[Rhodes22-list] Porta-Bote users?

[John Lock]

I had a 12-foot PortaBote for years for car topping.  That was before my Rhodes, so I just used it as a vacation fishing boat.  I had a 5hp outboard to drive it which was all it needed.  I'd stick with the 8-footer for a Rhodes dinghy.  They get progressively heavier as the size goes up and getting it out of the water on deck could be a challenge.

The sail kit looks like a PITA to me.  Besides fitting the mast and rigging the kit includes leeboards which have to be bolted to the sides.  I would think that setting this all up to use sail power (and de-rigging afterward) would be impractical.

Also bear in mind that besides the folded hull to store, you will have two or three seat sections, the transom piece, and oars to store on board.  These may fit under the cockpit seats, but factor that in with whatever else you have onboard.  If you don't use the forepeak much that might work for interior storage of the   PortaBote parts.  The hull can be lashed down on deck somewhere or if you have lifelines they make a handy lash point.

The hardest part of launching and retrieving the PortaBote will be finding adequate space to do the setup and knockdown.  Again, that gets progressively harder with the larger models.

Cheers!
John Lock
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
s/v Pandion - '79 Rhodes 22 
Lake Sinclair, GA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



On Jul 19, 2011, at 00:34, Sailor Joe wrote:

> 
> I'm seriously considering a Porta-Bote to use as a dinghy for some
> destination sailing.
> 
> Do any of you use them and if so what size and do you use the R22 engine on
> the Porta-Bote or carry an additional engine?
> 
> I have read that they row well and can be fitted with a sail kit.  Sounds
> pretty versatile to me.  Does anyone have experience with towing them or
> stowing them on the R 22?
> 
> -- 
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