”

Zodiac Fastroller 310

Spring is On the Way

Spring begins on March 20th....Have you made plans for using your boat? Are you getting ready for a fun summer on the water?
Triad Marine has everything you need to spruce up an old dinghy including a full service factory authorized repair facility.
We have parts and accessories as well as repair materials for the hands on do it yourself kind of people.
If you don't think your dinghy is worth sprucing up and you are thinking of a new one we can help. We sell quality name brand inflatable boats.
Our sales staff is committed to knowing about the boats we sell. We do not sell products that we have no knowledge of. We are an inflatable boat dealership not a warehouse store and not a super marine store. Why settle for any inflatable boat when you can buy a quality inflatable boat.

Spring specials and closeouts available take a peak at Triad's Webstore

Thoughts for Thursday

LIfe Raft

Dinghy

Today’s Thursday thought will be about Life Rafts and Dinghies!

Many of our customers come through our doors ready to purchase a dinghy… Never once do they mention a life raft. I have gotten to where sometimes I just ask “Do you have a life raft on the boat?” And here are two common responses I get


1. Yes but I could not tell you when we last serviced it …it came with the boat


2. No we are going to use the dinghy if we get in trouble…..


So here are my thoughts on each of these responses


1. SO you don’t know when the life raft was serviced last…How do you know it works? I guess some people are willing to take the chance that the CO2 that is in the bottle will still be there and still fill up the life raft….So this happens now…what does the equipment inside look like…is the raft going to stay together… Well having it serviced to meet the manufactures guidelines you increase the chances of everything working correctly on the life raft. You are more likely to produce a positive result and you will feel better knowing this. There are never any guarantees when you are in a survival situation but I like to think upping the odds sure feels nice.


2. Ok so you want to use the dinghy as a life raft….Life rafts are designed to deploy in less than one minute….Good to know in a survival situation because seconds can make the difference… Lets say you are in a weather related disaster and the wind is up, seas are high and your dinghy is not even inflated…Well it takes someone about 12-15 minutes to inflate the average 9-10 foot dinghy with a foot pump. This is in favorable conditions…OK so it is inflated… You have to get it into the water! No easy process here….and every boat is different. Once you get in the dinghy in the water well like I said the seas are high and the wind is blowing hard so your dinghy will likely turn over…Hopefully it will not blow away when this happens…Why won’t the life raft turn over and blow away? Well it is the ballast bags under the life raft; once you deploy the raft and get it into the water the ballast bags fill with water and help hold the raft down against the wind. The ballast bags also help the raft from flipping over…So there you have my thoughts comparing a life raft and a dinghy are like comparing an apple and an orange…They are not one in the same and they both have a purpose and should have a place on your boat!