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.