8'2" or 8'9" dingy for 2012 R-25 SC?

[Evguy1]

We are looking to replace our old dingy for next season and hoping to take advantage of end of season discounts. Looking at the Stryker 250 or 270 RIB and wonder if anyone has had a problem with the larger 270 (8'9") length? The old dingy was 8'3" but the little bit larger would be nice.
It is mounted on Weaver davits.

 

[Evguy1]

No one has an opinion on this?

 

[scross]

We have had both a 240 on our R-25 Classic and now a 270 on our C-28.
The 270 definitely sticks out from both sides of the swim step and gets a lot of wake splash on the port side. We strap the dinghy as high as it will go on the 4” up by 4” out davits to minimize this but it’s still an issue.
The 270 is also shifted to the starboard side rather than centered. Because of the sloping up nose tubes this doesn’t cause any real problems with the dinghy bow rubbing on the dock. You want to measure to get the right amount of starboard shift though. We measured with the boat at a high dock and our normal fenders in position before mounting the davits to be sure we had a few inches of clearance.
The old 240 we had was a fiberglass RIB hull and actually 15 pounds heavier than our present 270 Zodiac aluminum RIB. As such the 270 is much easier to get vertical on the davits than the old 240. Would still do the 270 again if I had to choose.

 

[Martin610]

This depends somewhat on how you use it. I have a Highfield UL 240 on my C-28. Lightweight, easy to hoist onto the davits. Works well for two people. Three in a pinch. Doesn't catch much water from the wake.

If you frequently carry more than two people a bigger size may be of benefit. If not, maybe go with a 240.

-martin610

 

[Evguy1]

We have had both a 240 on our R-25 Classic and now a 270 on our C-28.
The 270 definitely sticks out from both sides of the swim step and gets a lot of wake splash on the port side. We strap the dinghy as high as it will go on the 4” up by 4” out davits to minimize this but it’s still an issue.
The 270 is also shifted to the starboard side rather than centered. Because of the sloping up nose tubes this doesn’t cause any real problems with the dinghy bow rubbing on the dock. You want to measure to get the right amount of starboard shift though. We measured with the boat at a high dock and our normal fenders in position before mounting the davits to be sure we had a few inches of clearance.
The old 240 we had was a fiberglass RIB hull and actually 15 pounds heavier than our present 270 Zodiac aluminum RIB. As such the 270 is much easier to get vertical on the davits than the old 240. Would still do the 270 again if I had to choose.View attachment 26529

Thanks for the response. It must be the angle of the pic but it looks huge on there. It looks like it sticks out a foot on either side but we know it does not. We are usually two, often three, occasionally 4 people and two small dogs. Sounds like the 270 is the best fit load wise just concerned about the width.

 

[scross]

Thanks for the response. It must be the angle of the pic but it looks huge on there. It looks like it sticks out a foot on either side but we know it does not. We are usually two, often three, occasionally 4 people and two small dogs. Sounds like the 270 is the best fit load wise just concerned about the width.

The C-28 has a 8’6” beam but the width at the forward end of the swim platform is about 7’. So with a 270, you have about 20” total sticking out from the swim platform width. But, the hull with at the transom is approximately 8’ wide so using that as a reference we have “only” 8.5” in total sticking outside the transom hull width.
We offset the davits, as mentioned, so that the starboard bow of the dinghy is 5” outside the transom hull width with the rest on the port side. With the 8” fenders we use on the starboard side, the dinghy clears the dock.