But as someone mentions, anything will work. My first tender was a canoe....

I think one underrated danger is in fact choosing a hard dinghy that will fit on deck. Some boats are simply too small to allow anything but a very small dinghy to go on deck. I personally know of people lost to dangerous dinghys. Any dinghy, once it's overloaded is dangerous.

I could store a hard dink on my boats cabin. It was fitted for a Dyer Dhow 8' originally. But that dinghy would be dangerous for our use. We need a bigger boat with higher load carrying ability.

My only problems on the east coast towing a dinghy, and that's from the Exumas to nearly Canada, is when following seas cause problems. I now use a longer dinghy painter just for that purpose. But I also have a lot of experience with towing prams, and know how they behave in those conditions. Correctly designed, they are remarkable under tow.

And you're right, the time may come if you tow a dinghy, that you have to cast it off. That hasn't even been a close issue for me yet. But I would not under take "offshore" sailing with a dinghy in tow. We (sailors) may define the term, offshore, differently.

For the majority of sailors, the inflatable is the only way to go. I'm just one of those that prefers a rowing, sailing dinghy and it's simplicity.

It's a part of how we like to coastal sail and would be sorely missed if we had to go without.