How big is too big,

[DLT]

Ernie,

You're welcome. Glad the purchase worked out... I've never met Bill, in person, but he has been a pleasure to do business with on many occasions...

[Chip Hindes]

Those of you contemplating towing large dinghies with the Mac need to be aware of just how much drag they create. I think anyone who hasn't done it might be amazed. I have a 3-person West Marine RU-260 with a 4HP motor, total weight maybe 120 lbs, and towing at anything over 4-5 knots you cannot easily hold the dinghy painter with both hands. Try it with one hand and it'll likely rip your arm off. BTDT.

Don't know if a rigid floor model would be better, but I also can't get the thing to behave at the end of the painter. I use a tow bridle rather than hooking up to the single bow eye and my painter is 100 feet, and even with the bridle, no matter how I adjust it I can't get the dinghy to ride smoothly; it constantly leaps and jumps from side to side; loading up first one side of the bridle, then the other. With this behavior and the level of loads on the bridle, at higher speeds I have visions of ripping the fabric towing eyes right out of the boat. With the motor on the transom it tows bow high, in any amount of wind or seaway I get quite concerned the wind will catch underneath and flip it, dunking the motor and tossing the fuel tank overboard. After trying it several times I no longer tow any distance with the motor on the dinghy; at least then if it flips I can just flip it back without major damage.

Lost the inflatable cylinder "seat" the first time I towed it; that thing was PITA anyway so I didn't replace it.

Chapman's has a number of warnings about towing any boat, including powerboats, at "high" speeds.

It's foolish to get the idea that a larger motor for your Mac can allow you to tow an oversized dinghy at high speed. The fact that a "dinghy" with a big motor can achieve 20-25 knots does not for an instan mean it's safe to tow it at that speed.

[DLT]

Yeah, I kinda figured towing would not be very easy. But, I've never BTDT...

I appreciate all the comments and shared experiences. Thank you all!

The bottom line, my take-away, is that a 14' would be more of a second boat, than a dingy...

After reading all the comments, and thinking about it some more, I think I'll pass on this monster. I really would have to treat it as a second boat and if I'm going to do that, I think there are better boats for our purposes...

[Divecoz]

I'll still hit Truman and Stockton every time I get a chance. .

You have sailed Truman Lake ? Please tell me more . I am still looking for a place to retire . One of several reasons for why I am still here in Ill. driving 90 minutes to the slip and paying $2000 a year for the privilege . . . is the lack of decision on where to move. So is Truman a good place to sail ?? Should I add it to my list of places to visit and look ??

[ernie]

Divecoz: My answer would have to be no. On the map truman looks pretty large but a lot of it is not what you would call sailable. There are a couple of bridges that restricts the lake when ever the lake level is up. You need to check the lake level each time you go out if you want to use the rest of the lake, and if its close, remember that the lake level can change in a matter of hours. But the worst part is the wind. Because of the layout of the lake, and its location, the wind is very shifty, and the force is variable to say the least. If the weatherman is calling for 10-15 you can expect 0-20 with nothing in between. If a person wanted to learn sailing I couldn't think of a better place. You can put a lifetime of coastal tacking and gibing in a couple of weeks at Truman. There are very few times that you can have a leasurely sail.
Stockton is a much better lake for sailing but it too is pretty small.
Why not go coastal? Unlimited exploring, steady breezes, nice weather (low 90s in Fl vs over 100 in Mo, and don't believe what you hear about humidity, it gets plenty humid in Mo). Keep the boat on the trailer. It takes a lot less than 90 min to rig an M. Or keep the boat in mast up dry storage next to the water for less than you pay for a slip and it only takes about 10 min longer to be on the water. The last time I checked you could get a slip in Ft Walton Beach for around $200 a month. And you get a longer sailing season. Like 365 days.
No, I wouldn't retire to Mo. The only reason I'm staying here is family.

[Andy26M]

I sail my 26M solo and was never a fan of beaching her with no way to look out from the bow, so one of my first tasks was to find a good dinghy.

Initially I liked the idea of an inflatable that could be folded and stowed below - so I bought a Sevylor with a plywood floor. Thank god I bought a cheap one to start because it was a total pain in the rear - I'd have been really mad if I had spent big bucks on an Avon or Zodiac. At 7'6" it was too unwieldy to inflate on deck, the wood floor was a nightmare to get installed, etc. Failing the "inflate on deck when needed" test, I tried towing it. See above - a lot more drag than you'd expect from a 65 lb. rubber boat and very ill-behaved under tow no matter what you do with it.

I then toyed with the idea of a rigid dinghy (wood or fiberglas) but never found one that I could easily lift onto the roof of my SUV.

I have a nice kayak that is easy to put on the top of the car and tows very nicely (it has a rudder on the back) - but on the water it is almost impossible to get out of the kayak into the 26M or vice versa without either banging the heck out of my outboard or going for a swim.

Finally, I was at a boat show and saw a Porta-Bote folding dinghy. I bought the 8' model. It folds up to the size of an 8' surfboard and is easy to car-top, but then you also have the seats, transom, and oars to carry, too (toss em in the back of the SUV or in the trunk). So, the folding boat rides on the roofracks and I just unfold it on the dock and tow it behind. Being a rigid hull it creates MUCH less drag than the inflatable, though it weights about the same total amount. You also have higher freeboard and real, solid seats to sit on. In order to get it to behave on the painter, I tie a 5 gallon jug of water in the transom - this helps it track nicely and also raises the bow a tad to reduce the spray that gets into the dinghy. Compared to the inflatable, this thing rows like a dream, too (V-shaped bottom tracks well under oar power). Porta-Bote also makes 10', 12' and 14' models you might want to look at. I'm not sure how big a motor they will take, but the transom has a wooden plate and bracket holes for an outboard. I originally wanted to put a motor on mine, but it rows so easily that I never bothered. There is also a sail kit available if you wanted it.

All that being said, though - in nice weather the dinghy I use the most is the $20 inflatable 3-man raft from Wal-Mart. Your butt gets a little wet, of course, but you can toss a lot of crap in it and not worry about messing it up - if it gets a hole just replace it - and it will not put a big dent in the mothership if you bang into the side!

Porta-Bote

- Andy

[They Theirs]

Photos from Jackie m



Porta Boat discussion (Click Here)

[Night Sailor]

I too have a Portabote and think it's an ingenius unsinkable design and great performer with a 6 hp Nissan. I have a 12' model however, and it's too big to assemble on deck, so it must be towed at all times. It does tow and track well. Before our next long cruise I will opt for something that can be entirely stowed on board, probably, an 8' Portabote. No worries about razor sharp oyster beds when scouting out an hole to spend the night or chasing a few fish for supper. The hull is darn near indestructible, yet resilient.

[Red Coat]

Having read all of the posts on this subject I thought I would add my 2 cents worth.

In the USA, boat registrations are handled at the State level and the registration requirements vary from State to State, with some States requiring even canoes and Kayaks to be registered so you should check with your State authority often Wildlife, or Parks. In Canada all boating regulations are Federal and the licensing (we have reverse terminolgy) requirement is related to the horse power of the engine. All boats in Canada must be licensed if powered by an engine greater than 10hp. (Now you know why they make 9.9 hp engines).

As for a decent tender. I ave been struggling with that since I bought my Mac X. There is no room to store any kind of dingy etc. on the deck.

I have used a rigid plastic Sea Spray 8' row boat, but I found it too tippy especially for my wife. So I purchased a 8' rigid hull inflatable. It is far more stable and can handle my 9.9 engine. I tows well but, be warned if you are going to tow a dingy do not run the tow line to a single point on the bow of the dingy. It will thrash around like a wild pig. Use a two point cradle with a loop in the center. My inflatable has "D" rings on the front side of each tube and with the cradle it tows like a dream.

Yes it does put extra strain on the Mac and you will loose some speed. Yesterday I was averaging 13.5 mph on the GPS towing the inflatable with the 9.9, and 10 gallons of gas and a 40lb diving weightbelt.

We have considered buying either an inflatable two person kayak or 8' inflatable dingy, but decided not to because it will still take up space inside the Mac and there is the stablility issue when trying to climb into it from the Mac.

We only take our dinghy along when we plan an over nighter, so we can row to shore ( no sense spending extra in gas or loss of speed if you don't need the dinghy). We live and boat in coastal British Columbia and beaching the Mac is seldom an option. Most of our water is in coastal fiords and the bottom is way down there and the few coves and beaches available are usually rock and or gravel covered with barnacles and oysters, all of which are hard on the bottom of a boat.

Like most boaters I have two footitis, but I love my Mac for its versatility, I just wish they would build a 30' model and then I could get a dinghy onboard and or have the extra inside space. Until then I will make do here in paradise with me my Mate and my Mac .

[Chinook]

I've used a 10 foot porta-bote as dinghy for several years, and it works great for us. We generally set it up when launching and trail it. It rows well. I have a 3.5 hp kicker we carry on a retractable mount on the stern of the Mac. I don't trail the dinghy with motor on it. The small grommets on the bow of the porta-bote are unsuitable for towing attachment - they're too high and make for poor tracking. I rigged a bridle which attaches to screw eyes on the sides of the forward seat. The bridle line stretches over the dinghy gunnals and under the hull. A pair of bridle lines connect to this line and unite about 12 feet in front of the dinghy bow. This arrangement provides towing pull at the water line and the split bridle makes for excellent tracking. When making open water crossings I stow the folded hull on the foredeck. It just barely fits inside the baby shrouds in back, with bow resting at the pulpit, alongside the roller furler. Properly positioned, the jib is still functional. I don't like to stow it upright, lashed to stanchions, because it catches wind and blocks view. I use a 1x3x3' board to hold the thing open when assembling. It takes the fight out of the thing. I can raise it onto the deck while on the water, if necessary, by using the mast raising boom attached about 6 feet up on the mast. Lots easier at the dock, but sometimes it's necessary to raise or lower while out on the water. I think the 10 foot porta-bote is an excellent dinghy choice for the Mac.

[DLT]

Scott: The Mo watercraft handbook indicates that any powered boat requires registration regardless of length. Did I miss something?

This issue has been bothering me, so I did a little research.

The Regs require (Yes, I know I haven't linked straight to the regs, but this is an 'official' document and is easier to read):

- All powered boats to be registered
- Sailboats longer than 12' to be registered

So, since Scott's Chigger-Manuel is a sailboat less than 12' he doesn't need to register it.

Yeah, I know that he shows it being pushed around by a trolling motor... Well, our clever Scott may just be slipping through a loop hole, as MO doesn't register/title trolling motors...

Ok, so assuming we have a legitimate loop-hole here:

You don't have to register that Mac 65, provided you remove the mast and the inboard. Assuming you remembered to plug the hole left by the prop shaft, you can push it around with a bank of trolling motors, I guess... (<- this is where the loophole gets fuzzy...)

If you want to rig a sail, then your boat must be less than 12' to avoid registration...