Dinghy Decisions

I inflated the dinghy in the garage this afternoon to see what this little boat is all about. The dinghy is the like the car is to a house. It is our means of getting to shore from the boat when we are at anchor. Kaleo has a draft (in water depth) of 5' 6" so she can't pull up to the shore unless there is a slip. In fact, in our slip she sits in the mud at low-tide.

So the dinghy will be our means of getting around the neighborhood when we are our cruising. The one that came with the boat is a West Marine 8-footer. The decision I am trying to make is, hard or rigid-inflatable dinghy?

We are going to take the dinghy back down to the boat and give it a try for a few months. No doubt this decision, like so many in cruising will involve lots of research, lots of differing opinions and ultimately just going with whatever works out.