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

[Joe Pyrat]

Sorry to hear you had such a problem with your porta-bote Connie.  We did have quite a time the first couple of times we tried to put it together, but once we had a bit of practice it went together quite easily.  I also think they are a bit stiff when you first get them.  We place it across the life lines up forward put it together and slide it over the side.  I thought it rowed quite well, but then I'd been using an inflatable and it is the 10 footer.

[Pixie Dust]

Hi Joe- I was used to my 8'9" Achilles dinghy and it rows great.  I was struggling in the Porta Bote on a windy day.  I was wondering if I was going to get it back to shore that day.  I should have packed a power bar in my shorts.  :D
I am sure that given some time, they loosen up a bit.   I needed something I could put together easily by myself and it just did not seem to work well for me. 
I ordered a Mercury, Hypalon 8'9" air floor dinghy and it just arrived.  I am looking forward to the end of the work day so I can go blow it up in the yard.   ;D  Wish me luck on this one.  I have friends who gave the thumbs up on this particular one.
More to come on Dinghy status.   ::)

[AdriftAtSea]

One reason I like the porta-bote is their far more durable than the inflatables IMHO.  I've been using mine primarily as a fishing boat, and its seen its fair share of rocky beachs and such, and doesn't really get affected by them.  Fishing hooks and inflatables are a bad combination IMHO anyways.  :D

[s/v Faith]

Here is an article I wrote about adding stability to a hard dinghy.  This was in Sail last May, so some may have seen it.  I have hopes of seeing the check for it soon, too.  If anyone would like the original article with pictures, drop me an e-mail (slrman@att.net) and I'll shoot it off to you.

Dinghy Doings
I had purchased an 8' hard dinghy with a 3.5 hp outboard for my O'Day 32.  The dink was rugged, unsinkable, and fit neatly between the davits on Picasso's stern.  The only problem was it lacked the stability of an inflatable.  An unexpected trip into the waters of the marina one day convinced me to do something about this.  I thought about the inflatable tubes available from the manufacturer, but they cost almost as much as I paid for the dink, motor, and sail kit. 

Instead, I got the idea of attaching foam flotation to the sides.  I called around to several local places looking for high-density closed cell foam.  In the quantities I needed, that was more than I wanted to spend on an uncertain project.  Finally, it was suggested to me to use the "noodles" made for kids and swimming pools.  At least the price was right.  I bought six noodles and some waterproof spray cement all for under $12. 

The noodles didn't fit very well as they were, so I sliced them lengthwise with a large razor knife and the assistance of Tom, who gave me the noodle idea.  That's the danger of making suggestions, you can get caught up in the work. 

In photo 1, you can see how the "noodles" were stacked up along the side until I had five pieces on each side.  It was so easy I decided to carve some of the extra foam into a tapered shape to give the front sections a more streamlined shape.  See photo 2.

When the dinghy is empty, the foam is out of the water a bit.  When heavily loaded, they are slightly immersed. 

So how does it work?  Not as well as the inflatable tubes, I'm sure.  But, for ten bucks, they do very well.  At least I don't feel like a candidate for the swim team when getting in or out of the dink.

  Having sold my 3rd inflateable, finding them to be less ten suited to my purpose, I am revisiting mr. Smiles... my ugly dink.

  I saw this picture in the gallery

  And was wondering; who's this is, and what the impressions have been with the modification over time.  _{EDIT: I see, on page 2 of this thread that the dink was slrman's and he has sold it.  Maybe some one else can comment?}

  I would really like to find a lighter hard dink, as mine is pretty heavy.  Worse case I will stick with what I have, and rig a crane using the spin halyard, and pole as a derek.

[s/v Faith]

Really comical.....

Here is an add for my current dink on Amazon....

Product Description

Product Description
Versatile, practical, durable, and affordable, the SANDPIPER 8 Dinghy is the perfect tender or general dinghy for the whole family. Designed as a car toppable tender/dinghy, the SANDPIPER 8 is made in the USA of solid ABS plastic that is UV stable and maintenance free. Weighing in at only 75 lbs., the SANDPIPER 8 is light and easy to handle, and is easily rowed or powered with up to a 3 HP motor. The foam-filled hull's deep-V design provides surprising stability and responsiveness, yet draws little water providing maximum freeboard and minimum drag when being towed. Standard features include a stainless steel bow eye, motor mounting plate, and an adjustable wooden seat. One year warranty. Meets USCG and NMMA safety requirements. White hull, wood seat.

  What's so funny?  Well, mine has been the subject (victim?) of several repair efforts after the plastic hull (outter hull) has been cracked, split, holed, and generally messed up.  Some of these repairs have worked, and others have not.  (mine of course are the good ones).  ;D
  The combined effect of the varying levels of effectiveness of these repairs has been to allow water to soak the foam core until my dink that started out at #75, now weighs more like #150! 

  She still floats, even with the drain plug pulled.  She is just really hard to lift, and produces quite a bit of drag when towed..... not to mention she is a pretty good contestant in an ugly dink contest.

  I will find a photo....

[AdriftAtSea]

s/v Faith-

I think that dink is a Walker Bay.  http://www.walkerbay.com/

Dan

[s/v Faith]

  I saw this picture in the gallery

  And was wondering; who's this is, and what the impressions have been with the modification over time....... 

s/v Faith-

I think that dink is a Walker Bay.  http://www.walkerbay.com/

Dan

  Yes, I saw the walker bay logo on the side, my post was asking about the long term impressions after the addition of the noodles.....

 

[CapnK]

Craig -

I've read postings by people who say that the WB8's are 'unstable', but it seems to me that there is a correlation between those who say this, and an an excess in the amount of their body weight*. ;D

While you can't stand on the gunwale of the WB8 (and remain dry), stepping into the middle of the boat works quite nicely for me, and I don't find it to be any more squirrely than any other small, rounded-bottom boat. They are very durable - I slam mine into docks quite frequently, and she takes it in stride. Hitting a boat won't scratch the boat, either. My only request would be that it was nestable for foredeck stowage. :)

I don't think that you and Rose would have any problems with one, and I also don't think that y'all need the noodles modification to make a WB8 viable. Of course, you are more than welcome to stop by and play on mine some time, if you'd like. :)



*(For the record and to clarify that I am not referring to him, I have no idea what slrman looks like - this comment comes from prior experience on another sailing webboard. There, several people talk bad about the WB8's when the question arises, but after seeing pics of those folks, I noticed that any given one of them would come close to the stated capacity limit of the boat. Expecting an 8' dink to be stable for a person in excess of 200#'s is, IMO, just not realistic.)

[AdriftAtSea]

CapnK, I think you're being kind... :D 

I believe that addition of the flotation tubes to the exterior of the Walker Bay dinghies was an attempt to make them far more stable than they were prior to adding the tubes.  I'd imagine it does make them a bit more awkward to row as well. 

[Godot]

Well, here is a new possibility found on Duckworks.  A hard, folding dinghy called flapdoodle.

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/designs/flapdoodle/index.htm

Designed after 6 years of research and testing to be as simple, rugged, and painless as possible.

    * The classic hull shape leaves hardly a ripple at 5-6 knots with a 400 pound test load.
    * Triple hinges on the folding panels; metal, and rugged PVC cloth laminated to Dacron.
    * The PVC fabric is readily available in any color including metallic and glow-in the dark.
    * Unique positive locking system joins the transom, skeg, and rear seat into a solid unit.
    * Solid center seat for strength and ease of construction.
    * The dagger board is tilted to the rear to prevent scooping water under power.
    * Convenient, inexpensive wheeled skeg.
    * No special tools required.
    * No need to built a form to shape the hull.
    * No special things to order.
    * Folds to about 4" thick.
    * Length 7'10", Depth 16 1/2", Beam 47"
    * Light enough to carry the folded part under one arm.

Might be worth looking into.  It looks like the guy is selling plans for $29.  He does mention that he hasn't tried assembling in a boats cockpit yet.  More information at http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/flapdoodle/

[AdriftAtSea]

Pretty sailing dinghy... BUt I think I'll stick with my porta-bote.

[Godot]

The Porta-Bote is interesting, no doubt.  But I am always looking to trade 300 or 400 hundred hours of labor in order to save a couple of hundred bucks.  Or sometimes not.  I spent about 80 hours over a little under three weeks building a multi-panel plywood canoe for a river trip I was invited on.  I couldn't see spending $700 for a canoe.  So I built one at a cost of only $800 or so.  I do like to think it was the prettiest canoe on the river though!

Boatbuilding can be addictive.  It's a sad commentary on society today when you consider the addictive nature of this type of active and realize that there is ABSOLUTELY NO government financing allocated for the treatment of this condition, and ABSOLUTELY NO LAWS to prevent anyone from picking up this dangerous habit.  Just think, it is actually legal for a 15 year old CHILD to pick up a hammer, saw, and a couple planks of wood and build his/her own boat!  Please remember, when you vote this Tuesday to support candidates that take the Boat Building epidemic seriously.  And don't even get me started on the crazy folk who take small, under equipped (some don't even have RADAR!!!!), undercrewed (singlehanding?  Are you kidding me) boats onto our public waterways. 

;D

[AdriftAtSea]

Unfortunately, there are no good twelve-step programs for boatbuilding or sailing for that matter.  :o  Under the current regime, it isn't seen as a serious issue and probably won't be addressed...as they're too busy confiscating shampoo and toothpaste.

[Captain Smollett]

Under the current regime

Which regime, past or now seeking office for the future HAS addressed this issue?

Tongue out of cheek for a moment....All kidding aside, I'd be wary about saying this "too loudly."  If the wrong person saw this, who knows what laws we might have next year.  Our government (and others) seem to lilke nothing more than to regulate the activities of free individuals.  There already ARE some crazy laws on the the books regarding what you can/cannot do on your own boat (riding on the bow, etc), and others are proposed annually.

Lest you think "only boaters read this site and no boater would advocate such draconian regulation" it is on boating sites that I've seen things discussed like bow riding laws and others.  Some folks support regulation more strongly than others, no matter what activities they do.

[AdriftAtSea]

Capn Smollett-

I'm not too worried about what I say...if you've looked at my blog, the current regime would have plenty of reasons to arrest me for what I've said about them directly... GWB has recently signed a law that makes it much easier for him to declare martial law and effectively gives him control of the state National Guard units.  Not a good thing—as he has effectively repealed the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. 

[Zen]

Hmmm, I guess you have not heard of the lady who got arrested for having something on her van about the wonderful president that was not .errrr politically correct...or the high school girl, nabbed by the FBI...
things happen...

have you not noticed that black van that keeps driving by... 8)

[s/v Faith]

I should not have thought that a thread on tenders would turn political... ::)

  Anchoring maybe, but not tenders.  ;D

  My vote is that each be allowed to choose their own.  I guess I am more of a libertarian wTR the prickly tender issue.

  Unlike life and death matters (like one's choice of sealant) there is a tender out there for everyone, and I think they should find their own way.

[Captain Smollett]

Except for my first sentence, I wasn't talking about what YOU said, Dan, I was making a comment about joiking around about the gubment getting involved in sailing/boating.  I was merely trying to point out that there are those out there who would read this portion of this thread and think "heck yeah, there SHOULD be a law against people buildilng their own boats...who do they think they are, doing that, anyway?"

I really don't appreciate THIS FORUM being used for political grandstanding.  That kind of garbage has all but destroyed TSBB and other sailing forums.  If you do or don't like GWB, that's your lookout.  I don't care about your political views.  I don't come to SailFar to read about it.  I'll make my own decisions about politics at or before the time I am in the voting booth.

Now, as to the portion of my reply directed at you.  You said "this regime" like this is the ONLY administration that has not given attention to 'this issue' (boat building addiction, which was a joke and even if we pretend for a moment that it was not a joke, who would WANT any governemnt to regulate the private building of boats for one's own use????).  My only point was show me ANY administration that has given attention to this 'addiction.'

In short, your comment was a weakly disguised grabbed opportunity to bring politics to this board.  This is not the first time in the past week or so you've done this.  I find this kind of comment "flamebait" and it certainly seems to have been successful in that regard (since I replied to it, and now you've replied to me, etc, etc).  So, in the interest of trying to preserve what is left of the dignity of SailFar, I will not comment on this further.  Say what you want - you may now have the last word.

[AdriftAtSea]

Good point Capn Smollett...we really shouldn't let politics interfere with the more important business of sailing and building boats if necessary. 

If I were to build the Flapdoodle, I probably wouldn't build it as a sailing dinghy, but simplify the plans and make it a basic rowing dinghy...to keep it as light and simple as possible. 

[Zen]

sometimes it is a tender path we tread...

I should not have thought that a thread on tenders would turn political... ::)

  Anchoring maybe, but not tenders.  ;D

  My vote is that each be allowed to choose their own.  I guess I am more of a libertarian wTR the prickly tender issue.

  Unlike life and death matters (like one's choice of sealant) there is a tender out there for everyone, and I think they should find their own way.