Watertender dinghy

[mallardjusted]

Frank C,

The way I used both the inflatible and the portabote (12 footer) on my powerboat was either folded and stowed below (yes, even the portabote would fit below deck in the 2655 I had), or towing it behind. For either one towing behind limited me to certain speeds, more so if it was choppy out.

Assemblying: When I got to our destination I would assemble the dinghy. The inflatible (which had a 3 or 4 wood pieces floor) would take me at least 30 minutes to get all set up and inflated. The Portabote I could do in under 15 minutes. No comparison. Maybe some other inflatibles set up quicker???

Powering: The inflatible was a dog with a 5hp motor, so I also got a 8hp. Still not impressive. The Portabote flies with the 8, so I've gone back to the 5 and still do well. The PB definitely takes less power to push through the water.

Dryness: I don't know it it's the hull design or ???, but I stay dry in the PB, and that wasn't true in the inflatible.

Air: At least twice I had to install patches because of air leaks in the inflatible. Obviously that is not a problem in the PB.

Now if we're talking storing a ready-to-go dinghy on board, neither would have worked for my old boat, and probably not on my X. So unless one stores the PB folded on board (on deck or down below) or tows it, there probably is another solution.

As a side note, I use my pb for duck hunting, and take it along camping (stored under my fifth wheel). It handles weather very well, and I wish I hadn't wasted my money on the inflatible the first go-around. But ..... everybody has likes and dislikes!

[Simon]

Hi Mallardjusted

Could you please tell us about towing the PB, how was it it in choppy water?



Simon

[jackie m]

Someday, I hope to take our Macgregor to the Gulf of Mexico area (my home). After my experience with inflatables and plastic kayaks in an area that has clam shell banks and submerged shell reefs all over the place, I wanted a dinghy that would only be a flat boat when I wanted it flattened.

Besides, how many 10 1/2 foot dinghys can you carry all five kids in?

Bob and the five kids.....





And it really does tow nicely. However, I will admit that it does look a little weird... and also admit that I'm at an advantage when it comes to setup... (affectionately known as "hubby")





I don't understand all the fuss about losing parts in the Macgregor. What do people think gunnysacks are for?

jackie m

[Simon]

Now thats cute (the puppys)

[jackie m]

Hi Mallardjusted

Could you please tell us about towing the PB, how was it it in choppy water?



Simon

We towed ours across Lake Mead in some very choppy water (no pictures... was too choppy to hold a camera and, except for the occasional look out the cockpit, I was below deck holding onto the dagger trunk). No different than towing it in flat water. I was really amazed at how little water was in the dinghy when we reached the dock as well as everything we stowed on the dinghy was still in place. Which brings up another nice point about towing.... great place to store extra gear (only I would secure anything I didn't want to lose in the dinghy with lines).

jackie m

[jackie m]

Now thats cute (the puppys)

Two one-year-olds, one five-year-old, one seven-year-old, and one fifteen-year-old (I won't give Bob's age)

jackie m

[Simon]

Now thats cute (the puppys)

Two one-year-olds, one five-year-old, one seven-year-old, and one fifteen-year-old (I won't give Bob's age)

jackie m

He he he ha...

Jackie

Thanx for the confirmation, we have 12' portabote and love it.

Cheers

Simon

[jackie m]

Frank C,



Dryness: I don't know it it's the hull design or ???, but I stay dry in the PB, and that wasn't true in the inflatible.

This is something I have read from lots of portabote owners. I think the edge of the portabote is more likely to deflect waves from washing over the side than an inflatable. I've also considered getting some of those pool noodles or foam pipe insulation and wrapping those over the edge (should be a nice fit) to deflect more water from washing over the edge of the dinghy.

(not one of mine)



jackie m

[mallardjusted]

Simon,

In chop with some whitecaps I would throttle back to 8-10 mph. It just seemed to tow with a little less stress that way .........

I see Jackie M's picture shows the towline secured higher than what I had - apparently that helps somewhat??

[jackie m]

Simon,


I see Jackie M's picture shows the towline secured higher than what I had - apparently that helps somewhat??

We found that it does help. But that's also some fairly flat water in that picture. Something was wrong with our Mac engine that trip and it wouldn't give us full power. So we never went over 10-11 mph, whether it was flat or rough.

jackie m

[Frank C]

Hesitate to mention, since everyone here is headed diff directions, but ...

everyone also knows how I love the WM bargain store. Shop-worn stuff abounds. This is Blow-OUT weekend (maybe in honor of Daddy?), so the ST5000 that I bought for 1,000 is only 700 right now - no questions, no returns. (I've decided that the 5000 WILL steer my boat - just a matter of some backyard eng'rng.) They also have an older Lowrance 320 that I might jump for - only ~$225 - but the real point to this story is dinghies.

They have 2 WalkerBay 10-footers - didn't check that price.
But also have 3 WalkerBay 8-footers at $360 ... a steal!

As all other stuff, these dinks have some dings & scuffs. About what I'd impose the first time I tried to skootch it up onto the bow of my 26X.

[aya16]

The walker bays and others like it are nice looking little dinks but as far as getting in and out of a dink from the mac nothing is as stable as a
blow up kind, you can stand right on the edge or sit two on the same side to get ready to go a dog can then jump in anywhere and the boat is rock solid. You cant do that with a walker bay or same kind of dink. There are other hard boats you can get that would be more stable those would be the tri hull types. rowing is harder with an inflateable in any kind of wind
but then you just pull the starter rope. Also nice about the inflateable is it can bang into the Mac all night and it doesnt do any damage.

I wonder if you filled an inflateable with helium if it would float a couple inches higher in the water.


tounge pressed against cheek...I also would rather have an inflatable instead of a walker bay type boat in case something happens when Im 200 300 miles off shore.



Oh Jackiem: you should concider surgery for the poor kid with the big pink nose.

[They Theirs]

Cruising World...Making the Hard Choice


Portabote: For three decades, Portabote has built a loyal following with its unconventional folding boats made of flexible polypropylene. The company makes four models that range from 8 feet 6 inches to 14 feet 6 inches, each of which folds into a package that's slightly longer than its length, less than 25 inches wide, and about 4 inches thick. The 12-foot-6-inch model we tried can stow folded on boats that normally would carry much smaller dinghies. A sailing kit is available, but this planing-hull design works best with a motor.

Virtues: Despite (and partly because of) the flexing hull, it's stable enough to waltz in.

Vices: The standard oar setup leaves much to be desired; convert to traditional oars and oarlocks if you plan to row.........

These shots show the new pine oars for the boat, how they are stowed & the modified oar mounting point. This has a rivet in the bottom stopping the use of normal rowlocks. Remove both of them from the hull & drilled out the rivet & replaced it with a shorter one that does not protrude into the hole & then cut a away some of the foam (4th shot) under the oar mount once it was refitted to the hull. This will allow it to use normal rowlocks with anti-loss toggles!

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

To me it's all about capacity. None of the hard dingy's had enough. My 10' Maxxon air floor inflatable has 1100 lbs capacity. It easily carries all five members of my growing family. (My father-in-law also had a port a boat and watching him fight it during set up convinced me there was no way I would want to do that at anchor on a Mac. Our decks are way to small, plus there is no good storage place on a Mac for it. There's no way I'm going to put something like that down below.)

I also dispute the claim that set-up with an inflatable takes a long time. This isn't true if you have the right equpment. The key's that let us setup in 5 minutes are the air floor and the high volume / pressure electric pump.

We store the Maxxon rolled up across the front windows. It fits perfect there just forward of the mast. I have two caribiners that are on the grab ropes on each side. These clip on the lifelines and keep it secure yet allow quick deployment.

To setup I just unclip the binners and roll the boat out on the fore deck (it's stored with the transom aft) Then I step in and bring out the air pump. This is not a cheap one but is worth every penny.



BST-12HPP

Dial up the low pressure (I usually use 3.5psi) you want for the outer tubes and press the button. The pump runs for about 30 seconds a tube and auto shuts off when the pressure is met. (It runs on high volume for most of the fill then switches to a higher pressure top up mode at the end so don't be alarmed by the change in the sound it makes.) Once the low pressure tubes are filled, dial up the high pressure for the floor (I usually use 7psi), hook it to the valve and press the button. The floor only takes 20 seconds. Now you're almost done. attach the oars, grab the painter and toss it over the side. (Hopefully you didn't forget to put the seat in just as the final side tube went tight)

If using the motor I bring it back to the starboard transom, use my lifting arm to hoist the 6hp off it's storage bracket and lower it on the transom. Add the gas tank and hook up the fuel line and you are ready to go.

[They Theirs]

Boats & Outboards >> Inflatable Boats >> Inflatable Boat Access.

BST Electric Inflators
Price $150-$175 plus tax


Enlarge image

Submitted by John Date Reviewed: 2004-01-10 16:00:04
Strengths: * Absolutely the ONLY electrical inflator on the market that will inflate HP Air Floors * Functions well, accurate inflation pressure * Quite fast
Weaknesses: 2nd Stage compression pump has plastic gear train that fails quickly.
Review Summary: I have a love/hate relationship with my high-pressure inflatable floor boat. I absolutely love its fantastic performance, next-to-nothing weight and versatility to almost any boating task. I HATE having to pump the damn thing up!! When the Scoprega BST-12HPP pump entered the market a couple years ago, I thought I'd finally found the perfect boating setup....all the benefits of an inflatable boat, but practically no work to set it up thanks to a fully automatic pump. I was almost right.... When this pump works, it works amazingly well. Dial in the pressure, push a button, the high speed turbine blower fills the chamber very quickly. As soon as the unit senses pressure beyond the capability of the turbine stage, a twin-cylinder compressor automatically starts completing the inflation and shutting off automatically. Runs up an inflatable floor in about 1 minute to proper pressure. I have owned two of these high-pressure pump models, both of which failed. The first one failed after about 3 complete boat inflations. The second after a year of intermittant use, probably 10-15 complete boat inflations. Both failed units were disassembled to determine the failure mode. In both cases, it was the plastic gear on the motor that had cracked and failed. The second unit also showed improvements to the secondary gear mounting arrangement, probably explaining the longer service life. This plastic motor gear drives two larger secondary gears in turn driving the compressor connecting rods. Surprisingly, the secondary gears in my unit that failed after a year were examined and in good condition. Just the motor drive gear was damaged. It is hoped this review will reach the designers of this product. The overall design is quite sound and works well. The gear drivetrain must be upgraded to aluminum or another durable material. From my own standpoint, I would pay dearly for a reliable, durable version of this product. If I had to do it over again, I would never have bought a pressure floor boat had I known the difficulties of manually inflating one. C'mon guys...let's build this one right, or somebody please offer a professional-quality version not built to a price-point!! I may just have to design one myself. I'm sure I'll have the inflatable boating world beating a path to my front door.


BST Electric Inflators West Marine Product Reviews: Overall Rating: * *

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