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I soon discovered other problems with doughnut boats. They are nearly impossible to keep clean. Dirt imbeds in the fabric and does not want to come out. (If you are buying an inflatable, get a black one like the Navy Seals use.) With an outboard mounted, there's no place to sit except on one of the whoopee cushions, making it real easy to bounce around when encountering waves. Finally, I learned that its wide beam and high freeboard make an inflatable unrowable in anything stronger than a weak zephyr, especially with the pitiful little plastic oar stumps supplied.

DUMPING DOUGHNUTS
I stood it as long as I could. Every time I approached my boat, I winced and felt ill. After about a year, it was time for a change--time for a new hardshell dink. One of the last dinghies I owned was an old beat-up nine-foot Dyer Dhow. Dyer dinghies are the Rolls Royces of the dinghy world--they're beamy and stable, row well, and look like a boat. The nine-foot Dyer was conceived during World War II as a PT boat dinghy. Originally built of plywood, the design was converted to fiberglass in 1949, rendering it the oldest continuously produced fiberglass boat in the world. She really is a thing of beauty. The forward and middle thwarts are hung from the varnished oak gunnel on beautifully designed cast-bronze brackets. The three thwarts and transom are fabricated of teak. A lovely pair of varnished spruce oars--about seven feet long--are supplied, and two rowing positions are fitted. The bronze fittings, shiny oars, and teak and oak against gray and white fiberglass are stunning and really make your eyes feel good.

So I decided to order a new Dyer. Working with Steve Leahy at Dyer was a pleasure. Being the engineer that I am and never leaving well enough alone, I even specified some extra lay-up in the hull to take the point loads of the snap davits I had fitted. (This dinghy, too, would reside on the swim platform.) Like all good things, you must wait to have a Dyer built for you, and after 21⁄2 months, my little gem was finally delivered. I got everything hooked up and swung her into place, stood back on the marina float, and admired her springy sheer and beautifully rounded, proud bow. As soon as my Dyer was launched, I jumped in and rowed around. I immediately got that "old dinghy feeling" I had when I was a little kid.

Dyer reports something of a bladder boat backlash is now underway: Demand for its dinghies is up, so I know I'm not the only dinghy reactionary out there. Maybe this is due to the plethora of classic cruisers available today. Still, of the maybe 500 boats in my marina, I probably own the only hard-shell dinghy. Yeah, she is slow running--about 5 knots with a 3-hp outboard--but, where dinghies are most used (harbors), there is usually a 5-mph speed limit anyhow. Besides, I like to row, especially against the tide.

Tom Fexas is a marine engineer and designer of powerboats. His Web site is www.tomfexas.com.

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