Help identifying this dinghy/tender?

[bobmorning]

We are in the market for a hard dinghy/tender to take with us on our Hunter 31. Our old Mercury RIB has seen it's better days; and I'm done patching it and the constant upkeep it requires. I want to sail, not manage a dinghy.

We saw this dinghy at our marina but I cannot identify it. I looks to be 7 foot. I need to be able to single hand this boat both on the water and getting it on the boat, and handling it on land.

Does anyone know who the manufacturer/builder is? Any suggestions? Our requirements are light weight, light weight, and more light weight! I'd prefer one that is rowable and can also accommodate our 2.5 HP Yamaha 4 cycle. No more RIB for us.

Our area of sail is the Chesapeake if that helps in making a recommendation. Short trips to and from boat when on the anchor.

Thanks for any assistance/info.
Bob M.

 

[dlochner]

Looks like a Portland Pudgy.

Dinghy | Rowboat | Lifeboat | Dinghy Sailboat | Dinghy Motor

Portland Pudgy is a rugged unsinkable safety dinghy you can row, motor, sail, and even use as a lifeboat. It is the ideal yacht tender to tow or stow.

portlandpudgy.com

 

[jviss]

Dave nailed it! I like it, too, but once you add all of those cool features it gets expensive!

It also isn't light - 128 l.b. It's 23 lb. more than my AB Vetus 9VL RIB.

 

[bobmorning]

Thanks, I believe Dave did nail it. Here is the one that interest me: https://plasticboats.com/marina/

The upside: 59 lbs.
The downside: no dealers in the Annapolis area (big warning sign), and secondly they are marketing this to the sailboat owner but have no intention of attending the Annapolis show in the fall. According to their dealer map they have a dealer in Connecticut and one in Alabama. Has anyone seen this boat up close and personal? Lots of dealers in Canada, but they are a Canadian company, boat is made in Canada.

I'm not spending that kind of money ($2149, delivered to the Marina from Canada) on a boat that I have never seen first hand.
Too bad about the weight of the Portland Pudgy, that's a lot more weight than I am willing to muscle around by myself.

Bob

 

[dlochner]

Thanks, I believe Dave did nail it. Here is the one that interest me: https://plasticboats.com/marina/

The upside: 59 lbs.
The downside: no dealers in the Annapolis area (big warning sign), and secondly they are marketing this to the sailboat owner but have no intention of attending the Annapolis show in the fall. According to their dealer map they have a dealer in Connecticut and one in Alabama. Has anyone seen this boat up close and personal? Lots of dealers in Canada, but they are a Canadian company, boat is made in Canada.

I'm not spending that kind of money ($2149, delivered to the Marina from Canada) on a boat that I have never seen first hand.
Too bad about the weight of the Portland Pudgy, that's a lot more weight than I am willing to muscle around by myself.

Bob

Walker Bay used to make a tender that looks quite similar to the one you mentioned. However, they no longer make the boat, Walker Bay only makes RIBs. The old WBs were a bit flimsy and could not be easily repaired. The hull tended to twist and turn.

 

[DArcy]

I still have a Walker Bay 8. It is a great tender for shorter trips. Mine is over 20 years old, has been used regularly including dragging up sandy and Ricky beaches,and it is still in great shape. I rowed it for years then put a 4HP 2 stroke on it that I picked up fairly cheap. 4HP is too much for the boat but a 2.5 would be great. There are sailing rigs for then as well. They are light weight, a little flexible but extremely tough. They were made as one part plastic injection mouldings. I heard they were the largest injection mould in the world when they were first made, although that may have been the 10 foot version.

If you can find a WB 8 (or WB 10) for sale you should check it out, it sounds like it would fit the bill for what you want.

 

[bobmorning]

Thanks for the tip on a WB 8, I've started to search for one that is located reasonably to my location.

Bob

 

[jaysweet]

I have a Westmarine Watertender 9.4 (see WaterTender 9.4 Dinghy | West Marine), which I've fallen out of love with a bit. We're on the Chesapeake just south of Baltimore. It's sort of a plastic hull trimaran design, and we've only rowed it. It rows ok, except that it has a tendency to not track straight, so I've been thinking about clamping a plywood fixed "rudder" to the stern (where you'd clamp an outboard) to help with the tracking. If you planned to use it with a small outboard, I think it would be fine. I think it's a reasonable dinghy, tows well, could row better, but I'm personally lusting after a portabote.

<Edited to remove any advertizarialness. Sorry about that! >

 

[Dave]

Hey guys, just a reminder. Advertising items for sale is not a permitted use in the forums. SBO does provide free classified ads to sell gear and a Digital Dumpster Dive for free stuff. There is also a fee based classified section for selling boats.

If someone says they are looking to buy something and you have that something, please communicate directly via PM.

Thanks for your cooperation.

 

[Timm R Oday25]

I also have the Watertender 9.4 . I find that it rows extremely well . I tried a small trolling motor and was less than impressed . A 2.5 horse outboard would be just the ticket I bet. one of the main features we like best is how stable it is when getting on or off .We've had our for 15 plus years and have zero complaints .Recently I bought a second one for $150.00 and will most likely put a motor on that one

 

[capta]

I was pretty wowed by the first one I saw, down in the Windwards. Especially by their claim that is was an unsinkable lifeboat (for two I believe) for offshore. But as I watched the owner use it and judged price vs value, I decided to stick with my old stand-by; a quality inflatable with alloy floors, an inflatable keel, and no rigid bottom.

 

[jaysweet]

I also have the Watertender 9.4 . I find that it rows extremely well . I tried a small trolling motor and was less than impressed . A 2.5 horse outboard would be just the ticket I bet. one of the main features we like best is how stable it is when getting on or off .We've had our for 15 plus years and have zero complaints .Recently I bought a second one for $150.00 and will most likely put a motor on that one

The only issue I have with the rowing is that it's a little like rowing on a turntable. It sort of feels like if you get the pressure on both oars exactly right, you're fine, but if you pull a bit too hard on one side, it rotates. Which I'm sure all boats do to a point, so maybe I'm being overly sensitive to it? I do still want to fab up some sort of clamp-on (maybe kick-up?) fixed rudder to see if it helps this at all. In general, I love not having to worry about an outboard, although I could see a Torquedo in my future... But we never go all that far: it's just used to get to shore, or for some exercise.

Agree about the stability: that's presumably the difference between the wide bow vs. the other "Walker Bay" types with a pointy bow.