I loaned my 2 year old Johnson 6 HP to a friend to use on his Porta-Bote
one afternoon and it screamed along on a plane with himself and
girlfriend (my guess is that they weigh close to 350 lb between them).
He hasn't complained about any flapping hull parts.

FWIW,

Jonathan


Len wrote:
Hi,

I've returned the lightweight RIB to the yard. It wouldn't plane with
2 people, even with 8 hp. So...I'm back to square 1.
I am still looking for a dingy that allows me to get to the village to
get some food, a few miles from my anchorage.

- Would a 12' PortaBoat with a 8hp outboard plane with 2 persons and
some luggage (say 350 pounds altogether)? Or would this mean a
serious abuse of the boat? On the site they say a 12' can be equipped
by a 8hp.

- What would happen in a bit of sea? Would the flappering of the
hull-parts be too much to stand?


I know, what I want is a real speedboat..., but I want to be able to
store it on board. I guess that means either to fold or to deflate it.

TIA, Len


--
I am building my daughter an Argie 10 sailing dinghy, check it out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jonsailr