Best Dinghy for Cruising: AB vs Highfield vs Walker Bay vs Zodiac

The dinghy is the second most important boat you own — and the one you'll use more often than the first. Our dinghy article covered selection principles, maintenance, and repair. This article compares the four brands that dominate the cruising dinghy market: AB Inflatables, Highfield, Walker Bay, and Zodiac. Each offers a different balance of construction quality, weight, performance, and price.

We're focusing on RIBs (rigid inflatable boats) in the 2.7-3.5 meter (9-11.5 foot) range — the size that fits on davits, handles a cruising couple's daily needs, and accepts the 9.9-15 HP outboard that's standard for the cruising fleet.

What Matters in a Cruising Dinghy

Tube material. Hypalon (CSM) lasts 8-12 years in the tropics with proper care. PVC lasts 3-5 years before UV degradation and seam failure become issues. For full-time tropical cruising, Hypalon is the only serious choice. For occasional use in temperate climates, PVC is a reasonable budget option.

Hull material. Aluminum is lighter, more durable, and handles beach landings and coral better than fiberglass. Fiberglass provides a smoother ride and is easier to fair and paint, but it cracks on impact. For a cruising dinghy that will be beached, dragged, loaded, and abused daily, aluminum wins.

Weight. You'll hoist this dinghy on davits, drag it up beaches, and occasionally carry it across a dock. Every kilogram matters. A 10-foot aluminum-hulled RIB with Hypalon tubes weighs 45-65 kg depending on brand and construction — manageable for two people but not trivial.

Floor rigidity. The floor must be rigid enough to stand on comfortably and to transfer outboard thrust efficiently for planing. Aluminum plate floors (welded or bolted) are the most rigid. Fiberglass floors are nearly as rigid. Drop-stitch inflatable floors are a lighter alternative that's become increasingly viable but doesn't match the rigidity of a true RIB for planing performance.

Transom strength. The transom takes the full thrust of the outboard and the shock of every wave impact. It must be reinforced, properly glued to the tubes, and designed for the maximum horsepower rating. Transom failure — the tubes separating from the transom — is the catastrophic dinghy failure mode. Buy a dinghy from a manufacturer that takes transom engineering seriously.

The Contenders

AB Inflatables

The brand: AB Inflatables, based in Latvia, is the dominant brand among serious cruisers worldwide. Walk any anchorage in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, or Pacific, and AB dinghies are everywhere. The company has been manufacturing inflatables since 1968 and has built its reputation on construction quality and Hypalon tubes.

Key models: