Folding Dinghy

I have one of these Port-a-Botes that I carried on a floatplane struts for use on remote lakes in Alaska. Takes about 20 minutes to assemble but would be a real hassle to assemble on board a C-dory..... but could be done. I never used it on my C-dory.

Richard in Fairbanks, AK
 
Do a search on Porta Bote in that little window above right - you'll get at least a half dozen threads. We had one; it was a great boat for landing on oyster shells or rocks, but not the best dinghy for hauling on a C-Dory. It worked great with one of our sailboats. The best dinghy is the one that is easy and quick to deploy and use, and that depends on the mother-ship and the circumstances. Most of us use inflatables carried on the cabin top. You'll find plenty of reading on the threads you'll get on the search.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
If you think you want a Porta-Bote, try to assemble one at the dealer. Then imagine doing that in your cockpit! I decided it would be nearly impossible.
 
Larry H":4877tj8w said:
If you think you want a Porta-Bote, try to assemble one at the dealer. Then imagine doing that in your cockpit! I decided it would be nearly impossible.
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The Porta-Bote is unique: kinda between an inflatable and a hard dinghy. Like many things, once you have figured out the assembly process, it goes much faster. I could certainly assemble our Porta-Bote faster than I can pump up our inflatable with a foot pump. Realistically, you need at least the length and width of the boat in flat, open space for easy assembly - thus, the reason it would be hard to assemble one in the cockpit of a C-Dory. It was pretty easy to do on the nets of our trimaran.

The first time you open up a Porta-Bote for assembly, they are stiff; you really need the "pry bar/board" they give you with the boat to keep it open before you install the first seat. If you leave the boat assembled for a while, the next time you unfold it will be easier (less stiff). The only downside of the Porta-Bote (besides the space it takes to unfold/set-up) is that the seats and stern of the boat take up as much or more space than the folded hull... you have to find a place for those items.

To be fair, I've never tried to pump up our inflatable in the cockpit of our C-Dory - I always inflate it on land or at the dock and put it up on the cabintop before departing. I suppose you could do that with the Porta-Bote, but our experience with that boat was the rubber keel-joint leaves a damn ugly black streak if you drag it across your gelcoat! I learned that the hard way with our trimaran, and went to putting a towel or rug on the gelcoat where we'd drag the Porta-Bote up onto our sailboat. I did tow the Porta-Bote behind another sailboat, and it did fine (without the motor mounted)... I don't think I'd want to do that with the C-Dory, considering the different speeds we cruise at.

I liked the ride of the Porta-Bote - it kind of "slithers" over waves. Doesn't slap or bounce like a hard dinghy or an inflatable. That movement, and the resulting flex in the hull, can be unnerving at first, but the boat never gave us any concern. It also rows better than an inflatable.

We had the 12' model, and it was a bit ungainly to handle by myself; easy to pull aboard or put on top of the SUV with two of us.

So, pluses and minuses. If I were using it in one place, or carrying it in/on an RV, it would be a good choice. To use with a C-Dory, not so easy or convenient. It often comes down to using what you have, though. We sold the Porta-Bote after buying the inflatable, since I didn't feel the need for 2 dinghies. That said, if you are going to use a dinghy around a rocky shore or oyster flats, that thing is pretty bullet-proof. Our experience was that it was no more effort to set-up than an inflatable once you did it a couple times.

Hope that helps.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Just a minor comment. I've tried to pump up an inflatable bu hand in the cockpit of Journey On, and thought there had to be another way. It was doable, but hard work. So I bought an electric inflateable pump: Scoprega Bravo SuperTurbo BST 12 HP.

We can pump up an 11 1/2' Achilles and have it launched in about 20 min (clocked,) over the side with the oars in. The pump also deflates it, quickly and well, so it's easy to roll up and store in the cockpit, where it serves as a foot rest. We only tow it if we're going a couple of miles. I can't imagine towing anything through chop or for miles (such as to Catalina.)

A note on the pump: don't get the built in batter, the other kind is cheaper. and search for it on the internet. It was quite a bit cheaper that way.

If you only want a Porta Bote, forget the above. I've seen them in use and tried them and prefer an inflatable.

Boris
 
Hi Hugh. I have had a 12' Porta-Bote and 6 hp OB Motor for about 5 years now. It has been a fabulous addition to our 6x12 enclosed trailer, which also carries 2 motorcycles including a V-Strom 650. It provides boating flexibility to our RV trips.

As Richard and Jim said, it works great where one can assemble it and roll it down the boat ramp.

I definitely agree w/ Jim on durability and ride. As usual, he has nailed the description. The thing is bullet proof and will live way longer than an inflatable.

With the floatation foam around the top of the boat, it looks like I could still run the motor w/ the boat fully swamped. I would like to try that some time under controlled conditions w/ out MBM (Madame Boat Member) around.

I have had a long time goal to get a C-Dory. It will probably end up being a 16 Cruiser at some point. I gave a brief thought about using the PB as a dinghy for a bigger C-Dory or Ranger Tug if we are able to go that way, but dismissed almost immediately for the reasons Jim and others have cited.

I love my PB, but I would not consider my 12' for a dinghy. It weighs too much and would be too hard to maneuver on the bigger boat.

The 8' PB weighs in a 54#, is 8'6" long and goes 56" wide. Just curious how that compares to the inflatables in terms of weight, length, and width?
 
"The 8' PB weighs in a 54#, is 8'6" long and goes 56" wide. Just curious how that compares to the inflatables in terms of weight, length, and width?"
_________________
Sam on C's The Day or maybe Marinauty (Someday)
It does not matter how many moments that you take a breath, It is how many moments take your breath away.
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That's pretty close to my fake Alaskan Inflatable stats, and it probably handles better. I might be interested in that after I get my aft arch finished. Might be a good idea. Thanks.

I had looked at the PB's with considerable interest (and started one of the threads on the site here about them) but after trying to set one up, decided it would have to be left set up, hadn't figured out how to carry it yet.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
I've owned 3 Porta-Botes, the first being an earlier "double-ender" 10 ft version that they don't make anymore, they were replaced with the square-back transom model that are the only ones sold now. The square-back transom is a much better choice for adding an outboard and gives you much more room for an ice-chest and gear.

Like Jim, I also used it on my trimaran and other sailboats, worked great because sailboats generally have a long forward (mid-ship) deck for unfolding and deploying the boat. I tried it several times on my CD25, I used the 10 ft (square-back), deployed it vertically in the cockpit. It worked, but because the ocean weather tends to be on the cool side, it required a LOT of effort to open on those early morning arrivals, even with their pry system. They are excellent with RV's also as mentioned, plus sometimes we'd just rooftop carry it to a local marina or lake and spend the day on the water (we bought a canopy also).

My brother has a 12ft PB with sail kit. I sailed it with him. I believe that was the first and last time it was used. It sailed decent, but quite complicated to deploy and operate, too much so in my opinion.

I abandoned the PB after about 6 months, bought an 8.5' inflatable, never looked back, quite happy. Plus I stow the inflatable up on deck in the front, so it helps with weight and balance. I generally inflate on board (90% of the time), about 10-15 minutes.
 
BTW, good electric pumps, like the one Boris uses, are on the pricey side. Excellent though. My $150 lower end "good" pump died in year #2, probably the salt air. I now use a cheapie $30 pump from West Marine that fills it 95%, then I top off with a foot pump in about 15 pumps each chamber. Very acceptable.

Plus, if you have kids along, the foot pump is a great task to "assign"!!!
 
I have several cheap pumps, which have come with "toys"--and several high quality: the Scoprega
12 Hpp High Pressure Inflator from Scoprega is very good for high pressure floors, and goes up to 11.7 PSI. Basically a two stage pump.

The other is LVM. I have had this pump for over 35 years, and it has traveled 10's if not hundreds of thousands of miles with me on the ocean and still works like a champ. It is fast, but only blows the boat up to about 1.5 to 1.7 PSI--so if you want a firm surface you may need a few strokes with a hand or foot pump--or a high pressure pump. But don't tank the tubes above recommended pressure--usually in the 2 PSI range.
 
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