Boat Trips – Ernie's Website and Blog

Laguna 290 Review

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!

Ya Bug Me Kid

Sunday June 28^th – Taking Scouts Snorkeling

Sunday morning we took out a bunch of newbie snorkelers with a few seasoned boaters mixed in.
On board today I have my mate, Rae and my crew leaders were Cole, Andrew and Ellison.

First stop is Calusa Rocks. It was kinda rough (not really, but for this group anything but lake conditions would be bumpy). I stayed close to shore where it’s not so rough because the shallow waters break up the wave energy in the Keys. The snorkeling is fantastic there.

Ya Bug Me Kid

It wasn’t that choppy but we did have about four kids get sick, two of which were throwing up. One of the two was pretty much the smallest kid on the boat. He was making the trip with Mom and kept asking me when we’re going to leave? Where are we going next? I was a little annoyed and just sort of said in my mind, “get lost kid, ya bug me”. I was busy with other things and I put him off a little bit. When he kept coming back around I kind of realized he was getting seasick and/or nervous. I could tell by the look on his face that he was concerned and a little un-easy. I pulled anchor a little early, taking into consideration people that are seasick – mostly the runt. It’s a difficult decision when most are having a good time snorkeling, and doing things that they pretty much came to SeaBase to do. It’s a bummer when you have a couple folks that are not having a good time and may want to go back to SeaBase or to somewhere where it’s calm. I assured the kid that we’re going to find some calm water and I could see relief in his face. Fortunately nearby was another spot called San Pedro.

We idled to the San Pedro wreck site from Calusa Rocks. Typically when the boat is moving people are less likely to get seasick, so we had lunch on the way to San Pedro. The two seasick kids – including the runt, didn’t eat. Using the term runt in this case is not derogatory at all, quite the opposite. The kid was so cute, he melted my heart! The 2 others came around and seem to be okay so we got to San Pedro and most if not all, were feeling better.

I kept checking on the 4 seasick kids, they felt better and even got the water to snorkel at the wreck of the San Pedro. It’s nothing spectacular, it’s just a historic wreck site with some replica cannons, anchor and memorial plaque. I made it a point to make it a quick dive. Fortunately I was able to tell everybody hey we’re on a mission to just go find the cannons, and then we’re going to move on to the next spot so that the seasick kids could have a better time.

The weather improved fortunately but the kids were still a little sick

We wrapped up quickly and left the ocean via Indian Key Channel, under the Overseas Highway and into Florida Bay. Grabbing a mooring ball at Lignum Vitae island to fun swim, all the queasy kids came around, feeling better! The two seasick kids didn’t eat lunch earlier, so it was good to see them eating sandwiches. As it turns out the “runt of the litter” sort of came alive. We were playing catch – I pull oranges out of the cooler and throw them to the kids (and occasionally the adults) as they jump off the boat. It’s a blast as they try to catch them. My new buddy really came around just had the best time – me too. I am sure that I’m the one who has the most fun. Kiddo buddied up to me and and he talked my ear. That made me feel pretty good. It’s great that it turned out to be a good day for him and I think everybody really had a really good. I’m so happy to be in this environment – this is like the my fountain of youth.I get a lot of exercise going up and down the ladder to the fly bridge. I’m jumping in the water to recover the the oranges that they can’t throw back to the boat after catching them. I’m just having the time of my life honestly. It tickles me to look at these kids and see them have fun. Just tickled pink.

Some of the adult leaders look at me like I’m nuts but I just had fun with the kids today. It was a little tough at first. Some of the kids were looking at me funny when I told them to jump off the side of the boat to catch oranges. First one, um, no thanks. Next one’s like, “I don’t know about this, no thanks… I don’t want to do that”. I gave up eventually but kept the oranges out, juggling. Eventually somebody got up the nerve to jump after an orange. Once the rest of them saw how much fun it was others joined. Adults then started taking pictures, loving it.

Sunday was one of those days where maybe half the kids were jumping in and having fun. Another bunch sat up in the fly bridge hanging out, the cool kids I suppose. All in all it was a very good day, another good day! I seem to have had a lot of good days so far this summer. Weather has a lot to do with it but it’s just been a blast. I’m fortunate to have good health and keep doing this… very fortunate.

110v Outlets On Bus

i don't mind the bus at all, it sure beats driving, and the price is right. The travel time is about the same, maybe better when you consider there is a rest room on the bus. I typically stop a lot when driving. Today I only had a 10 minute wait at mia intermodal.

Getting Close

We are now in Islamorada but the traffic is backed up, 15+ minute delay😞

On The Stretch

OK so I'm getting carried away with the posts. The bus is now on “the stretch”, which is the part of US1 between Homestead and Key Largo. Not long ago there were fires raging on both sides of the road. This is the original path of Henry Flagler's FEC railroad. The sidings of a railroad line are areas where cars could be stored to allow trains to pass on the main tracks. These wider area are now used as 2 lane passing areas – the travel lanes are single lane for the 20 mile stretch.

On The Bus

I'm using my phone navigation software to track my journey back to Islamorada. time is flying by as i work to document my travels. Later it's nice to relive the trip, as I do from time to time. For example my trip to Europe

The Sailing Adventure Continues On Dry Land

11am, April gave me a ride to the TriRail Train station in Fort Lauderdale so I can get to the Miami Airport Intermodal Travel Hub. I am now on a Flix/Greyhound bus to continue the journey to Islamorada, where my car is. the train and bus rides are relaxing to me and gives me an opportunity to fix my blog grammar mistakes made during my sail. i can also fill in the gaps and add content like I’m doing now.

At this point the biggest concern in my life is will I be able to catch the 301 bus from downtown Islamorada to where my car is, at my buddy Tom’s place? I left Tom’s dock earlier this week (I can’t remember the day without check my blog, but I’m editing it now)😄 So in that regard life is good. i enjoy these trips beginning to end.

I was totally exhausted last night having sailed a few days. I have learned a few tricks to make my short voyage more enjoyable, such as picking up a small pizza and salad at Habanos Restaurant in Islamorada prior to shoving off. I enjoyed that with a cold beer at the end of the day while anchored at Snake Creek before turning in for the night (When leaving Fort Lauderdale I hit Times Square Pizza).

Monday February 16th 5:00 p.m.

Today making my way to Biscayne Bay heading towards Key Biscayne. halfway through the bay, the wind changed direction, in a matter of minutes. Now I have a cool breeze in my face. With the sun setting soon, I’m going to motor for a couple of hours up to Key Biscayne, to anchor in the lee of Cape Florida. The wind is forecast to come from the north and switch to the northeast overnight so that would be a good spot to anchor for the night.

Tomorrow morning the winds are forecast to be from the east. Fortunately that will get me to Fort Lauderdale but the ocean will be a little bumpy. There is no way I want to go up the Intacoastal waterway and the countless drawbridges.

Chart View of Angelfish Creek

In Angelfish Creek there are lots of little creeks and islands around here… mangroves everywhere, beautiful!

Angelfish Creek

Angelfish Creek was shallow, about 5 feet at the entrance now 10 to 15 feet deep.

Monday February 16th Angel fish Creek

After a pleasant sail from Snake Creek I’m headed to the back side (not the ocean) to Card Sound. Then to Biscayne Bay to (maybe) hang around Adam’s Key and Elliott Key. The depth at the entrance to the creek on the Atlantic side was around 5 ft, it’s dead low tide.

Mainsail Reefed and Headsail Furled Slightly

As I mentioned in my previous post it looks like there may be weather ahead. As a matter of fact the weather service mentioned that a front Will be moving through, and the winds will switch the northwest eventually. I will be ready unexpected changes.