On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 21:36:00 GMT, (Larry W4CSC) wrote:

Before you give West Marine some outrageous amount of money for this
cutesy milk bottle boat, how about do a little simulator testing on
the Hunter to see how it's gonna work out?


I can get one a lot of places cheaper than Waste Marine, Larry. Like
for $495 in one case, and $595 in several others - vs $748 list.

It's a lot cheaper than a $2k Dyer Midget in price. I just want to
know how much cheaper in quality it is.

The character of the cheapo plastic is specifically what I was after,
as the title of the posting indicated.

Assuming you can't borrow one from your neighbor for a weekend, drop
by WalMart or some other big store and get a box that's 8 ft long, 4
ft wide by 3 ft high (about the same dimensions as the Walker Bay).
Strap the box down on your foredeck for a while to see if it's gonna
be in the way and what problems it will be. Haul the box on and off
of the dock over the rails and riggin' with enough junk in it to match
the weigh of the WB8.


I've measured the fore-deck space (mostly fore-cabin-top, actually)
and have a 110% jib that will clear it and is on a Furlex that has not
required unfouling from the foredeck, anyway (thus-farg.

The side-decks will be well clear, and there will be some limited
space before it. Its height at the transom and most of the way to its
bow is more like 2 ft - not 3 - and the dink's bow will be on the
lowest portion of the H310's foreward-sloping cabin-top.

(It is, at least not shaped like your cardboard box. I just wonder if
it'll have the same durability. g)

One of the attractions of the Walker Bay 8 is an empty weight of 71lbs
vs 80 for a Midget. However, I think either will be tolerable for two
people with a simple 3-point line-harness to my spinnaker halyard.

I was interested to hear if anyone here had actual experience trying
to duplicate the Walker Bay marketeer's (posed) photo of the guy
apparently trying to life-test his life-lines by dragging one over
them onto his fore-deck.

I have no problem towing it, but not if I run into heavy weather. I
have litle use for anything that plays sea-anchor, or can't be easily
rowed. Hence, my lack of interest in de-flatables. But, I'm only
interested in a hard-dink if I have a place to put it - if I want to.

That's also why I'm interested in a Niccolls Lite NN10 nestable, but
they don't seem to answer emails.

I'm asking you to do this because a boater just gave me a Watertender
9.4' little tri-hulled dingy from E-dock at our marina, here. He's
been trying to give it away to another yacht for a year, but it's been
sitting gathering amazing biology docked in front of his sloop. I
offered to pump the water out of it one day and he said, "Do you want
it? It's YOURS!", and eventually signed over the title to me. He got
fed up doing what you're intending and bought himself a folding boat,
the kind you see fishermen use. It folds FLAT and mounts against his
handrail up in his bow using ZERO deck space. They hated the
Watertender but love the folding boat.....

I put the little boat on a little trailer with a 3hp Yamaha outboard
another yachtsman who sold his Hatteras gave me. Makes a great little
river boat for out in front of my home. Great for exploring the
little creeks, too......but not if you gotta haul it over the rail and
store it on deck....

Free boat/motors are fantastic performers...(c;



Amen, brother.

I'm not sure what I'd do with something that large on my little 310,
though.


On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 20:56:47 GMT, Albert P. Belle Isle
wrote:

I'm really attracted to the Walker Bay 8 as a dink that appears
sufficiently small to fit inverted on the foredeck of my little Hunter
310, and light enough to possibly be able to man-handle on-and-off
without using a jury-rigged harness.

However, I note that it's made of injection-molded polypropylene.

Can anyone comment on the ease-of-launch/stowage issue, or -
especially - on how effective their "UV stabilization" really is?

Also - is Niccolls Lite still in business? Their NN10 looks really
nifty.

Thanks.

Al
s/v Persephone


Larry W4CSC

NNNN

Albert P. Belle Isle wrote:
... I
have litle use for anything that plays sea-anchor, or can't be easily
rowed. Hence, my lack of interest in de-flatables. But, I'm only
interested in a hard-dink if I have a place to put it - if I want to.

Albert,
Have you checked out the Porta- Botes? We love ours. Rows easily and
planes w/ a 3.5 hp outboard.

http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/PortaCover.JPG
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/PortaBote2.JPG
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/PortaBoteWake.JPG
--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean"
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJean.JPG

On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 00:16:27 GMT, Dan Best wrote:

Albert P. Belle Isle wrote:
... I
have litle use for anything that plays sea-anchor, or can't be easily
rowed. Hence, my lack of interest in de-flatables. But, I'm only
interested in a hard-dink if I have a place to put it - if I want to.

Albert,
Have you checked out the Porta- Botes? We love ours. Rows easily and
planes w/ a 3.5 hp outboard.

http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/PortaCover.JPG
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/PortaBote2.JPG
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/PortaBoteWake.JPG

Thanks for the pics, Dan.

Do you have a 10 footer? I had (prematurely) decided against a
Porta-Bote due to the (mis-)impression that 10 ft was the shortest.

I've since been informed that there's an 8-footer, which may be _just_
what I need. Is yours an 8-footer?

Al

Albert P. Belle Isle wrote:

Do you have a 10 footer? I had (prematurely) decided against a
Porta-Bote due to the (mis-)impression that 10 ft was the shortest.

I've since been informed that there's an 8-footer, which may be _just_
what I need. Is yours an 8-footer?

Hi Al,
No, Mine's a 12' model. Spacious for 2 or 3 people, comfortable for 4
and we can squeeze 5 into it.
As a lot of people have heard me say before when this topic comes up,
I'm a convert. We have had a 10' Avon for years (and still have it, but
haven't used it since we bought the Porta-Bote 2+ years ago). I'll be
happy to wax eloquent on the details as to why we like it so much, but
the short answer is that as a tender, it is MUCH better than our Avon in
all ways except one. The inflatable is easier to board from the bow at
a crowded dinghy dock.

We have also not had a chance to confirm that it works well as a skin
diving platform (which the Avon is great at). We should get a chance to
do this on a Channel Islands trip we are trying to put together for next
summer (the water here in N. Calif. is too cold for me to enjoy spending
a lot of time in the water

You asked about fit and finish. No problems with ours, but a few people
have had some minor issues. The factory, however, stands behind the
product and resolves any problems. Yahoo.com has a listserver dedicated
to the Porta-Bote. Check it out the archives for a real look at what
the owners talk about. Rarely are any problems mentioned. One
important issue to me is the ruggedness, We never worry about rubbing
against rocks or running it up on the beach.

They also come up on Ebay now and then. In fact, that's where we bought
ours.

--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean" http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJean.JPG

On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 05:42:03 GMT, "Daniel E. Best"
wrote:



Albert P. Belle Isle wrote:

Do you have a 10 footer? I had (prematurely) decided against a
Porta-Bote due to the (mis-)impression that 10 ft was the shortest.

I've since been informed that there's an 8-footer, which may be _just_
what I need. Is yours an 8-footer?

Hi Al,
No, Mine's a 12' model. Spacious for 2 or 3 people, comfortable for 4
and we can squeeze 5 into it.
As a lot of people have heard me say before when this topic comes up,
I'm a convert. We have had a 10' Avon for years (and still have it, but
haven't used it since we bought the Porta-Bote 2+ years ago). I'll be
happy to wax eloquent on the details as to why we like it so much, but
the short answer is that as a tender, it is MUCH better than our Avon in
all ways except one. The inflatable is easier to board from the bow at
a crowded dinghy dock.

We have also not had a chance to confirm that it works well as a skin
diving platform (which the Avon is great at). We should get a chance to
do this on a Channel Islands trip we are trying to put together for next
summer (the water here in N. Calif. is too cold for me to enjoy spending
a lot of time in the water

You asked about fit and finish. No problems with ours, but a few people
have had some minor issues. The factory, however, stands behind the
product and resolves any problems. Yahoo.com has a listserver dedicated
to the Porta-Bote. Check it out the archives for a real look at what
the owners talk about. Rarely are any problems mentioned. One
important issue to me is the ruggedness, We never worry about rubbing
against rocks or running it up on the beach.

They also come up on Ebay now and then. In fact, that's where we bought
ours.

Thanks for all the info, Dan.

It's made me very interested in a PortaBote, but I have one other
thing to consider.

The Admiral feels that she'd be more comfortable with a hard dink vs
something that has "assembly required," in case our collection of fire
extinguishers proved inadequate to an onboard fire.

That's also a consideration in the towing vs foredeck-stowing
decision, since galley, engine, fuel tank and LPG tank are all aft of
the mast - but any lashings of an inverted dink would have to be
quick-releasable from a forward hatch opening under the dink.

(Would mitigate against lashing a folded Porta-Bote on top of said
hatch, also. I'd probably have to try to follow your example from your
pics of the cabin-top lashing, or accept the create-a-bulwark mode.)

We'll have to think it all over yet again, I guess.

On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 05:42:03 GMT, "Daniel E. Best"
wrote:



Albert P. Belle Isle wrote:

Do you have a 10 footer? I had (prematurely) decided against a
Porta-Bote due to the (mis-)impression that 10 ft was the shortest.

I've since been informed that there's an 8-footer, which may be _just_
what I need. Is yours an 8-footer?

Hi Al,
No, Mine's a 12' model. Spacious for 2 or 3 people, comfortable for 4
and we can squeeze 5 into it.
As a lot of people have heard me say before when this topic comes up,
I'm a convert. We have had a 10' Avon for years (and still have it, but
haven't used it since we bought the Porta-Bote 2+ years ago). I'll be
happy to wax eloquent on the details as to why we like it so much, but
the short answer is that as a tender, it is MUCH better than our Avon in
all ways except one. The inflatable is easier to board from the bow at
a crowded dinghy dock.

We have also not had a chance to confirm that it works well as a skin
diving platform (which the Avon is great at). We should get a chance to
do this on a Channel Islands trip we are trying to put together for next
summer (the water here in N. Calif. is too cold for me to enjoy spending
a lot of time in the water

You asked about fit and finish. No problems with ours, but a few people
have had some minor issues. The factory, however, stands behind the
product and resolves any problems. Yahoo.com has a listserver dedicated
to the Porta-Bote. Check it out the archives for a real look at what
the owners talk about. Rarely are any problems mentioned. One
important issue to me is the ruggedness, We never worry about rubbing
against rocks or running it up on the beach.

They also come up on Ebay now and then. In fact, that's where we bought
ours.

Thanks for all the info, Dan.

It's made me very interested in a PortaBote, but I have one other
thing to consider.

The Admiral feels that she'd be more comfortable with a hard dink vs
something that has "assembly required," in case our collection of fire
extinguishers proved inadequate to an onboard fire.

That's also a consideration in the towing vs foredeck-stowing
decision, since galley, engine, fuel tank and LPG tank are all aft of
the mast - but any lashings of an inverted dink would have to be
quick-releasable from a forward hatch opening under the dink.

(Would mitigate against lashing a folded Porta-Bote on top of said
hatch, also. I'd probably have to try to follow your example from your
pics of the cabin-top lashing, or accept the create-a-bulwark mode.)

We'll have to think it all over yet again, I guess.

Albert P. Belle Isle wrote:

Do you have a 10 footer? I had (prematurely) decided against a
Porta-Bote due to the (mis-)impression that 10 ft was the shortest.

I've since been informed that there's an 8-footer, which may be _just_
what I need. Is yours an 8-footer?

Hi Al,
No, Mine's a 12' model. Spacious for 2 or 3 people, comfortable for 4
and we can squeeze 5 into it.
As a lot of people have heard me say before when this topic comes up,
I'm a convert. We have had a 10' Avon for years (and still have it, but
haven't used it since we bought the Porta-Bote 2+ years ago). I'll be
happy to wax eloquent on the details as to why we like it so much, but
the short answer is that as a tender, it is MUCH better than our Avon in
all ways except one. The inflatable is easier to board from the bow at
a crowded dinghy dock.

We have also not had a chance to confirm that it works well as a skin
diving platform (which the Avon is great at). We should get a chance to
do this on a Channel Islands trip we are trying to put together for next
summer (the water here in N. Calif. is too cold for me to enjoy spending
a lot of time in the water

You asked about fit and finish. No problems with ours, but a few people
have had some minor issues. The factory, however, stands behind the
product and resolves any problems. Yahoo.com has a listserver dedicated
to the Porta-Bote. Check it out the archives for a real look at what
the owners talk about. Rarely are any problems mentioned. One
important issue to me is the ruggedness, We never worry about rubbing
against rocks or running it up on the beach.

They also come up on Ebay now and then. In fact, that's where we bought
ours.

--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean" http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJean.JPG

On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 00:16:27 GMT, Dan Best wrote:

Albert P. Belle Isle wrote:
... I
have litle use for anything that plays sea-anchor, or can't be easily
rowed. Hence, my lack of interest in de-flatables. But, I'm only
interested in a hard-dink if I have a place to put it - if I want to.

Albert,
Have you checked out the Porta- Botes? We love ours. Rows easily and
planes w/ a 3.5 hp outboard.

http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/PortaCover.JPG
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/PortaBote2.JPG
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/PortaBoteWake.JPG

Thanks for the pics, Dan.

Do you have a 10 footer? I had (prematurely) decided against a
Porta-Bote due to the (mis-)impression that 10 ft was the shortest.

I've since been informed that there's an 8-footer, which may be _just_
what I need. Is yours an 8-footer?

Al

I also found out something I find rather funny, here in South
Carolina......

DNR quietly changed the rules of late to INCLUDE all sailboats, even
ones that have no engine, in the titling/licensing/personal property
taxing scam on us. The only sailboats not titled and taxed are
"windsurfers" in the new regs.

So, if you buy the sailing rig for the Walker Bay 8, here in
Charleston, you have to register it with DNR so the county tax
bureaucrats can tax it, even though it has no motor.

How stupid can they get....(c; You can still ROW the WB8 without a
license here. Your state may not be as stupid as ours.....


Larry W4CSC

NNNN

On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 22:41:48 +0000, Albert P. Belle Isle wrote:

On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 21:36:00 GMT, (Larry W4CSC) wrote:

Before you give West Marine some outrageous amount of money for this
cutesy milk bottle boat, how about do a little simulator testing on
the Hunter to see how it's gonna work out?


I can get one a lot of places cheaper than Waste Marine, Larry. Like
for $495 in one case, and $595 in several others - vs $748 list.


Wow - that's expensive! I got mine for $500 CDN at Steveston Marine
(had to assemble it myself - took all of 1/2 hr).

Lloyd Sumpter
"Near Cove" Walker Bay 8