Frogwatch wrote:
Smaller sailboats like my 28' one still need a dinghy for the
occupants to get to shore when anchored. I have tried inflatables and
rigid ones and neither worked well. Inflatables require a motor
because they row so poorly and the rigid ones take up too much room on
deck. Even my nesting dinghy takes up too much room on deck. This is
why I am interested in the Porta-bote but do I really have to spend
$1500 to find it may not work well?
What I'd like to see would be a dinghy that assembles sorta like a
tent as an inverted tensile structure on a frame with stiffeners of
aluminum across it's beam. Fiberglass rods would insert into sleeves
like a tent and then into a hard bow piece and into a rigid stern
piece. A seat would go across to stiffen it with maybe rigid Al
bottom pieces going across.
Floatation would be built into the rigid stern piece and into the
seat. The fabric would either have to be very tough or very cheap to
replace like Tyvek.
Of course, it should have a keel so it can be rowed and to stiffen it
so it does not "squirm" when it is rowed.
Maybe after I am bored with x-ray stuff I'll work on this.

Tyvek can only be exposed to the sun for six months max. You may have
seen it flapping in the wind on unsold/unfinished homes.