Denis Marier wrote:

I do not like to handle an outboard engine. Some of my friend have 9.9
outboard engine stowed on the stern rail. Some leave it mounted on their
inflatable dinghies. To carry gasoline on board defeats the purpose of have
an inboard diesel engine.

Agreed, but many people seem to feel that outboard mix & spare cans of gas are no
greater hazard than propane. The hassle & mess & smell are what convince me that
I do not want an outboard powered dink.



Andre Venter wrote:
I don't think that there is a "best dinghy" for the simple reason that we
all have different ideas about cruising. I like small and spartan, you might
like big & fancy. My perfect dinghy is a simple 9 ft pram with a 3hp motor
small, easy to row and ugly enough not to be a thiefs first choice.

Jere Lull wrote:
I forget whether I got "in" on this conversation, so apologize if I'm
repeating, but I'm a real fan of the PortaBote.

It sounds like a great solution, especially to the limited space issue. I don't
have any experience with them other than watching others, but the flexy hull
would make me a bit nervous. Plus (please don't take this personally) I don't
like their looks.

Over the years we've had & used almost every other sort of dinghy, and while I
really liked using a canoe, it is not really an optimum working tender for long
term cruising. Given the expense of a new boat, the tippiness & heaviness of a
Walker Bay (plus I still don't like thier looks either), I have designed my own
dinghy and will have it built. It will be 95% as stable as an inflatable, will
row better than anything short of a racing shell, will have classic good looks
(by which I mean it will favorably remind the most persnickety afficianado of an
old-time Whitehall or wherry, and simply beautiful to anybody else), and it's
weight will be 25 lbs or less. It won't be cheap, but it won't cost as much as a
new hi-end inflatable & it's engine.

I'm kind of bemused that other people aren't doing the same thing, given the
amount of time & money that goes into cruising dinghies.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

x-no-archive:yes
DSK wrote:

Denis Marier wrote:

I do not like to handle an outboard engine. Some of my friend have 9.9
outboard engine stowed on the stern rail. Some leave it mounted on their
inflatable dinghies. To carry gasoline on board defeats the purpose of have
an inboard diesel engine.

Agreed, but many people seem to feel that outboard mix & spare cans of gas are no
greater hazard than propane. The hassle & mess & smell are what convince me that
I do not want an outboard powered dink.

Andre Venter wrote:
I don't think that there is a "best dinghy" for the simple reason that we
all have different ideas about cruising. I like small and spartan, you might
like big & fancy. My perfect dinghy is a simple 9 ft pram with a 3hp motor
small, easy to row and ugly enough not to be a thiefs first choice.

Jere Lull wrote:
I forget whether I got "in" on this conversation, so apologize if I'm
repeating, but I'm a real fan of the PortaBote.

It sounds like a great solution, especially to the limited space issue. I don't
have any experience with them other than watching others, but the flexy hull
would make me a bit nervous. Plus (please don't take this personally) I don't
like their looks.

See above - you do not WANT to have a nice looking dinghy. You want a
funny looking dinghy - a MEMORABLY funny looking dinghy. A dinghy
that makes you cringe to know that anyone would associate you with it.
A dinghy that everyone who as seen it once will remember forever.

The flexy bottom of the portabote is far preferable to me to the
inflatable - I just don't like inflatable - even the nice big ones.
We have an inflatable (a Nissan I think), but I far and away prefer
the portabote even though we have to assemble the portabote and the
dinghy is right there on davits.
Over the years we've had & used almost every other sort of dinghy, and while I
really liked using a canoe, it is not really an optimum working tender for long
term cruising. Given the expense of a new boat, the tippiness & heaviness of a
Walker Bay (plus I still don't like thier looks either), I have designed my own
dinghy and will have it built. It will be 95% as stable as an inflatable, will
row better than anything short of a racing shell, will have classic good looks
(by which I mean it will favorably remind the most persnickety afficianado of an
old-time Whitehall or wherry, and simply beautiful to anybody else), and it's
weight will be 25 lbs or less. It won't be cheap, but it won't cost as much as a
new hi-end inflatable & it's engine.

I'm kind of bemused that other people aren't doing the same thing, given the
amount of time & money that goes into cruising dinghies.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King


grandma Rosalie

Dingy Dogs.

Well, not exactly. But years ago in order to work on my pier I fashioned
a rope sling rig between two 5 gal plastic pales. I sat my 12 foot
aluminum row boat between them so the rope rig carried part of the load
of the boat. The extra 10 gallons of floatation on the sides added a
surprising amount of stability for working out of the boat. I can only
imagine that the dogs would be much better.

Ron

x-no-archive:yes
DSK wrote:

"Rosalie B." wrote:

See above - you do not WANT to have a nice looking dinghy. You want a
funny looking dinghy - a MEMORABLY funny looking dinghy. A dinghy
that makes you cringe to know that anyone would associate you with it.
A dinghy that everyone who as seen it once will remember forever.

You have to ride around in an ugly boat, just to discourage thieves?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It's like the ugly girl said -
"My looks are your problem - I don't have to look at me."

It also helps to find it in a crowd.

I don't think our inflatable is uglier than anyone elses, and I don't
think the portabote is ugly so much as funny looking.

My theory is that nobody is going to steal a dinghy that cannot have an ouboard motor
mounted to it. Time will tell. In any event, our dinghy will be unique enough to
identify at some distance.

Will they know? My husband had some cheap speakers ($10) mounted on
the rear shelf of the car and someone smashed the rear window to get
them - and then realized that they were cheap speakers and didn't even
steal them.


The flexy bottom of the portabote is far preferable to me to the
inflatable - I just don't like inflatable - even the nice big ones.
We have an inflatable (a Nissan I think), but I far and away prefer
the portabote even though we have to assemble the portabote and the
dinghy is right there on davits.

I don't like inflatables either. The only good thing about them IMHO is that they
don't gouge up the topsides coming alongside. The usual method of mounting them in

They sometimes make black marks though. The portabote doesn't gouge
up the topsides either.

davits results in an ugly & awkward obstruction on the back of the boat. But then, it
appears to be the style and few people can bring themselves to defy current styles for
practicality.

In our case we did not want to tow the dinghy (although many people do
but it cuts the boat speed plus if it is in the water all the time you
have to worry about antifouling on the bottom) and if we put it on
deck, I couldn't see over it to steer. But we did want a dinghy that
could be deployed quickly. We didn't buy the portabote until a couple
of years later (and we got it 2nd hand).

grandma Rosalie

Subject: What's the best dinghy for cruising and why?
From: DSK

My theory is that nobody is going to steal a dinghy that cannot have an
ouboard motor
mounted to it. Time will tell. In any event, our dinghy will be unique enough
to
identify at some distance.



How far? The next island, the next town, the next county, the next state?

Capt. Bill

Yea, as a matter of fact, my dink gasoline is stored in the propane locker.

--


Keith
__
Dogs have owners; Cats have staff.
"DSK" wrote in message
...
Denis Marier wrote:

I do not like to handle an outboard engine. Some of my friend have 9.9
outboard engine stowed on the stern rail. Some leave it mounted on
their
inflatable dinghies. To carry gasoline on board defeats the purpose of
have
an inboard diesel engine.

Agreed, but many people seem to feel that outboard mix & spare cans of gas
are no
greater hazard than propane. The hassle & mess & smell are what convince
me that
I do not want an outboard powered dink.



Andre Venter wrote:
I don't think that there is a "best dinghy" for the simple reason that
we
all have different ideas about cruising. I like small and spartan, you
might
like big & fancy. My perfect dinghy is a simple 9 ft pram with a 3hp
motor
small, easy to row and ugly enough not to be a thiefs first choice.

Jere Lull wrote:
I forget whether I got "in" on this conversation, so apologize if I'm
repeating, but I'm a real fan of the PortaBote.

It sounds like a great solution, especially to the limited space issue. I
don't
have any experience with them other than watching others, but the flexy
hull
would make me a bit nervous. Plus (please don't take this personally) I
don't
like their looks.

Over the years we've had & used almost every other sort of dinghy, and
while I
really liked using a canoe, it is not really an optimum working tender for
long
term cruising. Given the expense of a new boat, the tippiness & heaviness
of a
Walker Bay (plus I still don't like thier looks either), I have designed
my own
dinghy and will have it built. It will be 95% as stable as an inflatable,
will
row better than anything short of a racing shell, will have classic good
looks
(by which I mean it will favorably remind the most persnickety afficianado
of an
old-time Whitehall or wherry, and simply beautiful to anybody else), and
it's
weight will be 25 lbs or less. It won't be cheap, but it won't cost as
much as a
new hi-end inflatable & it's engine.

I'm kind of bemused that other people aren't doing the same thing, given
the
amount of time & money that goes into cruising dinghies.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King