I bought a new dinghy and love it. This is a review of the Laguna 290 catamaran dinghy by Further Customs. For power is has a 6 HP Suzuki outboard engine with a Permatrim stabilizing hydrofoil.
After trying a number of different dinghies for my 27’ Newport sloop, in the summer of 2026 I finally found the right combination of dinghy type and outboard motor that fits my needs. The Further Customs Laguna 290 inflatable catamaran has an open bow. At first look my thought was that it would take on a lot of water at the front. I did have it out in a choppy sea, and it is a bit wet. That is OK with me, it’s for snorkeling primarily. The nice thing about this dinghy is that it gets on plane with a lightweight 6 HP.
I tried a number of different dinghies and outboards over the years. Lifting the outboard engine onto my stern rail bracket can be quite a chore. For example, I had a Tohatsu 8 HP 2 stroke. It was not super heavy but it was just a little bit too heavy for me. It is a twin cylinder 2 stroke engine. It’s a nice engine and got one dinghy, (a Whaley rigid hull) on plane and it was fast. However, it did not get the Laguna 290 on plane very easily, even with a stabilizing hydrofoil. I think the one I was using created too much drag.
The Suzuki 6 horsepower 4 stroke is a single cylinder engine and is more than adequate for the Laguna 290. I can get the 9 1/2′ long 290 on plane due to the wide bow. Due to the wide bow, I can ease back to half throttle and stay on plane. The Permatrim foil does not seem to cause much drag.
The reason I bought the 290 is I found that getting into typical dinghies is not easy. I love snorkeling and that is a big consideration. I tested this out and I find that I’m able to flop in and out of the front of the 290 with no trouble. On the other hand my previous inflatables were difficult to get into from the water, nearly impossible actually. I’m not a gymnast!
Another nice thing about the catamaran configuration is that when I tow it behind my boat I can snug it to this the transom and it tows like a dream. For example when backing out of my slip, turning around or just waiting for the drawbridge – it is no trouble.
Fortunately I have some dinghy davits mounted on the transform of my boat and I can actually use them to lift the front of the dinghy out of the water.
The first dinghy I had was a West marine 12 footer, too long for the davits on my boat (it’s only about 9 feet wide). It was nice with the Torqeedo electric outboard, but didn’t come close to getting on plane.
Next was a Whaly 270 rigid polyethylene which got on plane pretty good with a 8 horsepower 2 stroke Tohatsu. It was fast, but a little squirrely when on plane.
I then found an 8 foot inflatable which is short enough (generally) to lift in the davits on the back of the sailboat. However, I then realized it is not easy to get in to a standard inflatable dinghy. When swimming or snorkeling even with a boarding ladder it’s difficult to get back into the inflatable.
The open bow of the catamaran style dinghy is the way to go for me.
At this point I’m not sure how rough it would be before towing the Laguna 290 becomes a problem. It does tow well when snugged up against the transom of the sailboat. When towing the 290 tight against the transom, I can use davits to lift the front of the dinghy up and out of the water. This may prevent excessive water from getting in the dinghy. I think that if I took the motor off of the dinghy and put it on the stern rail then it might take rough water without too much trouble. Stay tuned…
Ideally I would like to get a Takacat catamaran because it is a catamaran configuration and the transom is open. It is not a standard transom, it is simply bars with a transom plate fixed between them. This would allow large amounts of water to simply run out of the back of the boat if things got rough. The Laguna 290 has a standard transom with a couple of scuppers that likely wouldn’t drain fast enough if large waves are coming into the dinghy while being towed. Time will tell. But overall, I love the 290 so far!