For those of us who always have wanted a sailing dinghy that we can carry with us when we go cruising but have resisted because we don’t want another boat on deck while on passage, the solution is now available. The Tiwal 3 inflatable sailing dinghy fits neatly into two bags that can be stowed away at the bottom of a sail locker or in a spare cabin below decks.
The inflatable hull is made of high tech, PVC with a UV coating and internal strengthening so it can be inflated to a virtually rigid structure. The rack mounts on top of the hull and provides the support for mounting the mast and rudder. The rack frame is anodized aluminum and the mast is made of light weight carbon fiber laminate.
The Tiwal 3 is 10-feet 11 inches long and has a beam of four feet, six inches. The racks extend six inches on both sides so you can get your weight well outboard when sailing upwind. When assembled the boat weighs 110 pounds and can easily carry two adults under sail. The mainsail by North Sails is cut quite high for good visibility and is boomless so you don’t have to worry about getting bonked on the head.
The folks at Tiwal say that you can assemble or disassemble the boat in 20 minutes. The bags it stows in are 59 inches long and weigh 62 pounds each so they are manageable by on strong person.
Read more about the Tiwal 3 here.