I know someone on another message board I frequent that says he's coming to the San Juans this summer and wants to bring his collapsable dinghy. It's like 12' long, and he wants to put it out in the salt water in 'protected bays if the weather is nice'. Now, I'm not sure where this guy will be exactly, but seeing as how this is the San Juans up by the mouth of Puget Sound we're talking about, how suicidal is this?

Good rubber rafts such as achilles and avons are amazingly seaworthy. They have more than one air chamber, so they're virtually un-sinkable unless you manage to punch holes in all three chambers at once. They're not the most comfortable of secure feeling crafts because you're so low to the water, but I'd feel much more safe in a 12' rubber raft than I would in a 14 or 15' aluminum boat if it really came down to survival. Folding rubber rafts have saved lots of people who carry them as a last resort if their main craft sinks or capsizes. .02
david

Perhaps I should be a bit more clear. He's talking about a Porta-bote. They are amazingly seaworthy boats for their size, though. More seaworthy than a 12 foot aluminum would be, I'm sure.

in 'protected bays if the weather is nice' would be no trouble for a small boat...just make sure to check the weather forecast in the morning

sounds good to me i think i might even take my float tube out to the bar on the columbia this spring when the runoff starts a vie for a spot with the boats for some springers

Besides natural phenomenon. I'd be worried about one of the deep running boats passing close with a maximum wake.

I've taken out an 8 foot inflatable sport raft with 6 hp from Cornet Bay out to the reef that's a mile out from Deception Pass. But I was young, single, and fearless. Wouldn't do that now. You just have to watch conditions and be ready to fly back home at the first sign of weather/condition changes.

Bentpole - your plan sounds risky! I take it there's no large ships traveling thru that area?

I've fished out of a canoe off of Bush Pt before. My first experience boating was in the rental boats at Pt Defiance, had the scariest of all boating experiences in those! My point is, if yer knowledgable, are aware of the weather and tides and don't go out so far that you can't run to the beach you can be safe in just about anything. By the way, I'm an excellent swimmer, what always made me err on the side of caution was the possibility of loosing all my fishing tackle.

Sincerely,
Roger

Unlike an inflatable, the Porta-Bote is not buoyant when filled by a wake. Sounds like a good way to take a swim.

You say he plans on using it in "protected bays when the weather is nice", 12 ft. boat, whats the problem with this?
If he has little or no boating experience I would recommend he pay attention to his surroungings and not take any unneccassary risks, but I really don't see much of a problem "if" he stays in "protected bays".

I use a 10 ft. fiberglass dinghy to row ashore and deer hunt in Ak. I always know the tide conditions and watch the weather and most importantly, just use common sense, a little of this goes along ways.

It will float even when full of water. The material it is made out of will float even if you cut it up into little pieces.

People even float when they are full of water.

While i have never taken my 10.5 foot Achilles out in the salt, i have seen the same size inflatibles out in puget sound. Saw one guy out running all over down at point defiance, also saw aguy out and about off of wells pt. Have even seen a guy in one out at possesion, now thats a bit extreme,but he was doing well, I go out there in my 17 ft run about but if i had to bail,would not think twice about getting into my Achilles. My 02 cts worth.

I have had three wet trips in small boats. First was in a 14 foot Sealaker from the old rental place on Ediz Hook. Dang thing had so many creatures growing on it the ten horse motor barely pushed it. I got swamped by a Pilot ship heading out of the harbor. 14 inches of water in that boat. Talk about a scary trip. Next time was in a 12 foot rental from Narrows Marina, got stuck in a rip off the PT. Only a few inches that time. Last time was in a 17 foot Arima, took a bunch of water over the bow when my friend who was steering started to chase seagulls in a circle and crossed his own wake. When I think about it I was not once steering the boats, friends were. And they were not drinking either. Guess that explains why I don't let them drive any more. I have also been in a 10 foot portaboat on Mineral. We had that thing loaded with around a 1000 pounds of junk and people and never had a problem. The rails were only about ten inches above the water line. That was an emergency use only though.

Sounds like another Porta Boat nut to me.

Hey, _I'M_ a Porta boat nut. Why do you think I was on that board? :p

I have a 12' Achilles that has now been in lakes, floated rivers, and spent a fair amount of time in salt. I have 5 separate air chambers (it is supposed to float even if you stabbed 3 of them, although I hope I never test it). I even spent some time at Sekiu in some real swells. These are the type of boats that big boats rely on when they get in trouble. When in doubt, opt for safety though. Half a brain and half a boat is better than no brain and a big boat.