The Perfect Dinghy

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Mike Vogdes

nuther vote for the portland pudgy..

Basic Boat $2,595.
Portland Pudgy prices: dinghy, safety at sea, and other boating gear

Only $2500 more than the nice stable plywood flattie I made in a weekend and its quite heavy as well

[Mike Vogdes]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Basic Boat $2,595.
Portland Pudgy prices: dinghy, safety at sea, and other boating gear

Only $2500 more than the nice stable plywood flattie I made in a weekend.

You get what you pay for....

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Mike Vogdes

You get what you pay for....

It has an identical description to mine

Imagine a rugged, unsinkable dinghy you can row, motor, sail, and even use as a lifeboat.

Whats that saying about people being easily parted from their money

[Mike Vogdes]

Originally Posted by cat man do

It has an identical description to mine

Whats that saying about people being easily parted with their money

Actually the portland pudgy is probably north of 8k if you go with all the bells and whistles, and if you want to power it and supply it with survival gear, you're probably 10 to 12k depending on how you go. Good luck with that plywood pram if you really need to step off in a blow.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Mike Vogdes

Actually the portland pudgy is probably north of 8k if you go with all the bells and whistles, and if you want to power it and supply it with survival gear, you're probably 10 to 12k depending on how you go.

Ridiculous cost for a rotomoulded piece of plastic

Good luck with that plywood pram if you really need to step off in a blow.

A) I thought thats what a liferaft is supposedly for
B) I wouldnt be stepping off, I would be stepping up and thats not overly likely in a multi built of positive floatation material

I doubt the pudgy would be any better than a carly float in a serious blow anyway, same as the plywood dinghy
And at least with the plywood dinghy I dont have to worry about someone stealing my $12000 liferaft when its parked on the beach because my lifefraft would be back on the main boat, in its case, where it belongs.

Not only that I still have $9000 in my pocket
(difference between a Ply dinghy and a 4 person liferaft Vs 1 $12000 portland pudgy)

[Chasing Summer]

Cool comments ... and yes, I am reading every one of them.
Thank you all ... keep commenting ... but I think the portland pudgy is way out of my budget at this point.
I'll probably start looking for a mould to lay up a fiberglass dinghy.
Let's add a new twist to the thread.
What kind of bow and stern for a fiberglass dinghy?
Thanks all

[mangomuffins]

Chasing Summer,

First of all...did you catch her yet??

Porta-boat. I know a folding boat sounds ridiculous but... they really are rugged, versatile, compact. They come double ended (not my choice) or square stern (motors better). You can get a used one for quite reasonable $$. I think this makes three votes for porta-boat.

mm

[Cheechako]

Whatever you do, go with at least 10 ft. The Livingston has been very popular over the years with powerboaters. It's essentially a catamaran. Due to the raised up tunnel in the middle I find them very uncomfortable with less freight capacity. But they are stable, if I had to limit to 8ft I might use one. Get as much beam as possible. If you can find a 10ft Dyer Dhow.... buy it!Impeccable, yet lightweight fiberglass work in them.
8 feet gets real small and wet going across the bay......especially in a hard dink. Also, yo must find one with a good soft rub rail or you boat will get beat to heck. Some Dyers were sailing rigs, some just dingys. History:
"The government (War Department) came to my grandfather, Bill Dyer, during WWII a nd asked him to build a boat that would fit in nine-feet of space and hold nine men. The original 9'ers were plywood and were used on PT boats during WWII. I have pictures of them being loaded on the big transport planes. I also have a picture showing nine of our men standing in one out here on the [Warren] river and it was still floating. About a year or so ago, I had a call from a customer who told me that when he was stationed in the South Pacific during the war they used to take a boat and rag a sail on it and sail around. That's where he learned to sail."
http://www.mysticseaport.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=156B359 E-1E4F-379B-60D26CEDBE400AC5

[tager]

I have never used or built one of these, but they seem pretty nifty for a variety of reasons:

Elegant Punt, Pyxis - YouTube

Bolger Elegant Punt.

I have a 8' livingston copy and it is just okay. It doesn't track well, it's not an efficient shape, it gets bogged down when the "bridgedeck" hits the water. It is quite stable, tough, and carries a huge amount of stuff.

I used to have an 8' el toro copy. Excellent dinghy .

[Benz]

Mine is 9', fiberglass with glassed-in flotation in floor. Not pram-bowed (too much slapping), but bluff, wide bows for cargo capacity (Lots of rowing models have narrow bows, but that cuts down on usefulness--try standing up forward in one of them), square transom (every boat, of any size, ought to have a square transom). Four foot+ beam, eight foot oars. Sailing rig with leeboard (centerboard trunk really cuts down on cargo space).
Mine was home-made, if you want to drive to CA and pick it up I'll gladly sell you the mold, or an unfinished hull I still have there.
Ben

[sy_gilana]

We have an unsinkable Terhi Micro Fun. we love it. Bullet proof.
Go to Terhi and look at the Sunny, all dimensions and tech details on their web page.
Sorry, try http://eng.terhi.fi for the english version

[tager]

Let me take this moment to lash out against plastic dinghies. Polyethylene is a terrible boatbuilding material. Plywood, carbon fiber, kevlar, GFRP, skin on frame, wood, even cardboard are better than rotomolded HDPE. These boats are marketed as being "tough."

Only river kayaks should be made of this stuff.

[Chasing Summer]

Mangomuffins .... thanks for asking ... I'm do my best ... just can't quite catch her yet ... ... hopefully in a couple years

[minaret]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Ridiculous cost for a rotomoulded piece of plastic


A) I thought thats what a liferaft is supposedly for
B) I wouldnt be stepping off, I would be stepping up and thats not overly likely in a multi built of positive floatation material

I doubt the pudgy would be any better than a carly float in a serious blow anyway, same as the plywood dinghy
And at least with the plywood dinghy I dont have to worry about someone stealing my $12000 liferaft when its parked on the beach because my lifefraft would be back on the main boat, in its case, where it belongs.

Not only that I still have $9000 in my pocket
(difference between a Ply dinghy and a 4 person liferaft Vs 1 $12000 portland pudgy)

Does your cheap ply pram sail? Didn't think so. The pudgy does, and with the canopy up will continue to do so in the roughest of conditions, thus making it the best life boat you can get, because you can pull a Captain Bligh and sail to safety instead of waiting around to get rescued like a victim. It also rows well, which a pram doesn't. Most of the cost is in all of the gear that comes with it, including some very high end survival equipment, a sail rig, and the 12k figure also includes a nice electric outboard. All of the survival gear and the canopy stow on the boat in sealed compartments, meaning it is always ready to be deployed in any role with no prep. You do get what you pay for. I doubt many locals would be interested in stealing a boat or even an outboard so impractical for their purposes, but you would want to be careful with it. Look at some of the North Sea test footage, it's impressive. Still a compromise and not ideal in every regard, as is true of all dinghys, but it beats the hell out of a ply pram for most purposes, especially for offshore in a smaller boat, where it's ability to fulfill multiple roles in a small package is impossible to duplicate. It is the only dinghy that is legally considered a liferaft.

[sy_gilana]

Originally Posted by tager

Let me take this moment to lash out against plastic dinghies. Polyethylene is a terrible boatbuilding material. Plywood, carbon fiber, kevlar, GFRP, skin on frame, wood, even cardboard are better than rotomolded HDPE. These boats are marketed as being "tough."

Only river kayaks should be made of this stuff.

Hello If you are referring to the TERHI, then please check your facts.
It is not PE. it is ABS. Secondly it is double skinned and PU foam filled, IE unsinkable, even with several adults standing in it and the inside loaded to the gunwhales with water. You can chainsaw it into several pieces, and each of them float, with a person in it! picture attached.

If you are NOT referring to the Terhi then I might agree with you but I don't know enough about rotomolded PE boats to comment on them.

The OP was asking for opinions on a new practical solid dinghy. I suspect he might be interested in safety, stability, weight, toughness and longevity.

I do not know of another dinghy that complies with these criterion.