A dinghy is a small utility boat attached to a larger boat. Dinghies are rowboats, or have small outboard motors —some use a small sailing rig. Dinghies are necessary for any off-ship excursions from larger boats, outside of docking at suitably-sized ports or marinas.
When not in the above reference, a "dinghy" commonly refers to a similar boat originally developed from that use, but now used in its own right for dinghy sailing or rowing.

Types
Dinghies range in length from 2 to 6 m. Larger auxiliaries are called pinnaces or lifeboats. The best size of dinghy for most yachts is about 3.5 to 4 m, because this can carry a complete family or a family's provisions for a month. However yacht size usually is the limiting factor.
The favorite modern material for building a dinghy is glass-fiber reinforced polyester (GRP), because it requires the least care and never rots. Water penetrating the outer coat can cause blistering and delamination. This can be prevented with a barrier coat of epoxy resin.
Aluminium and marine plywood also work well. Carvel and clinker-built wooden dinghies are beautiful, and have finer lines and better handling, but they are usually somewhat heavier. Favored woods, in decreasing resistance to rot, are locust, mahogany, fir and spruce. Modern urethane varnishes are sturdy and help resist UV deterioration.
There are four common shapes for rigid dinghies.

Whaleboats are the classic premium rowboats, with a sharp bow, and stern fine lines and a canoe transom. They tip slightly, row, motor and sail the best because of their fine lines, but have less cargo capacity than prams.
Whitehall Rowboats are the water taxis of the late 1800's until the invention of the small gasoline outboard. They are considered one of the most refined rowboats for harbor and lake use. Whitehall Rowboats are a descendant of the Captain's Gig which was used for a similar purpose on a navel vessel.
Dorys are sharp-ended boats made of wood, fiberglass or aluminum. They cut the water well, but initial stability is low making them feel tippy in flat water. A loaded dory becomes more stable as more of the beam of the boat is submerged. Dorys are not generally used as service boats to yachts. A dory can be landed or launched through surf where a Whitehall may flouder.
Prams are like wide dorys with flat bows. They don't tip and carry a lot of cargo, but don't cut the water well.
Fiberglass boats are all molded, so whaleboats have supplanted dorys as working fishing craft, which were once less expensive because they were easier to build.

For inflatable boats, the Zodiac-type inflatable, with a rigid deck and transom, have proven superior for engines. They row and sail about as poorly as prams because of their blunt bows. Inflation makes them tough, with large reserves of buoyancy.
Folding and take-down multipiece dinghies also exist.
Bronze is the best material for hardware, followed by stainless steel. Working boats usually use galvanized steel, and replace the hardware every few years.

The Dinghy Problem
On yachts shorter than 10 m there is not enough room for a reasonable dinghy, but there is a genuine need for one, because anchorages are far less expensive than slips or dock space.
Owners of small yachts compromise. They carry a small rigid dinghy, tow a larger dinghy or deflate an inflatable.
Rigid dinghies for small yachts are very small (2 m) dinghies, usually with a pram (blunt) bow to get more beam (width) in a shorter length.
Larger dinghies can't be kept on deck, so they are towed. A towed dinghy should have reserve buouyancy, an automatic bailer and a cover, or it is likely to be lost at sea. Most masters prefer a tow long enough to put the dinghy on the back of the swell, to prevent the dinghy from ramming the transom of the yacht.
Inflatables take extra time to inflate, and tow badly. During an ocean passage, they fit easily in their place.
Some owners have experimented with a two-piece rigid dinghy that's towed in harbor and disassembled into two nesting pieces while off-shore. When the joining method was sturdy, these reported good results.

Essential hardware
A dinghy should have a strong ring on the bow, bolted through the keel in a position that will not score the yacht's deck when the dinghy is inverted on deck. The bow ring is used for the painter (tying to a dock), towing and anchoring.
The dinghy should also have two other rings, on each side of the stern transom.
All three rings are for lifting, and securing the dinghy for stowage.
The only other essential hardware are the oarlocks (see Propulsion, below). The boat can struggle along with a single sculling oarlock atop the transom. The oarlocks should have ropes and storage pockets, or permanent mounts.
The dinghy is generally inverted midships on yachts to avoid unbalancing the boat, and to keep the dinghy secure from waves. Inversion keeps water out of the dinghy. Most yachts launch their dinghies by hand, or with a simple lifting tackle rigged from the main mast. Davits over the transom are convenient and look good, but sailing in a heavy following sea can cause the loss of a dinghy.
When the dinghy is inverted amidships, many yacht owners prefer it to have hand-holds on its bottom. These help launch it, and also provide more handholds on deck.
If a dinghy is towed, an extra line with a loop in the end, known as a lazy painter should be attached to a thwart, cleat or mast step so that when the towing line breaks, there is an easy line to grab with a boat hook. This extra line makes retrieval easier at sea, especially if the boat is partially swamped.
On all dinghies a name and identifying numbers should be stenciled to prevent theft. The classic place is the bow, but a good place for inflatables is the inside of the transom. The name should not be that of the main yacht, because this makes a dinghy tied to the dock an invitation to steal from the main yacht. Outboards should be scruffy-looking, and locked to the dinghy with a security cable. The dinghy should be locked to its place when stored on deck in a harbour, or alongside a public dock.

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