Show me your little Dinghy / Tender / what have you....

[WF]

Thanks for the pics Greg.  What size Portabote is it?  How have you found the performance?  Do you use an outboard or oars?

[AdriftAtSea]

I'd second a portabote.  I don't have photos of mine, but have a much larger one than theirs.  I have the 12' 6" portabote, that was originally bought as a fishing rowboat, but has been seconded to use as a big dinghy.  I store it along the ama deck when it is folded up, which really isn't an option for you AFAIK. :)

[WF]

Thanks Adrift -
I have to say that I pretty much dismissed the portabotes right off the bat.  I'll investigate them some more.  IIRC they have sailing kits for them as well.  I've heard some disparaging remarks about how well they do depending on the size and power options, i.e. outboard vs. oars.  How do you feel the performance is?  Would it stand up to years of full-time cruising?  Any thoughts are appreciated.
WF

[Delezynski]

WF,

We have been using PortaBoat full time for over 8 years now. We like it a LOT. The last 4 years +/- full time cruising.

We have the 8 foot model, and we have updated to the new seats.

We do have a 3.5 HP outboard for ours. I can lift it with one hand (2 stroke), and it will plane the PB with one of us aboard. It will not plane with both of us or a lot of shopping stuff.

We do not use it without having the oars aboard. YES, it dos row very nicely. MUCH better than a deflatable.

I was thinking about putting a sail kit on it, but the factory one does NOT look good to me. If I ever decide to add it, I will make my own.

Greg

[AdriftAtSea]

The major caveat I'd have for you are that the newer models come with a plastic transom and plastic seats that aren't all that durable.  From what I've seen, the plastic seats and transom break down under UV and get pretty brittle.  Mine came with the plastic seats, but had a wooden transom.

One of my projects later this year, is to make replacement benches for the boat as well as fiberglassing over the wooden transom, mainly to improve durability.

As for how well they do... they row a lot better than any inflatable, and are far more durable from what I've seen.  Under power, they handle better than inflatables, except for possible the high end rigid floor inflatables, which are probably even bulkier than the PortaBote to store, since the floors on the rigid floor inflatables don't fold or collapse in any way.

BTW, I would highly recommend installing several folding padeyes on the Portabote to make attaching lines and such far easier.   I used Wichard folding padeyes, so as not to interfere with the boat's folding.

[vinegarj]

fwiw, here's a photo of my nester sitting on my boat.

[WF]

Thanks all for the responses.  I'm going to see if a Fatty Knees fits and meanwhile will research the portabote more. 

[klubko]

I wonder why Walker Bay 8' didn't come up? We are planning to buy one in summer, remove the boom vang and  install double boom instead so we can put the dink under the boom. Any bad (and good) experiences with Walker Bay? We were thinking about Fatty Knees, but the price is twice as much as for walker bay.
Many thanks

[AdriftAtSea]

The Walker Bay 8' dinghies, from what I've read and seen are pretty wobbly... far more so than a PortaBote or inflatable.

[Delezynski]

Just found a photo of our Porta boat at work here in the Sea of Cortez.
I put a coating of Sunbrella on the gunnels to protect the sides of our boat.



Greg

[WF]

Greg, you dog!  Sending me that picture from Cortez!  Sea of Cortez will be my first stop and I loosely plan to spend up to a year there.  Have some friends that are building a 'cruisers community' in San Carlos - just a place to grab a warm bed, hot shower, or use the workshop and will be based heavily on barter and will also be environmentally friendly.  My daily thoughts are constantly of Cortez. 
Anyway, looks like the portabote does well enough.  I'm one of those poor saps that won't have an outboard aboard, so it's rowing or sailing for me.
I'm hoping to take a look at a Fatty Knees in the next few days, I have my doubts about it fitting under the boom - ?  I'll keep everyone posted and will take some pictures.

[Delezynski]

WF,

The Sea of Cortez is a GREAT place to cruise! There seems to be an anchorage around every corner! We have spent 3 years in the Sea.

If you have not had the chance, take a look at our "Position Reports" on our web site www.svguenevere.com.

We have put a batch of photos, like that one, on it.

Greg

[vinegarj]

WF,
will be interested to see what your impressions of the "fatty knees" are.
i really like the way they look and they've been described as light weight.
but its my understanding that the eight footer weighs a hundred pounds.
light for some, but a fairly good wrestling match to get consistently on the deck by yourself and without any collateral damage.  the halves of my nester are probably no more than thirty pounds.

[Manannan]

Fatty knees are good dinghies, no doubt about that, row well and are fun to sail, and are ''cute'', but definitely not ''light weight''. On my last boat, we had to rig a small pole to the mast to lift it with a harness we made, it worked well and was practical enough for one person to handle the dinghy.

[WF]

Greg-  I only hear great things about the Sea of Cortez.  I've run into your blog before and will go over it again.  Some great information there.

vinegarj-  I'm looking at the 7' FK.  I have a baby-stay on my boat that really kills the foredeck for dinghy storage.  Beam is 9' and I have anywhere between 20"-24" under boom clearance.  Other than an inflatable I'm going to have a hard time stowing the dink, it is what it is.  The 7' is about 90lbs, which may not be easy at times, but well within reason for me.  I've seriously considered buying, building or modifying an existing dinghy to a nester.

Mananna-  I've thought about how I might haul the dink aboard and have some possibilities.  I'll figure it out because I'll have to, but if you have any pictures of your system I'd be all eyes.

[WF]

I've also seen an El Toro for sale in my area.  Looks like a possibility other than the weight, it's all wood.  Does anyone know the weight of the El Toros?  Any comments on it as a dinghy?  Again, the weight may be prohibitive, but I'm considering all options.

[CharlieJ]

well- how about this one? 6'6" Minipaw from B and B Yacht designs.

Light enough for you?

[WF]

Must be quite light! 
Update - I can't get people from Craig's List who are advertising their dinghy to respond!  I'm sort of sick of thinking about it all so I'm considering just ignoring it as I have been the last 9 months, except I'll be cruising this summer so I'll need something.  All I know is I'm going to sail this weekend and then I'll figure it out.

CharilieJ - I'll investigate B & B Yacht designs, do you have an web address for 'em? 

[CharlieJ]

Sure do-

http://bandbyachtdesigns.com/

Graham and Carla are great folks to deal with too. You might peruse the nesting dinghies that have also.

We recently sold that Minipaw, because although it would fit on the bow of our 21 footer, it will NOT go on the bow of our 25. The cabin structure is simply wrong, so we're going for a very small inflatable.

Something that can be rolled and lashed behind the mast, under the boom. I'd prefer a hard dinghy, but if there isn't room, there isn't room.

[vinegarj]

MJ-
my nester is also a B and B design (Catspaw).  They're easy (and fun for the most part) to build and there's a builder's forum for their designs where somebody can answer any questions that come up in the building process.
if you can stay disciplined, i think you could build one start to finish in forty hours (total) or less.  And with the housing bubble, plywood prices have come down....