# How Big Is Your Dinghy



## Squidd (Sep 26, 2011)

I'm in the market for a new dinghy, something I can hang a motor on, I'm getting tiered of rowing in circles in my current blow up toy...

I currently have a West Marine "Mini Dinghy" and a 27' boat, at 6' the dinghy fits nicely on the fore deck but with two people and a "small" dog it gets pretty crowded, also with no motor it's a hassle to "shuttle" several people from boat to shore...

I can see this is going to be an area of "compromise" as I would like a 10' RIB with 20 hp motor and center console but don't have the room for one nor the sail power to drag one along...I have seen the 6' solid back air floor dinghy from Mercury, but with the extended sponsons, is smaller interior than my current dinghy...

Next size up is a 7'6" unit or an 8' unit...both a little large for the fore deck, but I like the extra room...9' and 10' are going to be just to large to be practical...

So how do you choose a size.. do I go for interior comfort and room and put up with storage hassles, or stay small and stowable and put up with minimal room and multiple trips to shore...?


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## Minnesail (Feb 19, 2013)

> How Big Is Your Dinghy


Snicker. Yes, I'm 12 years old.


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## Squidd (Sep 26, 2011)

Come on now... serious question...

Do you sacrifice comfort or convenience?


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## TomMaine (Dec 21, 2010)

Squidd said:


> So how do you choose a size.. do I go for interior comfort and room and put up with storage hassles, or stay small and stowable and put up with minimal room and multiple trips to shore...?


This is such a difficult question. I know you're asking about inflatables, but even though we row a hard dinghy, it's all the same for me. Here's my opinion: For a tender, I want the biggest size that is reasonable for my use(which is tow everywhere).

For our coastal sailing towing works well. We have a real boat for rowing or sailing, safely, with a good sized load(3-4 adults and some gear).

Whatever you do, don't live with too small a dinghy, it's worthless with a load, and dangerous.


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## centerline (Dec 26, 2015)

it depends on your boating style... but the obvious answer is that you have to sacrifice comfort for convenience.... if this were not so, we would all have big roomy dinghys, with cabins and big motors being towed along behind our little sailboats, with the hopeful thought that we never have to ship it on deck to make a passage.

its kind of like buying any size of boat where every feature of it is a tradeoff.... one has to consider how its going to be used, how many people needs to fit in it, where its going to kept, and how much money you want to spend on it _and_ its upkeep..

it make little difference how big, or how small someone elses dinghy is, as it is a choice of personal preferences... you may have to own a couple of different models before you find the best fit for you...


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## pdqaltair (Nov 14, 2008)

IMHO...

* If you can't carry it on davits or easily hoist it on deck, it's useless and possibly hazardous. I would never tow a dingy, and before I got davits (prior 27' boat) I did not.

* If you can't do davits, do a sit-in kayak. Easy to paddle, fun, and seaworthy. Can also haul more than non-kayakers believe.

* If you must have a dingy with a motor on a 27' boat, go small, 8.5' sport boat with 3.5hp max. Unless you are actually a power boater passing as a sailor. Try to find a 2-stroke. But for a 27' boat I feel this is a mistake. Anchor closer.


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## Adele-H (Nov 18, 2012)

Just fits on the bow...that's the right size.


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## sharkbait (Jun 3, 2003)

1


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## centerline (Dec 26, 2015)

sharkbait said:


> 12' Cobra fish n dive kayak . Rides on the side deck or tows easily. Paddles well and damn near unsinkable.
> Carrys alot more than you think, one time down outside of LaPaz I loaded mine with 5 gal diesel 2 30 pks of beer and a fat Mexican chick.


it seems to me that you may have been one chick overloaded....


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Bigger than yours apparently.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

I don't think a dink less than 8ft is very practical. Ours is currently 11.5 ft and I'm thinking of a 10.5 ft replacement, aluminum rigid hull.


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## sharkbait (Jun 3, 2003)

1


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## PaulinVictoria (Aug 23, 2009)

I have an 8' Zodiac with a Suzuki 2.5hp 4-stroke. Easily takes 3 (4 at a push), or a decent chunk of gear. Soft bottom so never going to plane etc, but it does roll up if necessary. I also have a hard dink that tries to kill you at every opportunity by trying to deposit you and whatever you are carrying into the frigid water. That one lives in my garden.


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## SeaDubya (Sep 5, 2015)

People love their tenders/dinghies and have affinity towards them (even my dear de-flatable). Why anyone would tow one behind the boat absolutely amazes me. I see it all the time and we poke fun of them from afar. Then later I have to lower mine off the davits so I can go and rescue theirs.

I guess some people just want to increase the chances of spending another few thousand dollars to replace them.


To the OP: Too small of a dinghy for the intended occupants is a bad idea and unsafe. Too large a dinghy for the boat is also unsafe. Hopefully those two numbers don't cross or you're gonna have to get a bigger sailboat or send a crew member down the plank.


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## outbound (Dec 3, 2012)

If I had your size boat I would take a serious look at the excellent nesting dinghies available. On your size boat with what I understand as usage davits are expensive unsightly and place weight of your stern ruining trim. Dragging a dinghy is dangerous in a following sea, makes maneuvering under power annoying and slows you down by a knot or more.

We have a walker bay due to its folding transom. This allows it to be very snug on the fordeck on passage. It's not going anywhere from a boarding sea and doesn't obscure vision. Given the winds and distances involved I wish I got a bigger engine. Have a 9.9 but should have a 15 or even 20. Wish I bought the engine down in the Caribbean so it would be a 2 stroke and lighter.

Think inflatables should be no wider than the stern if placed on davits. That way you don't catch them going in and out of slips and such.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

7.5 foot aluminum hull RIB by Southern Pacific. just over 60lbs, can lift on board if need be but we do tend to tow it exc in nasty conditions. Even rows OK. It will nearly plane with a 3.5 OB and one person (me). Suits us when we have guests, otherwise we use/carry two 9.5 foot plastic kayaks.


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## Bleemus (Oct 13, 2015)

The last boat I worked in had a 12 foot RIB with a 40hp Yamaha. Under way it was hoisted to davits on foredeck with a hydraulic winch. Not normal for the average cruiser but the lessons were the same. Can only remember a handful of times when we towed it and that was only for very short distances in protected water. 

While on the foredeck offshore we lashed a bunch of our fenders inside using straps and padeyes we had installed ourselves to reduce the volume of water it could hold. Beating upwind in the trades and taking waves over the bow I remember times when the drain kept running for hours as each new wave would add more water. If you do keep it on the foredeck make sure it can drain a lot of water or reduce the volume it can hold by using fenders or fuel jugs. 

For a cruising couple on say the average 40 footer if you can fit it on davits forward a 9 foot RIB with a 15 to 20hp would be my target range. Big enough for four skinny people  and able to plane with two people and groceries and a fuel jug or two. 

The difference between the big boat and the average cruiser is that we wouldn't remove the 40hp and it rode on the dinghy the whole time due to the power of the hydraulic winch. The average cruiser will burn some serious calories winching the whole gig with a mast winch so I would be inclined to remove it first and hang it on the stern pulpit. Millions of opinions on this and if I see someone doing something different I will definitely try it to see if it is an improvement. 


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## TomMaine (Dec 21, 2010)

outbound said:


> If I had your size boat I would take a serious look at the excellent nesting dinghies available. On your size boat with what I understand as usage davits are expensive unsightly and place weight of your stern ruining trim. Dragging a dinghy is dangerous in a following sea, makes maneuvering under power annoying and slows you down by a knot or more.


Me too. We started coastal cruising as a young couple that felt an inflatable and outboard were too big an expense. And we took off a year to cruise to the Bahamas from Vermont-that took all the $ we had. 

So with a 28' boat, we had no choice but to go(or not go), with a plywood pram(too big to stow onboard the 28). We towed through some pretty dicey stuff. Eventually, with the addition of two kids, a dog,... we built a larger pram designed to tow(very few are) that's seen all I expect to see as a coastal sailor. We're rowers at heart and love the small boat.

If your budget is limited, or you prefer rowing and sailing, this nesting dinghy is a good option. I think it's Danny Greens design?

And here it is performing quite a feat on a smaller cruising boat. This nester was stowed on the foredeck and the manageable pieces lowered over the forward life lines. Only took a few minutes.










We could relate to this young family. They were doing some cruising with what they had instead of not going. BTW, the couple have 4 kids aboard!


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## Mischief1945 (Dec 11, 2015)

I had a brief chat recently by one of the charming authors of "Encyclopedia of Yacht Designers", Dan. He advised me,

"Get the biggest dinghy you can handle on and off the boat. Not only will it reduce your trips to the beach for shopping, crew etc, it will also be quicker if designed right".

I am pretty sure he was talking regarding hard dinks but I think the same rules can be applied to rubbers too.


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## zeehag (Nov 16, 2008)

10 ft walker bay rigid dink. works well without rupturing floors to carry garafones(5 gal bottles) of water, weighty items with hard corners and other awesome finds one catches with cruising.
however, i think wearing it on head in a surf landing would hurt. i avoid those surf landings.


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## dinosdad (Nov 19, 2010)

We have a 8 ft flat soft bottom dinghy with fiberglass slats for floor bracing ( west marine unit, but I think they stopped carrying that model) with a Mercury 3.5 hp four stroke . We keep our boat on a mooring and added fold up wheels so we could just pull it up the ramp at our boatyard , highly recommend the wheels. While we would like a slightly larger and a rigid bottom dinghy this one suits our needs
And most of our wants. The weight of this one is just right for pulling up the ramp, and when deflated it can be rolled up and put in a compact car with the back seat folded down . Biggest downside is being flat bottom your not coming up on plane and it can be a wet,
( not damp) ride some days . It does fill up fast with gear and supplies, but even if it were four feet longer we would just bring more crap with us!


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## RobGallagher (Aug 22, 2001)

My boat yard can be a rough place for an inflatable to grow up. Lot's of responsible boat owners, sadly, also no shortage of racing crew that have zero respect for others property.

Im on my third inflatable in 17 years, all hypalon, all with fold up wheels. First was a used 10ft Caribe that got run over by an anonymous Wednesday night wanker's car in my boat yard. I repaired it, but it started leaking more and more water and was kind of sad looking. I did get an insurance check for a few hundred bucks.

So I moved up to a Mercury 11.2 ft air deck. Sadly the air deck is PVC, warranty is no the same as the boat. It was replaced after 3 years at dealer cost, then put a cover over the floor made of scrap carpet. this floor lasted about five years. Although the boat has wheels, I leave them down on land so the boat will drain. The Wed. Night Wankers like to drag inflatables around if they are in the way so the transom - fabric area began to wear through, patches helped. Then it got somehow punctured, again on land, and the patching began.

So last year I sprung for a Mercury 9.2 foot Rib. I keep it covered and the wheels down. So far so good. However, my outboard tilt was damaged by someone trying to lift the thing by the lower unit....again, probably some crew in a hurry to get out of there.

The yard is half the price of anyplace else, but you make up for it in inflatable repairs 

I got a little off track, so to answer better... I use my inflatable as a taxi. Lot's of gear going to and from the mooring. Lot's of friends who like to fish and clam. Often there are 4 adults with cooler, rods, etc. Beaching on islands/sand bars is common. I tow it. It's heavy as hell (double fiberglass hull/floor). If the wind is not right, often I motor/motorsail. I don't do passages. If I sail at night it's in the weather of my choosing.

I purchased the biggest, most versatile boat I could handle on land (with the aid of wheels) that I could afford at the time.

Like most, I'm happy with what I have, but sometimes I wish mine was bigger, especially when the water temperature drops.


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## fallard (Nov 30, 2009)

Started off with a Dyer Dhow (9': sail/row), no motor 30+ years ago. It was OK towing, but not stable enough around a crowded dinghy dock and couldn't trust others not to swamp it. 

Next came a 9' Avon roll-up with 4 hp 2 stroke motor. It was towed for shorter hops and deflated and stowed on foredeck for longer trips. It was a hassle to deflate, inflate, keep Genoa sheets from snagging, etc. We installed retractable wheel (Wheel-aweigh) for bringing up on the beach. Highly recommend this approach.

However, the 9' soft bottom Avon was quite wet in any kind of wind and the 4 hp would struggle in a current, like the entrance to Menemsha on Martha's Vineyard. So we upgraded to a 10.6 Avon RIB with a 9.9 Hp Honda. It's too heavy to horse up on the foredeck, so we tow it. Sure, it slows you down, but, we're not racing. I've never been in conditions where I was uncomfortable towing it. I just wish I could adapt it to take wheels, so I don't have to anchor it off the beach when the bottom is gnarly. So far, this one has been the best overall compromise.


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## capecodda (Oct 6, 2009)

Too many boats, and too many tenders. We started out with a 22 ft sailboat and a used, beat up, aluminum pram. Suitable for duck hunting, not good as a tender, but all that was affordable at the time. Upgraded to the smallest avon inflatable you could get at the time. Better. Then through 28, 36, 52, and now a 38 foot sailboat. Kept getting bigger, and moved to hard bottom inflatables. As we do a lot of coastal sailing, I tow more often than not, but like the option of putting the tender on deck for a passage. When towing inflatables, even short distances, we hang the outboard on the stern rail and take everything off....we've flipped em even inshore towing. 

I did find that towing a big, heavy, hard bottom had a significant impact, perhaps 1/2 knot, on sailing speeds when I downsized to 38 foot of mothership. I'm now towing a high pressure floor so I can roll it and put it on deck, and it is light and tows without impacting speed much. These things are no where near as stable a platform as a heavy hard bottom, even big ones are comparatively squirrelly. I'm not thrilled about this solution at all.

It's a compromise. For me needs to tow well, stow on deck, and work as the family truck-ster. Gotta get AARP members on and off the boat without putting them in the drink. Compromises get bigger as your mother craft gets smaller. Deck space and weight matter more on a smaller mother craft.

I've wondered about the aluminum hard bottom inflatables as being in the sweet spot?


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## dinosdad (Nov 19, 2010)

RobGallagher said:


> My boat yard can be a rough place for an inflatable to grow up. Lot's of responsible boat owners, sadly, also no shortage of racing crew that have zero respect for others property.
> 
> Im on my third inflatable in 17 years, all hypalon, all with fold up wheels. First was a used 10ft Caribe that got run over by an anonymous Wednesday night wanker's car in my boat yard. I repaired it, but it started leaking more and more water and was kind of sad looking. I did get an insurance check for a few hundred bucks.
> 
> ...


Dude, we could so have a reality show at the boatyard! Ya inflatable manufacturers should leave new designs there for product testing!


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

capecodda said:


> ....I've wondered about the aluminum hard bottom inflatables as being in the sweet spot?


This is exactly the conclusion I've drawn. My current RIB has a fiberglass hull and it gets all banged up, when beached, and weighs a ton. There is also a space between the flat floor and the v hull that both wastes space and has to be drained of water.

The newer aluminum hulls can be had with no flat floor, which makes them both extraordinarly light and, with the hull so much further below the top of the tubes, they are much more comfortable to sit in. They also make them with a small flat floor insert on the bottom, but it is still inches lower than decks afixed directly under the tubes. That's what I'm going to do. It adds a few pounds, but I prefer a flat space with non-skid.


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## fallard (Nov 30, 2009)

A difference of 1 ft is big in the 9-10' range. 

Here's a comparative view of my Avon 315 RIB (10' +) and my Avon Roll-Up (9'). You can see the difference in the tube diameters, which corresponds to capacity and stability. You can also infer the difference in freeboard, which is all-important when you are sitting on the side. What you don't see is that the larger dinghy (with motor) weighs twice as much (~300 lbs with fuel) as the smaller combination. 

Both are hypalon. The smaller one is now 22 yrs old and is still holding up (and holding air), although it is used infrequently. I'm keeping it in reserve in case I decide to head down the ICW and don't want to tow the larger one. 

The smaller one is also fitted for wheels to save the soft bottom when beaching. FWIW, the bare hull on this one weighs 110 lbs and is a handful to lift onto the foredeck, even using a mast winch. The 2-stroke motor weighs only 29 lbs, not including the separate fuel tank, and can easily be lifted up to the stern rail with one hand (the other hand is for balance!)


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Our older aluminum RIB is only 62 lbs.. my only gripe is the tubes are on the small side. Today's OceanAir and Highfield offerings have huge tubes relatively speaking. We do find that with 4 on board it's hard to keep your butt dry in any chop. No idea on the relative quality of these two newer brands, but several of our boating friends have them and so far they seem fine. The oceanairs do have a flat floor with nonskid.. a nice feature and they still keep the weight down.

Ultralite 260 - Highfield Boats

Models


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## TomMaine (Dec 21, 2010)

capecodda said:


> As we do a lot of coastal sailing, I tow more often than not, but like the option of putting the tender on deck for a passage.
> 
> It's a compromise. For me needs to tow well, stow on deck, and work as the family truck-ster. Gotta get AARP members on and off the boat without putting them in the drink. Compromises get bigger as your mother craft gets smaller. Deck space and weight matter more on a smaller mother craft.


It is a compromise and most people coastal cruising tow their dinghys, regardless of hard or inflatable(and many, many people tow with their outboards mounted on the stern-I know, I see them).

Your sailing grounds(which we love), makes me think how we use our tender. Here we are unloading a car load of stuff and provisions(and dogs) in Onset, that my wife drove down from Maine.

With a 2 week trip planned and 3-4 adults onboard, it took 2 trips to provision the boat. I can haul several hundred pounds safely, but it's a bit of work with a little distance. For many years, I come back from these 2 week trips several pounds lighter. 

But you make your harbors and anchorages decisions, with your dingy limitations(and advantages), in mind.










My daughter and I had just sailed over night from Penobscot Bay.

I made the decision to sail with a stiff NW wind behind us, that built during the night to nearly 40 knots. In fact, we had to heave to for a few hours to sleep-I was exhausted(and the helm was too much for my daughter).

Mostly sailing down wind with(in the end), only a tiny reefed main up, the dingy required adding a dock line to extend the painter(it started surfing). We've done that several times and in fact have added a looped warp that can be thrown over the stern to control it's forward plane on big waves.

But that's been rare, truth is I made a mistake in going! The conditions ended up more severe - my fault( I know that can happen).

In the back of my mind I've always resolved that if the tow ever becomes dangerous, I'd simply cast it off. I can always build another one but I doubt that will ever happen, now(we've towed from Canada to the Exumas-not recommending this).

It's a simple system, oars lashed to the thwarts. We sailed and rowed many miles in the next couple weeks. Not for everybody but rowing dinks are pretty common on Maine coastal sailboats. Like anything, it's a hard habit to break.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

17" tubes, aluminum hull with flat floor. Optional forward locker is designed to hold the fuel tank, so the fuel line can run under the floor. Nice that it would be out of the way. AB is a pricey brand, but good quality and parts should be available.

Lammina 10 AL


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## Bleemus (Oct 13, 2015)

Those Highfields look interesting. Wonder how the PVC holds up. That nine footer at 64 lbs is attractive. Easy haul with mast winch. 


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

One thing I've noticed with the Highfields.. they float so high in the water that the tubes don't stabilize the boat until there's at least two people in the boat.. empty she floats well up on the deep V hull and is quite tippy. A motor might take care of that by putting the aft end of the tubes into the water early.


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## capecodda (Oct 6, 2009)

Minnewaska said:


> This is exactly the conclusion I've drawn. My current RIB has a fiberglass hull and it gets all banged up, when beached, and weighs a ton. There is also a space between the flat floor and the v hull that both wastes space and has to be drained of water.
> 
> The newer aluminum hulls can be had with no flat floor, which makes them both extraordinarly light and, with the hull so much further below the top of the tubes, they are much more comfortable to sit in. They also make them with a small flat floor insert on the bottom, but it is still inches lower than decks afixed directly under the tubes. That's what I'm going to do. It adds a few pounds, but I prefer a flat space with non-skid.


Sounds like a good compromise. I'm going to take a close look, thanks.


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## Squidd (Sep 26, 2011)

Lotta good answers and insite here, looks like it's going to come down to what works best for me.

I'm leaning toward a 7'6" flat floor inflateable that I can deflate, roll up and store on the fore deck...

I'm used to the "inflate and deflate" every weekend with the "mini dinghy" so thats not a major issue...

I do a lot of fishing/trolling off the back of the boat so I don't want to be limited to towing all the time, and with tiller, rudder and outboard on the stern I can't use davits or "hang" the dinghy off the back...

The 6' mini dinghy fills the fore deck so a 7'6" will spill over the sides, hopefully not too much and I can leave it inflated crusing between the islands... it will give me a better idea if (down the road) how an 8' or bigger unit might fit...

I have a 3.5 2 stroke motor already, so minimal room and multiple trips to shore won't be as big a hassle as "rowing" is now.. I have a shoal keel boat so I can get "pretty close" to shore, but at present I can not (and as far as I know none of my friends can) walk on water to shore.

I would "like" a bigger mother ship (and accompanying dinghy) but to be honest I can't afford the storage and slip and maintenance of a larger boat, so I need to work with what I have..


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## Pamlicotraveler (Aug 13, 2006)

Towing is not a good practice and is out of the question in blue water. Davits are a bad solution for blue water also, so that limits me to short inflatables.

The one thing I would demand if I were buying a new boat is a "sugar scoop" stern to make dinghy and engine launching easier.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Pamlicotraveler said:


> ......The one thing I would demand if I were buying a new boat is a "sugar scoop" stern to make dinghy and engine launching easier.


The sugar scoop isn't necessarily an advantage for launching the dink. In fact, ours is in the way, as the dinghy descends from the davits. It requires someone to hold it away from the transom and keep from scratching everything.

Much easier to board the dinghy from the boat, however.


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## Luvtolearn (Jun 2, 2014)

Walker Bay 8' with oars, sail kit, and I have a very old Johnson 3hp long shaft thats a bit finicky at times. To big to put on the deck of my catalina 22 I think...


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## sharkbait (Jun 3, 2003)

1


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## Brent Swain (Jan 16, 2012)

Having longitudinal floatation tanks down the sides and several oar locks, lets me put my removeable ( piece of plywood ) seat wherever I want. That lets me balance any load I am carrying, which makes a small dinghy less problematic.


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## SteveInMD (May 11, 2007)

I'm hearing that size does matter, but I suppose the motion of your ocean has something to do with it too. I'm on the fence between a 8' 6" and a 9' 6" Achilles air floor boat. I'm leaning towards the 9' 6".


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

My dinghy is all of one electron......ie a brain electron.......pretty small dinghy I might add!

Oh, talking dinghy boat.....one not mentioned, I have yet to try......but west marine and maybe some of the other makers have a fiberglass bottom rib that folds in half. A bit heavier than aluminum, or a blow up bottom. But at 3x4x1' deflated. This will fit in the front of a 28-30' boat pretty easy. You can put a smaller outboard on it......If I get a chance to use it this summer, will let you know how it works on my 28' LOD 30OA Jeanneau. I've got a mini forestay to deal with, hence why I think this is a good option. It fits between the mast and MForestay!

Marty


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## Iodine (Mar 5, 2016)

I have a 6 foot dink in the davits and also carry a larger 9 foot one on deck behind the mast


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## nhsail (Aug 7, 2000)

If you have an inflatable that can be rolled up for stowage/passages, then get as big as you want. It's really appreciated when you have to cross any body of water that has significant wind/waves/currents. We used to moor in the Piscataqua River and had a 5-6 knot Ebb to traverse, hence needed a tender that could plane 4 adults. 

We are replacing the 15 yr old 10' double floor Rib with an 11.5 ft inflatable high pressure "V" bottom with removeable aluminum floor boards. (Saturn 11.6 from boatstogo.com) 

RIB & 15 Hp Honda were fine for near shore towing, but a bit big to easily hoist onto foredeck of our 40' sailboat for overnight passages, We had to use spinnaker pole and halyard to make a "jib crane". If you are towing and get out in some waves, you will need a Floating painter that's long enough for the the dinghy to be one wave behind you, and have a shock absorber on the bridle. Seeing the dinghy pass you down a wave is an interesting experience, almost as much as having it flip over... 

Far easier to have a bundle you can unroll on foredeck, inflate and slide over the lifelines, and put your motor on from the stern rail storage. (Yawl's have this neat thing, called a Mizzen...) and when you are ready to make your home passage, retrieve and deflate.


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## NarwhalChaser (Apr 11, 2007)

On our 30' Pearson we had a 10' Porta-Bote with a 4hp outboard. We'd lash it folded to the stanchions in calm to moderate conditions; if any significant weather was predicted it could be put down below, though not too convenient. It could easily carry 3 of adults plus a small dog, w/ 4hp it would plane at about 12km with just me. Once you got the hang of it, it wasn't too difficult to assemble; easiest way was to hoist it with a halyard and assemble vertically. 

I thought it was a pretty good set up until we got a 40' catamaran that could handle an 11' RIB with a 20hp Honda on davits. This was what was needed for living aboard; carrying crew, provisions, fuel, etc was much easier with extra load and power capacity. It really depends what's needed; while living aboard a good dink is absolutely necessary. We had friends that cruised and lived aboard with Porta-Botes and they were inadequate for that use; for weekending they're are a pretty good compromise.


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## ctl411 (Feb 15, 2009)

We also have a portabote, 14 foot. Great for fishing no worries about rocks or beat up docks.


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