Walker Bay RIDs

There will be added drag in some conditions, and the nine-footer is tough for one person to carry. Minor gripes aside, though, Walker Bay's addition of an inflatable tube was a great move.

Unlike a regular inflatable, the Walker Bay RID remains a slick-sided dinghy until weight onboard or waves outboard force the tubes into contact with the water. When they do hit the water, stability increases.

Back in the September 2001 issue, Practical Sailor reviewed, in the Chandlery section, the Walker Bay 8 and Walker Bay 10 dinghies. We chose that location in the magazine because it seemed to us, and still does, that these mass-produced, mass-marketed boats are bought and sold in a different way than dinghies and tenders and sailing prams have been in the past. They are positioned in West Marine and other chandleries almost as impulse buys, and over the years they've spread across the country and the world.…