[Leica] Red inflatable dinghy

[lrzeitlin at gmail.com (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

Dick writes:


http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/rtaylor/PICKS/2009_boating_pad/300_5480.jpg.html



or

http://tinyurl.com/knossx


This, for me is the picture - the red of the hemmothing  is balanced by

the tiles of the mansion -  an overall excellent compostion , more

atmospheric though, and less focussed on the boat , which was not your

primary goal I think ...



Finally, here's the alternate cropped so as to just clip the bow of

the dinghy again.  Looking at it now, I'm thinking maybe this is the

best one after all though it does feel a bit cramped to me.


http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/rtaylor/PICKS/2009_boating_pad/300_5480_crop.jpg.html



or

http://tinyurl.com/ma4mfz


Yes, but as in 1, leave her some more water to stay afloat, looks too

shallow and dangerous as is ;-)


Thanks Dick - a fine series and boat in any case.

Bien cordialement

Philippe



What to you think?


As to why they have an inflatable:  this boat is in charter service

and I suspect often sails with total neophytes on board.  Inflatables


are extremely stable and much easier for boating newbies to deal with


than traditional dinks.  Also, red is a highly desirable color for

safety that's probably why it was chosen, thinking again of the

newbies and maybe insurance costs, too.



Regards,


Dick


- - - - - - - - -


There is no really good place to mount a dinghy on deck on a sailboat less
than 40 feet long. And Sonny is right. Inflatables row poorly and are blown
around the water by the wind. They don't tow well either. A strong wind gust
or an errant wave can flip them over. Nor is deflating for storage much of
an asset. Most inflatables are blown up in the spring and deflated when the
snow falls. I don't think there is an insurance advantage either, at least
not for me. BUT inflatables are very kind to the finish on the topsiders of
a boat. It is almost impossible to scrape or gouge the paint with an
inflatable. If the pretty sailboat is in charter service, the owners
certainly want to avoid marring the topsides by inept handling of the dinghy
on the part of the charterers. Oh yes, another downside of inflatables is
that field mice have a taste for hypalon and PVC and will chew holes in any
inflatable that they can get at. This is not covered by insurance either.


Larry Z