alt.dinghy: A place to talk about choices beyond RIBs

[OldManMirage]

Originally Posted by Benz

^^ here's me washing cloth diapers from it in Baja, if it'll attach..

That is awesome ! That's some real cruising if I ever saw it !

[Evergreen]

A 10ft aluminum Jon Boat checks many of the boxes. Used them for years, as a kid, diving for lobster in the ocean.
I am constantly amazed at how few of them I see out there being used as tenders.
The only draws backs are: 1) Not very pretty 2) Rail bumpers need to be added 3) After many years the oar locks wear at the pivot.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Evergreen

A 10ft aluminum Jon Boat checks many of the boxes. Used them for years, as a kid, diving for lobster in the ocean.
I am constantly amazed at how few of them I see out there being used as tenders.
The only draws backs are: 1) Not very pretty 2) Rail bumpers need to be added 3) After many years the oar locks wear at the pivot.

How well do they handle large waves?

[Pegu Club]

We currently have a ten foot Port a Bote, we have had two inflatables, and a Walker Bay, The Port A Bote is by far the driest ride of them all, goes quite quickly with a four HP 2 stroke Yamaha, hauls a lot of “stuff” and has been really good for snorkeling with our rope ladder for getting back on board. We have found it to be very good in the Bahamas for longer distance adventures, we have three gallon external fuel tank, when combined with the internal fuel tank it gives us very good range from the mothership, and you can drag it onto a rocky beach with no concerns. We find the Port A Bote to be plenty stable for boarding, loading and unloading, one minor inconvenience is the black seats, they get really hot in the sun, so we put silver colored Sunbrella covers on them and have no more issue with hot seats. It also rows way better than any inflatable ever will. We stow it on cradles attached to the stanchions on the side deck, which is better for us than covering the fore deck with our previous inflatables, we have a monitor steering vane on the transom, so no Davits. Having a thirty foot long sailboat stowage for a dingy can be troublesome, and the Port a Bote does the trick for us.

Fair winds,

[Evergreen]

Jammer:
Jon boats don't handle well at speed in large waves. They bang a lot when it gets rough.
But, who wants to go anywhere when it gets rough. All you do is get soaking wet.
And having such a boat encourages you to have a smaller engine which is much more manageable.
I used them for years of scuba diving, and beat the heck out of them, and they never let me down.

[JPA Cate]

Who wants to go anywhere when it gets rough?

What if it was nice and manageable when you left the dinghy to take the bus into town, and when you came back it was blowing a not predicted 25 on the nose? "Home", the mother boat, is upwind from the place you left the dinghy to catch the bus. ....My friend and I got very soaked. It happens.

Ann