Portland Pudgy

I called a talked to someone at the shop in Maine yesterday and he said they had towed it successfully up to 28 knots! I told him that was almost precisely the top speed of my boat but the truth is I would like to carry it more than tow it.

Do folks use a special rope type or rope floats for towing dinghys? How do you keep it out of the props?
 
Aurelia":9jdgg0n2 said:
So it sounds like storing one of these on a 22 would be a tough task but how would a 25 handle it? If a clever person could devise a simple way to bring it up to the roof and back off again, do you think the weight of 150-200 lbs would significantly impact the stability of a loaded 25 classic? I have been interested in the Pudgy and have been thinking about how to make it work for a 25. I have some rigging experience and am not afraid to try something challenging and it doesn't seem like the weight would really be a problem for the boat. Many owners seem to carry at least 75lbs of inflatable and other items on the roof.
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I doubt the weight up top would be much of a problem for the stability of the 25 but unless you have a properly designed and fitted davit, get a 125 rigid boat on and off the roof is a major challenge. I was amazed at how difficult it can be just to get a small inflatable on and off the roof especially in anything other than flat conditions.
 
The factory sent me a price list today in .doc format. They have a $300 fall discount on the price of a basic boat right now.

$2595 for the basic boat

$1095 for the new improved sailing kit

They said shipping to the west coast ran about $300.

If anyone wants the full pricelist, I can forward it to you.

Greg
 
Don't know if I would recommend it for others, but our Mokai is 100 lbs without fuel and motor and we at times carry it on top of our 22CD. I take it off and on by myself because Jo-Lee's bad shoulders don't allow her to help. Also in 2007 on our Alaska Inland passage cruise we towed it behind the boat for the entire cruise of almost 2000 miles and that was with engine and fuel tank with a total weight of 150 lbs. Unless glassy water speed was limited to about 16 mph. With hip tie going to docks worked smooth for us. Seems to me the Pudgy could work well for towing on an extended cruise with the 25CD

My concern would be if it really could handle the nasty stuff like our Mokai was able to under tow. Just being better to tow then an inflatable is not a good comparison because they are notorious for flipping when towed at planing speeds in poor sea conditions.

Jay
 
Well........ we did it and ordered a yellow Pudgy and plan to keep it upright on the roof of our 25. We may tow it when cruising slow from bay to bay as well. I plan on designing and building a launching rig to get from roof to water and back over the bow and although I have a basic plan in mind, I may have to rely on some of your clever input to get the final solution in place. We love a challenge and are not afraid to drill and few holes. Now we wait....

Greg and Cindie
 
Aurelia":1vbq61t1 said:
Well........ we did it and ordered a yellow Pudgy and plan to keep it upright on the roof of our 25. We may tow it when cruising slow from bay to bay as well. I plan on designing and building a launching rig to get from roof to water and back over the bow and although I have a basic plan in mind, I may have to rely on some of your clever input to get the final solution in place. We love a challenge and are not afraid to drill and few holes.
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Very cool -- please share your path to this decision. I will be most interested in your launching rig.

I carry my inflatable Alaska series upright on my Tom Cat roof and have to struggle when it fills with rainwater. At the SBS I talked to Jim King about rigging a drain through the floor. Does the Pudgy have a drain plug?

Warren
 
If I were going to try to tow the PP in tough conditions at all, I'd get as very tight and strong cover made for it to keep the water out, and remove the outboard and any thing else not bolted down.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Well you will both be happy to hear that not only does a pudgy have a drain plug but you can also leave it out while towing because it is self bailing with up to 30 extra pounds of gear stored in the waterproof walls. It has also been test towed up to 28 knots without any tendency to flip and they encouraged me to try that for myself (tempting). The bottom of the boat is a foam filled block with a flat floor inside so the drain plug is actually above water line without people in it. That was one of the intelligent designs that sold us on the product.

We also picked it because:

-basically puncture proof and truely unsinkable.
-Will motor nice with an electric motor or small gas (we are in no hurry)
-Better stability that most other hard boats
-re-entry from the water is not difficult and can be done solo with no ladder
-Lots of waterproof storage for gear built into the boat hull walls. I plan to add a -small permanent battery system with solar charging to plug my electric motor into for short trips to shore or dock and back without lugging the battery "box".
-Designed as a life boat as well and features serious weathering ability with a drift anchor.
-Very low maintenance materials that take a beating and don't add to my chores
-Tows great with standard towing eyes and bridal and full keel with actual "boat" shaped hull
-Will serve as great impervious exploration craft for us when we leave the big boat at the marina.
-Rows very well
-on and on and on

I have been looking for used units for the last 8 months and found exactly two in the county during that time so it seems those who have them tend to hang onto them.


Check out the website for the much more. Portlandpudgy.com
 
Dreamer":1crtzfvx said:
Greg,

Polypropylene rope, similar to water ski rope but a larger diameter works well for towing. It floats.
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This is what we use and is made just for towing dinghies.

Says it floats and won't foul the props. I learned different the hard way. Floats fairly well, but will sink and definitely if not careful will foul the prop. Think its the best one going for towing, but it will sink and that consideration must be kept in mind.

Jay
 
Well you will both be happy to hear that not only does a pudgy have a drain plug but you can also leave it out while towing because it is self bailing with up to 30 extra pounds of gear stored in the waterproof walls. It has also been test towed up to 28 knots without any tendency to flip and they encouraged me to try that for myself (tempting). The bottom of the boat is a foam filled block with a flat floor inside so the drain plug is actually above water line without people in it. That was one of the intelligent designs that sold us on the product.
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Great info on the towing. Might never need it put it on the roof. Cool.

Harvey
SleepyC
 
The pudgy was delivered last week. We took it out camping over the weekend and really like the design. It was a bit slower than I expected with our electric motor (3.5 mph) so we will likely add a 2hp honda to the motor maintenance list. I don't have any pics loaded yet but its the basic boat in yellow and I will post some soon. As far as how to use it with our 25....thats what I am working on now (along with curtains).

We will have it sitting on a Thule car type rack on kayak saddles with the rack feet sitting on the roof and clamped to the grab rails to keep it stationary. Sweat Pea did that and has nice pics in their album.

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_ ... _photo.php

I am planning to launch it over the bow using two bars (16.5 in spacing) as sliders mounted to the forward rack crossbar and spanning forward about 10.5 ft to the bow rail. The bow rail will have to take the weight transition and to strengthen it I am adding two more stainless 1in verticals a few inches back from the anchor roller. These will have pins and be removable if needed. At that point, which will be slightly raised off the bow rail to clear the keel, another pair of bars with the same spacing will hinge downward over the bow rail to the water with about a 9 ft length. At the end of those will be a fender linking the bars at 16.5 inches which corrisponds to a nice molded channel in the hull of the pudgy. That 16.5 inches spacing will be used for both sets of bars to make the trip from the rack to the water. Ther is another channel at about 35 inches but I am leaning toward the smaller dimension. A simple friction brake will slow the descent of the pudgy off the bow and I don't think sliding it from the rack to the railing will be difficult (might use a light lube). Pulling it back up the bars from the water over the bow will be the trick and for that I plan to use a small pulley system manually operated and anchored to a stainless eye I am adding to the rearmost centerpoint on the cabin roof. I would like to use standard hinged rail fittings with removeable pins so that it can all be deployed and collapsed in two primary sections in a couple of minutes and stowed under the Pudgy on the roof rack with a couple of straps. The details change a bit each day and once I have a prototype to test it will likely evolve a bit more. I made some fancy graphics but they kept changing so I store the design in my head for easier change management.

Thats the plan and I hope to have it working in time for the Friday Harbor gathering. I we come in with a yellow boat in tow, that means I am behind schedule.

Any suggestions on the best sources for tubing and rail hardware? Or other suggestions...


I love this kind of problem,

Greg
 
Not sure if this would work for you, but I have used either small roller bearing wheels, or trailer rollers for launching or retrieving heavy dinghies.

We had one which weighed about 375 lbs with the RIB, fuel, battery, gear, and outboad--used a simple trailer roller and electric winch with a SS cable to pull over the stern (much bigger boat than C Dory 25)--but the idea is the same. You might also consider teflon over the area you want to pull the boat--to avoid damage to the hull.
 
As I visualize this, it has several problems--first you have to use fittings which fit inside of the SS pipe (the only choice to me would be SS pipe--and even that will flex with the weight you are considering. The boat is 128 lbs and you are considering 175 lbs--what is the difference? 175 lbs is a lot of weight on the C Dory cabin top--and on the SS tubing. (our 25 had a lot of flexing on the cabin top--as I recollect it was not cored in the center raised area--how will this weight work on the un cored fiberglass under these pads?) Not sure what size tubing you will need to avoid serious flexing- but in aluminum, it would be considerably thicker tha 7/8. SS in 1" might be OK--we brought the 375 dingly aboard, using a SOLID SS 1" bar, and supported about 4" outside of the 18" trailer roller. (even though the entire bar was about 8 feet long, we had supports because of flexion) You are looking at about half that weight--and that is a lot of weight.

The next issue is the bow railing--are you going to cut it out,or modifly it to get rid of the "bow" upward--which will catch the boat, unless this tubing is much above the bow railing. Next is the fender--that is not much floatation and the weight of the boat will push it right on down, so you will be pulling that 175 (128) lbs almost straight up. That will take a considerable block and tackle--or electric winch. Your weight will be on the bow, as you try and guide it--I suspect, as well as the 175 lbs of the boat on the bow--this will tend to make the C Dory a bit less stable. Getting back to what I posted above, I would consider a trailer roller at the junction of where the bow railings and the the rails into the water come together. --maybe even a roller clamped along the way? You are going to be putting a lot of force on that boat right at the point where it comes from the tubing which is in the water to that which is on the boat--almost straight up. Also as tubing bows, it will both sag and be pushed outward if there is a rounded component of the boat's bottom.

I am not sure how fast you want this boat to go--but with the 2hp you will probably not get much over 5 mph--so not a lot more than the electric motor.

Even with the self bailing characteristics, I am not a big fan of towing any dinghy--and I occasionally tow a 12 foot aluminum skiff behind my Tom Cat (This boat weighs 183 lbs and I would never consider putting it on top of the Tom Cat--I did carry the 12 foot skiff on a 42 foot trawler Sun Deck roof, and used an Atkin's Hoyle 1200 lb capacity davit--it made the 42 foot (30,000 lb) boat heel significantly as I loaded it over the side) and have towed a 22 foot Grady White behind a 42 foot Trawler--but otherwise, I just don't tow dinghies. I have seen too many lost or capsized.

Yes, it may have been tested at 28 knots, but in what sea conditions?

The PP certainly sounds like a great boat
 
The 175lb number is just a conservative goal I keep in mind for worst case scenario. I plan to keep the boat under 150 including some equipment kept in the storage compartments. The amounts of force and friction on the incline from water to bow will be significant but without a prototype slapped on and some light pressure applied, it will be hard to know the specific treatments needed. I would rather not cut a section out of the bow rail but rather use rubber pads, short pole sections or some other method of raising the guide poles over the rail just enough to clear the keel. I don't know what that height will be but I am guessing about 10 inches.
 
128 pounds and more...wow!

I've got a WaterTender 8.8 Dinghy that weighs 62 pounds (hull weight), and it seems awfully heavy to me, and weighs almost as much as my Avon Rover 280 at 71 lbs.


Would be a lot easier to carry heavier boats like this on the stern of a boat with a Weaver Davit (or similar) if it weren't for the outboard(s) and relatively smallish C-Dory boat size.

Could a "wrap around" swim step be designed for a C-Dory that would allow a dinghy to be carried and deployed behind the outboard(s)?

IMG00008-20091108-1511.jpg

RIBuponDavits.jpg


Joe. :teeth :thup
 
There is no reason that you could not design a carrier which would fit over the cocpit or behind the cockpit. There are a number of carriers which fit on the swim platform, or behind it. I came close to buying a 45 foot trawer this winter, which had a 12 foot RIB with center console and 25 hp outboard, mounted on a SS rack, which fit on 2" sq SS tubing bolted and angle braced to the transom--very much like a trailer hitch. The rack had rollers and a manual winch ( it had an electric winch in the past). The RIB was winched aboard athawartships.

There are also several hyraulic lifts which fit behind swim steps or take the place of a swim step and will carry a large dinghy.

You could fabricate a rack over the outboard, and splash well--and I suspect that this would be far safer and easier to use than the rails over the bow. In any case the dynamics of the boat will change, because of more weight higher and in positions other than where normally carried. Re fabricating a bow pulpit is no big deal--we did this on several boats, to give us walk thru access to a Passeral mounted on the bow (the reason for a Passeral [or gangplank] mounted on the bow, is that the rudder of sailboats is often too deep to get close to a bank or dock where the gang plank would be used.

I think that somehow trying to get a 10" keel, or bottom of the boat, up over a bow pulpit would be extremely difficult and perhaps dangerous. There is also the question of there would be damage to the pulpit. Also the anchor roller position has to be considered, and be certain it does not do damage to the dinghy. If you were to follow that route, I probably would fabricate a new bow pulpit, which was only attatched in the middle by a lower bar, and at the top was rounded at each side--thus attatching a trailer roller between the top parts of the modified pulpit and bringing the rails to each side--and then the keel over the trailer roller. There may be other boaters on this form, who have had heavy dinghies, and used other than davit systems to bring them aboard, but it is not easy to do, without a carefully engineered system.

If you put in long davits to put the PP behind the outboard, it would put more weight aft (sort of a leverage effect--and because of the outboard, the davits would be further aft than on a Ranger 25 tug. You might also have to put some cables from the davits to the back of the cabin house--sounds a bit mesy.

Just some other thoughts to consider.
 
Messy is what I would like to avoid. We do have a very sturdy camperback that a couple of modifications could make strong enough to hold the Pudgy but I would rather not add more weight to the stern (still up high) with twins already making it heavier that average. The bow is going to be a challenge but I bought a trailer roller today and I am ready to try several approaches and evolve along with it.

Greg
 
Please keep us in the loop, and document with photos. After looking at photos of your boat, another possibility would be to bring one end of the PP up over the side of the foredeck (might have to shorten the bow rail)--and then pivoit it to pull it up to the cabin top.

Another thought--and entirely different way to go--is to re-design the aft bimini top to work like a "stacker" trailer, where the top rack pivoits down near to the water as a parallagram, the boat is winched aboard, and then the framework is winched back up to its full height--then the boat could be winched foreward (I know your radar is in the way).

In all of this I know that you will take all precautions to be safe.
 
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