inflatable dinghy in the river wear !

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I'm wanting advice on dinghy's I cud poss use to travel up parts of the Wear...exploring diff parts that are harder to access on foot...I'm wanting ideally it to hold 2 adults plus a couple of rucksacks for "stealth camp/overnighter"..so any brands to poss look for..or stay away from ..I've a budget of under 300 quid...want to be able to plywood the inside out...don't want a loud yellow or orange colour.. Wanna be able to lug it at least 1/4 mile with 2 of us ...any thoughts appreciated.
 

Dannytsg

Native
Oct 18, 2008
1,825
6
England
I'm wanting advice on dinghy's I cud poss use to travel up parts of the Wear...exploring diff parts that are harder to access on foot...I'm wanting ideally it to hold 2 adults plus a couple of rucksacks for "stealth camp/overnighter"..so any brands to poss look for..or stay away from ..I've a budget of under 300 quid...want to be able to plywood the inside out...don't want a loud yellow or orange colour.. Wanna be able to lug it at least 1/4 mile with 2 of us ...any thoughts appreciated.

If you are on about putting a plywood floor in like a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) I would suggest you buy a RIB specifically as a normal inflatable won't be designed to take the stress against added solid surfaces.
 
Boatman...ideal colour suggestion..
John....I saw some YouTube bids where they plywooded the dinghy floor out for added strength..?!
Danny..I will look into Rib...boats ..i be never owned a boat ..but look a lot of fun and quiet too ..with paddles as I would like .! Cheers everyone
 

neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
736
226
Somerset
If you are on about putting a plywood floor in like a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) I would suggest you buy a RIB specifically as a normal inflatable won't be designed to take the stress against added solid surfaces.

When I was younger we always made plywood one piece floors for our inflatable dinghies, one time we had a socket and a broom handle sail and we flew all the way down loch lomond i think it was just powered by broom sail
 

mrcharly

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 25, 2011
3,257
44
North Yorkshire, UK
What method of propulsion are you thinking of using? Paddling or rowing an inflatable is a thankless task. An electric outboard would do a good job but then you have the weight of battery.

TBH, unless it HAS to be an inflatable, I'd suggest getting a canadian/open canoe.
 

jius

Member
Apr 12, 2015
15
0
All Over
Ive used these types on rivers before, perfectly fine for river like wear, unless you are going to parts of river with deep to shallow changing parts with constant rocks and rubbing, as you don't mention which part of Wear - its very varied in places. I did explore Wear as kid and we just had personal flotation jackets and sealed bags for full kit and floated down stream stopping at places we wanted to - you can always dry out by fire and have dry gear in sealed bag, little tricks like wear trunks for pants, shortie wetsuit all makes for quick dry. Its more 'stealthy' but more fun than anything.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/hudson-inflatable-kayak-3-man-id_8307033.html.
 
Ive used these types on rivers before, perfectly fine for river like wear, unless you are going to parts of river with deep to shallow changing parts with constant rocks and rubbing, as you don't mention which part of Wear - its very varied in places. I did explore Wear as kid and we just had personal flotation jackets and sealed bags for full kit and floated down stream stopping at places we wanted to - you can always dry out by fire and have dry gear in sealed bag, little tricks like wear trunks for pants, shortie wetsuit all makes for quick dry. Its more 'stealthy' but more fun than anything.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/hudson-inflatable-kayak-3-man-id_8307033.html.

Cheers guys..I'm wanting to just use paddles on the craft....no motor

And the parts of the Wear I'm really wanting to go on is from lambton area to Garfield and onwards to Hylton bridge along to wearmouth etc ...but I've never been down it before so
.I really don't know the actual depth of these areas ..I only really know durh city area and parts of Chester le st...when I was a kid ( too many hogweeds as I remember !?) Cheers
 

mrcharly

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 25, 2011
3,257
44
North Yorkshire, UK
That looks quite decent, jius. A good compromise.

With it being an inflatable, there will be little storage room inside the kayak, so don't plan on being able to carry much bulk.
 

jius

Member
Apr 12, 2015
15
0
All Over
Cheers guys..I'm wanting to just use paddles on the craft....no motor

And the parts of the Wear I'm really wanting to go on is from lambton area to Garfield and onwards to Hylton bridge along to wearmouth etc ...but I've never been down it before so
.I really don't know the actual depth of these areas ..I only really know durh city area and parts of Chester le st...when I was a kid ( too many hogweeds as I remember !?) Cheers
You'll cover that whole area in no time with the tide flow. All the shore bits are all like quicksand so will suck you into the mud if you try getting out to shore if your not careful, but around South Hylton there's a jetty type stretch if you want a rest, but as I said you'll cover area quick in a boat/dingy even just on muscle power. Not much areas for camping though as all bits are exposed or land where you'll not find much spots with the type of seclusion for 'wild camping'. As you get near to Pallion area onwards it does start to get a deeper, but with a strong undercurrent (although its not dredged as far up the river nowadays). So life/flotation jackets will be a must.
 

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