Mate has acquired this alloy dinghy that was built by or for the navy. Apparently there were 4 made. It looks like your standard inflatable but is all alloy and lighter than an equivalent inflatable. Floor is slightly concave and this thing is going to plane well! Still has some shipside grey on it and has Jervis Bay on the stern. Might have been used by divers I reckon. Anyone know anything about them?
He is going to polish it so it matches his alloy Cole 43!
I did a liveaboard dive holiday 20 years ago and they had something very similar. When we were picked up after a dive we got that many divers on it we managed to "sink " it . The water came over the front, flowed out the back over the tramsom. The operator sat on the cowling of the 20 HP outboard ,there was always room for one more .
Select to expand quoteoldboyracer said..
I did a liveaboard dive holiday 20 years ago and they had something very similar. When we were picked up after a dive we got that many divers on it we managed to "sink " it . The water came over the front, flowed out the back over the tramsom. The operator sat on the cowling of the 20 HP outboard ,there was always room for one more .
The previous owner filled the cockpit till the water lapped out over the stern and it still supported him with the head of the outboard well clear of the water.
I remember seeing it at Callala Bay about 3-4 years ago and thinking what neat little jobbie it was.
oceancraft.com.au if you want something similar, providing you can navigate his incredibly messy website.
Select to expand quoteLooseChange said..
I remember seeing it at Callala Bay about 3-4 years ago and thinking what neat little jobbie it was.
oceancraft.com.au if you want something similar, providing you can navigate his incredibly messy website.
Man that website is a blast from the past... 
I've seen one too up here in cairns. I always wondered about the weight and the alloy strength?
Select to expand quoteslammin said..
I've seen one too up here in cairns. I always wondered about the weight and the alloy strength?
The above mentioned Maggie from Delos is 3.3m long, fits on the fore deck quite neatly and has been known to carry seven people plus 1024 cans of beer and not a can was lost overboard. From memory Maggie is somewhere around 75kg.
The alloy would possibly be 5053 as it's commonly available and rated for marine use, the strength would come from the builder using the appropriate thickness where required.
This boat is well under 75kgs. Test run yesterday and planes easily with 3.5hp. Fits nicely on the foredeck. Has a couple of dents in the bow. Mate will open up the seams and tap out these and reweld. Interestingly the boat has no drains whatsoever.
