Dinghy experiment #5
 

I've tried all kinds of dinghies for my 28' sailboat including:

8' Nautilus rigid....rowed well but was very heavy and difficult to carry on foredeck. Too small for 3 people.

12' Sevylor inflatable kayak. Paddled as if it was a wet log. Awful.

Cheapo inflatable boat. Not worth the time to inflate it.

Homebuilt 2-paw-9 2 piece nesting dinghy. Rowed great. Big enough for 4 people. Not too hard to put together but not on the foredeck. Fit poorly on foredeck and blocked my view.

This time, I bought a used 8' Porta-Bote. It rows well. It fits inside the shrouds against the cabin sides. Easy and fast to assemble on the foredeck. Lightweight. It carried 3 grown men. My dinghy experiments are over.

Dinghy experiment #5
 

On 6/9/2012 8:38 PM, Frogwatch wrote:
I've tried all kinds of dinghies for my 28' sailboat including:

8' Nautilus rigid....rowed well but was very heavy and difficult to carry on foredeck. Too small for 3 people.

12' Sevylor inflatable kayak. Paddled as if it was a wet log. Awful.

Cheapo inflatable boat. Not worth the time to inflate it.

Homebuilt 2-paw-9 2 piece nesting dinghy. Rowed great. Big enough for 4 people. Not too hard to put together but not on the foredeck. Fit poorly on foredeck and blocked my view.

This time, I bought a used 8' Porta-Bote. It rows well. It fits inside the shrouds against the cabin sides. Easy and fast to assemble on the foredeck. Lightweight. It carried 3 grown men. My dinghy experiments are over.

I was beating that into your head for the last couple years... LOL! I am
glad you finally got it.

Dinghy experiment #5
 

On Jun 9, 7:38*pm, Frogwatch wrote:
I've tried all kinds of dinghies for my 28' sailboat including:

8' Nautilus rigid....rowed well but was very heavy and difficult to carry on foredeck. *Too small for 3 people.

12' Sevylor inflatable kayak. *Paddled as if it was a wet log. *Awful..

Cheapo inflatable boat. *Not worth the time to inflate it.

Homebuilt 2-paw-9 2 piece nesting dinghy. *Rowed great. *Big enough for 4 people. *Not too hard to put together but not on the foredeck. *Fit poorly on foredeck and blocked my view.

This time, I bought a used *8' Porta-Bote. *It rows well. *It fits inside the shrouds against the cabin sides. *Easy and fast to assemble on the foredeck. *Lightweight. *It carried 3 grown men. *My dinghy experiments are over.

Glad you're satisfied Frog. it's good when there's a happy ending...

Dinghy experiment #5
 

On Saturday, June 9, 2012 8:38:12 PM UTC-4, Frogwatch wrote:
I've tried all kinds of dinghies for my 28' sailboat including:

8' Nautilus rigid....rowed well but was very heavy and difficult to carry on foredeck. Too small for 3 people.

12' Sevylor inflatable kayak. Paddled as if it was a wet log. Awful.

Cheapo inflatable boat. Not worth the time to inflate it.

Homebuilt 2-paw-9 2 piece nesting dinghy. Rowed great. Big enough for 4 people. Not too hard to put together but not on the foredeck. Fit poorly on foredeck and blocked my view.

This time, I bought a used 8' Porta-Bote. It rows well. It fits inside the shrouds against the cabin sides. Easy and fast to assemble on the foredeck. Lightweight. It carried 3 grown men. My dinghy experiments are over.

I found the 8' Porta-Bote locally the day before I left and quickly modified the bolts that hold the seats on to use SS spring loaded pins. When I took it to Fort Lauderdale, I wasn't really sure how I was going to get it to Marsh Harbor but Twin Air Calypso told me they would ship it freight. Surprise surprise, when I got into the 6 seat twin engine plane, they had taken out three seats to ship my dinghy "Freight" with me next to it.

Dinghy experiment #5
 

On Sat, 9 Jun 2012 18:54:35 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch
wrote:

On Saturday, June 9, 2012 8:38:12 PM UTC-4, Frogwatch wrote:
I've tried all kinds of dinghies for my 28' sailboat including:

8' Nautilus rigid....rowed well but was very heavy and difficult to carry on foredeck. Too small for 3 people.

12' Sevylor inflatable kayak. Paddled as if it was a wet log. Awful.

Cheapo inflatable boat. Not worth the time to inflate it.

Homebuilt 2-paw-9 2 piece nesting dinghy. Rowed great. Big enough for 4 people. Not too hard to put together but not on the foredeck. Fit poorly on foredeck and blocked my view.

This time, I bought a used 8' Porta-Bote. It rows well. It fits inside the shrouds against the cabin sides. Easy and fast to assemble on the foredeck. Lightweight. It carried 3 grown men. My dinghy experiments are over.

I found the 8' Porta-Bote locally the day before I left and quickly modified the bolts that hold the seats on to use SS spring loaded pins. When I took it to Fort Lauderdale, I wasn't really sure how I was going to get it to Marsh Harbor but Twin Air Calypso told me they would ship it freight. Surprise surprise, when I got into the 6 seat twin engine plane, they had taken out three seats to ship my dinghy "Freight" with me next to it.

===

Are you using it with an outboard motor? If so what size and type?

Dinghy experiment #5
 

On Jun 13, 9:11*pm, Wayne.B wrote:
On Sat, 9 Jun 2012 18:54:35 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch

wrote:
On Saturday, June 9, 2012 8:38:12 PM UTC-4, Frogwatch wrote:
I've tried all kinds of dinghies for my 28' sailboat including:

8' Nautilus rigid....rowed well but was very heavy and difficult to carry on foredeck. *Too small for 3 people.

12' Sevylor inflatable kayak. *Paddled as if it was a wet log. *Awful.

Cheapo inflatable boat. *Not worth the time to inflate it.

Homebuilt 2-paw-9 2 piece nesting dinghy. *Rowed great. *Big enough for 4 people. *Not too hard to put together but not on the foredeck. *Fit poorly on foredeck and blocked my view.

This time, I bought a used *8' Porta-Bote. *It rows well. *It fits inside the shrouds against the cabin sides. *Easy and fast to assemble on the foredeck. *Lightweight. *It carried 3 grown men. *My dinghy experiments are over.

I found the 8' Porta-Bote locally the day before I left and quickly modified the bolts that hold the seats on to use SS spring loaded pins. *When I took it to Fort Lauderdale, I wasn't really sure how I was going to get it to Marsh Harbor but Twin Air Calypso told me they would ship it freight. *Surprise surprise, when I got into the 6 seat twin engine plane, they had taken out three seats to ship my dinghy "Freight" with me next to it.

===

Are you using it with an outboard motor? *If so what size and type?

Can you mount an engine on a port a boat?

Dinghy experiment #5
 

On 6/13/2012 10:31 PM, Tim wrote:
On Jun 13, 9:11 pm, wrote:
On Sat, 9 Jun 2012 18:54:35 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch

wrote:
On Saturday, June 9, 2012 8:38:12 PM UTC-4, Frogwatch wrote:
I've tried all kinds of dinghies for my 28' sailboat including:

8' Nautilus rigid....rowed well but was very heavy and difficult to carry on foredeck. Too small for 3 people.

12' Sevylor inflatable kayak. Paddled as if it was a wet log. Awful.

Cheapo inflatable boat. Not worth the time to inflate it.

Homebuilt 2-paw-9 2 piece nesting dinghy. Rowed great. Big enough for 4 people. Not too hard to put together but not on the foredeck. Fit poorly on foredeck and blocked my view.

This time, I bought a used 8' Porta-Bote. It rows well. It fits inside the shrouds against the cabin sides. Easy and fast to assemble on the foredeck. Lightweight. It carried 3 grown men. My dinghy experiments are over.

I found the 8' Porta-Bote locally the day before I left and quickly modified the bolts that hold the seats on to use SS spring loaded pins. When I took it to Fort Lauderdale, I wasn't really sure how I was going to get it to Marsh Harbor but Twin Air Calypso told me they would ship it freight. Surprise surprise, when I got into the 6 seat twin engine plane, they had taken out three seats to ship my dinghy "Freight" with me next to it.

===

Are you using it with an outboard motor? If so what size and type?

Can you mount an engine on a port a boat?

Yes, they have a hard transom...

Dinghy experiment #5
 

On Jun 14, 1:14*am, wrote:
On Wed, 13 Jun 2012 19:31:28 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:









On Jun 13, 9:11*pm, Wayne.B wrote:
On Sat, 9 Jun 2012 18:54:35 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch

wrote:
On Saturday, June 9, 2012 8:38:12 PM UTC-4, Frogwatch wrote:
I've tried all kinds of dinghies for my 28' sailboat including:

8' Nautilus rigid....rowed well but was very heavy and difficult to carry on foredeck. *Too small for 3 people.

12' Sevylor inflatable kayak. *Paddled as if it was a wet log. *Awful.

Cheapo inflatable boat. *Not worth the time to inflate it.

Homebuilt 2-paw-9 2 piece nesting dinghy. *Rowed great. *Big enough for 4 people. *Not too hard to put together but not on the foredeck. *Fit poorly on foredeck and blocked my view.

This time, I bought a used *8' Porta-Bote. *It rows well. *It fits inside the shrouds against the cabin sides. *Easy and fast to assemble on the foredeck. *Lightweight. *It carried 3 grown men. *My dinghy experiments are over.

I found the 8' Porta-Bote locally the day before I left and quickly modified the bolts that hold the seats on to use SS spring loaded pins. *When I took it to Fort Lauderdale, I wasn't really sure how I was going to get it to Marsh Harbor but Twin Air Calypso told me they would ship it freight. *Surprise surprise, when I got

into the 6 seat twin engine plane, they had taken out three seats to ship my dinghy "Freight" with me next to it.



===

Are you using it with an outboard motor? *If so what size and type?

Can you mount an engine on a port a boat?

We have a snowbird here who uses a fold up boat every winter. He has a
5 Honda 4s on it. Actually it looks like a pretty nice rig for poking
around in the river and back in the creeks

wow!

Dinghy experiment #5
 

On Wed, 13 Jun 2012 19:31:28 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

I found the 8' Porta-Bote locally the day before I left and quickly modified the bolts that hold the seats on to use SS spring loaded pins. *When I took it to Fort Lauderdale, I wasn't really sure how I was going to get it to Marsh Harbor but Twin Air Calypso told me they would ship it freight. *Surprise surprise, when I got into the 6 seat twin engine plane, they had taken out three seats to ship my dinghy "Freight" with me next to it.

===

Are you using it with an outboard motor? *If so what size and type?

Can you mount an engine on a port a boat?

===

http://www.porta-bote.com/index.php

Dinghy experiment #5
 

On 6/14/2012 7:22 AM, Tim wrote:
On Jun 14, 1:14 am, wrote:
On Wed, 13 Jun 2012 19:31:28 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:









On Jun 13, 9:11 pm, wrote:
On Sat, 9 Jun 2012 18:54:35 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch

wrote:
On Saturday, June 9, 2012 8:38:12 PM UTC-4, Frogwatch wrote:
I've tried all kinds of dinghies for my 28' sailboat including:

8' Nautilus rigid....rowed well but was very heavy and difficult to carry on foredeck. Too small for 3 people.

12' Sevylor inflatable kayak. Paddled as if it was a wet log. Awful.

Cheapo inflatable boat. Not worth the time to inflate it.

Homebuilt 2-paw-9 2 piece nesting dinghy. Rowed great. Big enough for 4 people. Not too hard to put together but not on the foredeck. Fit poorly on foredeck and blocked my view.

This time, I bought a used 8' Porta-Bote. It rows well. It fits inside the shrouds against the cabin sides. Easy and fast to assemble on the foredeck. Lightweight. It carried 3 grown men. My dinghy experiments are over.

I found the 8' Porta-Bote locally the day before I left and quickly modified the bolts that hold the seats on to use SS spring loaded pins. When I took it to Fort Lauderdale, I wasn't really sure how I was going to get it to Marsh Harbor but Twin Air Calypso told me they would ship it freight. Surprise surprise, when I got

into the 6 seat twin engine plane, they had taken out three seats to ship my dinghy "Freight" with me next to it.



===

Are you using it with an outboard motor? If so what size and type?

Can you mount an engine on a port a boat?

We have a snowbird here who uses a fold up boat every winter. He has a
5 Honda 4s on it. Actually it looks like a pretty nice rig for poking
around in the river and back in the creeks

wow!

Tim, they are actyally a fairly functional tool. I have seen an old
couple (like in their 80's) set one up and mount a small motor, take off
for a day on the river. They had a ten footer, they pulled it right off
the top of their Volvo wagon, and were on the water in about 10 minutes...

Dinghy experiment #5
 

On Jun 14, 6:48*am, Wayne.B wrote:
On Wed, 13 Jun 2012 19:31:28 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

I found the 8' Porta-Bote locally the day before I left and quickly modified the bolts that hold the seats on to use SS spring loaded pins. *When I took it to Fort Lauderdale, I wasn't really sure how I was going to get it to Marsh Harbor but Twin Air Calypso told me they would ship it freight. *Surprise surprise, when I got into the 6 seat twin engine plane, they had taken out three seats to ship my dinghy "Freight" with me next to it.

===

Are you using it with an outboard motor? *If so what size and type?

Can you mount an engine on a port a boat?

===

http://www.porta-bote.com/index.php

Those are neat. I really didn't know what a porta boat was. looks like
a great idea to me.

Dinghy experiment #5
 

On 6/14/2012 8:03 PM, Tim wrote:
On Jun 14, 6:48 am, wrote:
On Wed, 13 Jun 2012 19:31:28 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

I found the 8' Porta-Bote locally the day before I left and quickly modified the bolts that hold the seats on to use SS spring loaded pins. When I took it to Fort Lauderdale, I wasn't really sure how I was going to get it to Marsh Harbor but Twin Air Calypso told me they would ship it freight. Surprise surprise, when I got into the 6 seat twin engine plane, they had taken out three seats to ship my dinghy "Freight" with me next to it.

===

Are you using it with an outboard motor? If so what size and type?

Can you mount an engine on a port a boat?

===

http://www.porta-bote.com/index.php

Those are neat. I really didn't know what a porta boat was. looks like
a great idea to me.

aaarrrrrrrrgggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!! They are awesome, they even have
flotation stuck on the sides...

Dinghy experiment #5
 

On Thursday, June 14, 2012 9:04:46 PM UTC-4, JustWait wrote:
On 6/14/2012 8:03 PM, Tim wrote:
On Jun 14, 6:48 am, wrote:
On Wed, 13 Jun 2012 19:31:28 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

I found the 8' Porta-Bote locally the day before I left and quickly modified the bolts that hold the seats on to use SS spring loaded pins. When I took it to Fort Lauderdale, I wasn't really sure how I was going to get it to Marsh Harbor but Twin Air Calypso told me they would ship it freight. Surprise surprise, when I got into the 6 seat twin engine plane, they had taken out three seats to ship my dinghy "Freight" with me next to it.

===

Are you using it with an outboard motor? If so what size and type?

Can you mount an engine on a port a boat?

===

http://www.porta-bote.com/index.php

Those are neat. I really didn't know what a porta boat was. looks like
a great idea to me.

aaarrrrrrrrgggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!! They are awesome, they even have
flotation stuck on the sides...

Mine is the 8' version and I row it. I bought two sorta expensive collapsible oars from West and oarlocks. It rows well with three grown men in it although I'd not want to go any distance with three men.
Mine seems to be an older version and they didn't use marine ply for the transom so as soon as I got it I was clamping the old transom together with epoxy and then gave it a quick coat of paint.
It is surprisingly light.
When I am away from my boat (like now) I stow it in the pilot berth.

Dinghy experiment #5
 

On Jun 14, 9:02*pm, Frogwatch wrote:
On Thursday, June 14, 2012 9:04:46 PM UTC-4, JustWait wrote:
On 6/14/2012 8:03 PM, Tim wrote:
On Jun 14, 6:48 am, *wrote:
On Wed, 13 Jun 2012 19:31:28 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

I found the 8' Porta-Bote locally the day before I left and quickly modified the bolts that hold the seats on to use SS spring loaded pins. *When I took it to Fort Lauderdale, I wasn't really sure how I was going to get it to Marsh Harbor but Twin Air Calypso told me they would ship it freight. *Surprise surprise, when I got into the 6 seat twin engine plane, they had taken out three seats to ship my dinghy "Freight" with me next to it.

===

Are you using it with an outboard motor? *If so what size and type?

Can you mount an engine on a port a boat?

===

http://www.porta-bote.com/index.php

Those are neat. I really didn't know what a porta boat was. looks like
a great idea to me.

aaarrrrrrrrgggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!! *They are awesome, they even have
flotation stuck on the sides...

*It rows well with three grown men in it although I'd not want to go
any distance with three men.


solution: let them do the rowing.