The Nordik dinghy from Costco
A no-brainer dinghy decision
I was really tired of messing with the old red Hypalon dinghy. The bottom leaked, it was very heavy, and the black knobs on the side marked up the side of Reality Check like crazy. We'd tried to repair the bottom years before with some rubberized and expensive inflatable bottom paint. That sort of worked one season, but the bottom was too far gone. We could use the dinghy but you were definitely going to get your feet wet!
One day in 2008 I saw the Nordik dinghy at our local Costco - at $699 and 9'7" this was a GREAT buy! We needed a dinghy that was over 9 feet for two important reasons:
- Our Nissan 5HP outboard was heavy - an inflatable had to be big enough to handle the outboard without sinking the dinghy
- We need to transport our bikes on and off the boat
A great buy in a dinghy
This Nordik air deck dinghy is fantastic! It came with a huge dinghy storage bag. Handling it is a breeze for the two of us. It weighs about 80 pounds - we walk the dinghy in the bag onto the boat from the dock and inflate it on the foredeck for a Catalina trip. When we're at our destination (Avalon!) we just pick the dinghy up and throw it over the side.
What NOT to do with a dinghy
The Nordik is PVC and I was well aware that this material in a dinghy wasn't as tough at Hypalon. But at the Costco price it's worth it, besides after years of misusing the old dinghy I wasn't going to make these mistakes again:
- leaving the dinghy in the water when not in use is NOT good. Amazing how quick barnacles form when left in the ocean
- leaving the dinghy in the sun without a cover
- cleaning the dinghy bottom with ANYTHING other than plain old dish detergent as recommended in the instructions
Towing the dinghy, lifting the dinghy
A couple of nifty accessories for the dinghy -
- C-Level Dinghy Towing Bridle (Defender.com)
- C-Level Universal Dinghy lift
- This works great for lifting the dinghy from the water onto the foredeck. The instructions were a bit mystifying the first time but after that a piece of cake.
Storing the dinghy
I never take the air deck out of the dinghy. When we're done with it for the season it gets a bath, air dried, deflated, rolled up and put in the bag. I've stored the dinghy down below in the back berth, but it's easier to just take it home when we're not using it. Love that dinghy.
The Nordik AD 300 Dinghy manuals
The Nordik label sold through Costco is the SilverMarine Nemo AD300
Nordik AD 300 Dinghy Owners manual
Silver Marine AD 300 Dinghy Data Sheet
The Nordik dinghy sold through Costco doesn't come with a cover, got mine for $100 at boatersworld.com