Dinghy

[rbh1515]

Ok, I don't need a dinghy for my HDC, but I would like a very small multipurpose boat at my cottage.  Our shoreline is pretty shallow, and it would be nice to have a boat that I could row out to deeper water and sail, or row out so I could use my Torqeedo outboard.  I saw the Portland Pudgy in a Sail magazine ad and I thought it might work out.  Anyone have any experience with the PP?
Rob

[Gerry]

For years I used a canoe to get back and forth to my mooring.  I could face forward, use a kayak paddle (I used the front seat and paddled the canoe backwards), be stable, take a dog, use in shallow water, and carry easily (at age 65).  I carried on top or in the cargo area of my Ford Escape.

[Bob23]

I use a Walker Bay 8 that I found as a tender for my 23 but I've seen the Portland Pudgys at the Maine Boatbuilders Show and they seem well thought out and well built. If I were going offshore, I'd buy one in a heartbeat. It might be a bit of overkill just for a dingy or tender. I like the lifeboat features built into the PP.
Bob23

[JBC]

Larry Brown of small boats fame reviewed the Pudgy in a Small Craft Advisor article some years ago. He tried out various sail configurations (lug, lateen, sprit, even an Optimist sail, etc.) in addition to the rig that comes with the boat as an option.  He even played with the lee boards by shortening them, which he thought improved sailing on various points of sail and allowed the boat to sail in 5 or 6 inches of water. That issue (#85, Jan/Feb 2014) is out of print for backordering, but I think the article can be obtained from the magazine as a single printout (perhaps online).

I've always had an interest in that dinghy and since sailing "offshore" for me at my age is about 1000 feet away from any boat ramp, lake or sea, that the PP would be an ideal, safe, tender that would be fun to go out in.

Jett