THE DINGY WAITING GAME AND NUMBERS GAME

After 16 years my 8 foot Porta Boat dingy had seen better days. It still floated well but, a pesky small leak dispite my half hearted attempt to find it eluded me. After sixteen years it really did not owe me anything. So I bought a new one to replace it. The new model has some improvements over my original Porta Boat including an attached folding transom. Which means less pieces to store on board if I ever carry it folded on board.

A few weeks ago I put it together and began using it to row out to the mooring. After awhile I wanted to start using one of the two electric outboards I have with it. This requires that I register it with the state and pay some sales tax for it's purchase. It had been a number of years since I went to the DMV to register anything. But, I knew there would be a certain amount of waiting and bureaucracy. I finally decided to make the attempt and went down to one of the local Department of Motor Vehicles. I order to minimize any wasted time waiting I downloaded the proper documents and filled them out at home. When I got there I met my first line and after a short wait was met by a DMV representative. I explained that I wanted to register my the boat and showed her my filled out documents. She looked at them and gave me a number.  I was two hours  before later my number was finally called.

I went to my assigned window and handed over my documents relieved that I would soon be out of there. But, there was a problem my original Bill of Sale from the Porta Boat company was a copy on an 8 x 11 piece of paper not the 6 x 8 inches. Also I had not put in the Hull Identification Number on the document thinking I would just fill it in at the DMV. Apparently this was not acceptable and though I argued the original Bill of Origin from the company was also a copy just a different size piece of paper it still seemed to cause a problem. A call to the main DMV office did not resolve the problem. I needed to come back with the original Bill of Origin and also a photograph of the HIN number in order to register the Dingy.

Needless to say the idea of another two hour wait just because of the dimensions of piece of paper was not making my day. So I left to deal with this another day. As I was gathering my documents to leave the clerk mentioned I could make an appointment on line for my next visit and save time. Hmmm, that sounds good. So I went home and made an appointment a few days later and bought all the properly sized documents and photograph of the HIN number on the Dingy. I was expecting just a few minutes wait since I now had an appointment. No such luck. But, the good news was that instead of a two hour wait I only had to sit there for an hour. I finally got up to the window and submitted my properly sized documents and was never asked for the photo of the boats HIN number.

I finally got the registration number and State sticker showing the dingy was properly registered and I could finally use my electric outboard on it.  Relieved that the DMV experience was finally over I decided to complete the registration process by driving over to the Marine store and buy the characters and numbers that I needed to attach to the boats hull. I entered the store and went to the aisle where the 3 inch numbers were on display.  Once applied my trials and tribulations of registering would be a
thing of the past. But, it was not to be. It seems the store had all the alpha characters and numbers I needed except one which was out of stock.  Apparently Neptune has some influence of land based nautical procedures and has been having a good laugh at my expense as I attempt to finish the registration process.

But, I cut short his enjoyment as I quickly found a way to avoid the wait while the Marine store restocked the all important 3 inch high number. I went online and found that instead of paying one dollar for each registration number and alpha character I could buy them online for a little over eight dollars for a pack containing all of the numbers and characters I needed.

Also the Shoreline Marine Letter Kit contained four of each character and numbers so I would also have extra's should any fall off and need to be replaced. So two days later I had everything I needed to finish the arduous registration process and could once again be back on the water.

TO EVERY DINGY TURN TURN TURN

I've been debating about trying to get another season out of my eight foot Porta Bote dingy. It has been a sturdy trusty kit. I bought it in 2000 after the original fiberglass dingy that came with BIANKA was lost in a gale coming back from New York. After seventeen years it does not owe me anything. I've done a few repairs over the years on things like the oars. I also upgraded parts of it after some wear and tear required it. Things like the rear seat and replacing a delaminating transom.  Last year it developed a small annoying leak. I could try and fix it but, since it's been seventeen years and the Porta Bote  company has made a number of improvements on an already pretty good product. I feel it's time for a new one. I'll report on the replacement once it arrives in a few weeks. 

ONE LAST THING: Cleaning the Porta Boat

I finally broke down and splurged on renting a spot on the dingy dock for my eight foot Porta Boat. I spend most of my time during the summer living on the boat with an occasional respite on land for work or to accompany my gal on a beach vacation. Since I have been using a folding Porta Boat for fourteen years I was able to fold it up when and take it home as needed. As I'm getting older this is becoming more of a pain and so I opened the wallet to have access to the dingy dock at the boatyard. It certainly makes it more convenient for quick trips home or provisions. Since for over a decade I have avoided the dingy dock fees that could have paid for the Porta Boat three or four times over I thought it was about time to make things a little easier for me. Though leaving the Porta Boat in the water for the entire season bought some new issues.

HACKING THE ELECTRIC PADDLE BATTERY PACK

I've been using the Electric Paddle outboard on my Porta Boat dingy for two seasons now. I use it much more than the 35 pound Honda BP2 Four Stroke outboard it replaced. It's light weighing only eight pounds for the motor and eight pounds for the battery pack.  It's well designed and made in the U.S. The company also has great customer service and follow up with customers. As I said the design is well thought out but I thought the battery pack could be modified to make it even easier for me when I use it in my dingy. So I...

HACKING THE PORTA BOTE

I've been using a folding eight foot Porta Bote for my dingy for over thirteen years now. I'd have a hard time considering using another type of boat. Recently I lost the wooden setup stick that came with the boat. It fell out of the car unbeknownst to me at the time. I could have made up a new one of some 3/4 inch wood. But. looking around the garage I notice I had a bunch of 1-1/2 inch PVC tube laying around. I wondered if it would make a good replacement for the original set up stick?  So I cut one to the approximate size need to open the folding Porta Bote hull. It worked fine.

Plus since it was not wood it could not soak up water and split as my original stick did after several years. Though I repaired it with some epoxy type glue the PVC tube is not prone to water water damage. The only thing was it did not float like the original wooded stick did.  What to do? The answer I came up with was to fill the inside of the PVC pipe with some Great Stuff Gap Filler. This did two things not only did it ensure that the setup stick would float if accidently dropped into the water. It also stiffened the tube quite a bit structurally making it stronger and less likely to crack.

I very pleased with my improved setup stick homemade replacement and it should last longer than the original.

OAR RIGHTY NOW PART TWO

Now that sailing season is over for a few months I have time to to take stock and post about some of the items that were repaired, replaced or purchased this past season. For example the Porta Boat dingy has been holding up pretty good for some thirteen years now. Much better than some inflatables where seven years seems to be the upper limits of usability. Not that the Porta Boat did not require some repair over the years. This year the Oar Locks seemed to be at the end of their life as wear and tear and rust combined to push for their replacement:

Thirteen years was a good run considering the salty marine environment they lived in most of the time. Though when I went to replace them I decided to try a little beefier pair. Namely a pair of Seasense Clamp On Heavy Duty Oar Locks:

Definitely a little heftier than the originals. My only concern was whether the pins would fit the Porta Boat's oar lock sockets. I kind of bought them on a whim. Happily, they fit perfectly into the sockets. They are a little loose around the oars but, will not slip out beyond the Oars handles.

  

 Another nice thing it looks like some parts that might wear like the bolts on the swivel can be replaced quite easily. Though I doubt I'll have to do that for a real long time.

ANOTHER PORTA BOAT REPAIR: Making a new setup stick

My eight foot Porta Boat dingy has been a real money saving workhorse. It been getting me back and forth to BIANKA for over twelve years now. It gets folded and unfolded a number of times each season and has saved me over four times its cost in dingy dock costs. I've had to make a few repairs to things like the oars and also replaced the original wooden transom but, the hull has held up very well including being pounded against the dock during Hurricane Sandy. It's a little beat up but, still serving its purpose. Last season I lost the wooden setup stick that comes with  the Portabote to keep the hull open while I install the seat and transom. Rather than fabricate a new wooden stick I decide to use some PVC pipe I had laying around in the garage. I used 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe in place of the wooden brace:

It worked well. To make it  and stronger I filled the inside with some Great Stuff Foam. This helped stiffen the PVC tube and strengthen it. It also made the stick buoyant so should it accidently fall into the water it will float unlike regular PVC pipe:

It works well and there is no chance of splinters unlike the wooden stick which after 12 years was starting to split anyway.  The floating PVC setup stick looks like it could have other uses on board too. I just have not figured out what yet. The fact that it helps setup the Porta Boat is good enough for now.

OAR RIGHTY THEN: A PORTA BOAT REPAIR

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Funny how things keep getting pushed up to the top of the list due to unexpected repairs. The other night I took the dinghy ashore to get some provisions. As usual I took the oars and put them in the car. Leaving them in the dingy is like leaving the keys in the ignition IMO. When I got back and pulled the oars out of the back one of the oars pulled apart.

The Oars that come with the Porta Boat are aluminum and have a metal pin the secures them together. After ten years in the salt water environment the pins on my oars rusted out. So I just used duct tape to secure them temporarily. Well that "temporary" fix lasted two years which is not bad,  But, a more permanent solution was now needed. But, first I had to get back to BIANKA. Unfortunately, I did not have any duct tape in the car. Only some paper tape which was certainly not strong enough to hold the oars together. So I improvised by inserting a 1/4 inch screw into the hole the rusted out pin used to use. Then I used the paper taper around the screw to hold it in place:

It worked long enough to row back to the boat. But, a more permanent repair was needed. Since I never really took the Oars apart all I needed to do was make sure my repair was strong enough to keep the Oar halves together. For that the I decided to use some  West System G/Flex Epoxy Adhesive  I have on board.

First I had to get rid of the old Duct tape residue and clean the joint area:

I used a 3M 220-8-CC 6-Inch by 9-Inch Scotch-brite Heavy Duty Scour Pad  and some Denatured Alcohol to remove the of remnants of the Duct Tape:

This did a good job cleaning and roughing up the joint of the two oar pieces. I then mixed a small batch of the West System G/Flex Epoxy Adhesive :

I coated both pieces of the oar joints with the epoxy mixture and put them together:

I then covered the epoxied joint with some new Duct Tape to protect the epoxy and joint from any degrading effects of the sun:

The new repair of the Oar should last a number of years if my previous experience is any indication.  With this emergency repair done it's time to move on to the next project of the list.
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UPGRADING THE PORTA BOAT

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I bought an eight foot Porta Boat back in 2001 to replace a real nice fiberglass lap strake dingy that was lost in a gale. I have never regretted the purchase. It has been a real workhorse and has saved it's cost many times over in dingy dock fees. I don't abuse it but, I don't baby it either. But, over the years the wear and tear has taken it's toll. Namely on the plastic foam filled rear seat and the removable wooden transom.
The wooden transom really began to fall apart during last season as ten years of water, rain and sun started to delaminate the 3/4 inch marine plywood.

 Happily, the Porta Boat people don't rest on their laurels and have continually improved the Porta Boat design over the years. Including a new plastic transom that is lighter than the wooden one it replaced and a stronger more robust seat. So I ordered one of the new plastic transoms to replace the waterlogged wooden one.  It does require a little bit of retrofitting but, nothing too difficult. Here is what is required:
New holes have to be drilled for the screws that will secure the transom to the the Porta Boat hull. You can see the new and old positions for these screw in the photo below:

I refilled the old holes with some  Marine GOOP and covered them with some tape.  The plastic transom is lighter and floats and won't be damaged by water like the previous wood transom  was.

After the transom was in place I moved on to installing the new stronger rear seat. This was a little more involved but not overly so. First you need to remove the old seat brackets which requires drilling out the rivets holding the older brackets to the hull.  

Once the old brackets were removed I also needed to cut out a little of the floatation foam in order to fit the new seat brackets to the hull:

Two of the existing holes line up with the new bracket. But, I had to drill one additional hole for the new bracket.

I again filled one of the old screw holes some  Marine GOOP. With the new brackets installed  I refitted the new seat into the boat and then filled it with useful things I needed to take out to the boat. One of the nice things I like about the Porta Boat is how much it holds and how dry it is compared to an inflatable. With the upgraded transom and new seat it should serve me well for a number of years to come.

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SANDY AFTERMATH: DAY FIVE AND SIX

Now the warriors of winter they gave a cold triumphant shout

And all that stays is dying, all that lives is getting out

See the geese in chevron flight flapping and a-racing on before the snow

They've got the urge for going, and they've got the wings so they can go

They get the urge for going

When the meadow grass is turning brown

Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in

 JONI MITCHELL

SATURDAY  Nov. 4 2012

The boatyard supervisor wants to pull BIANKA early next week and with another Nor' easter heading this way I guess it's time to call end to the season. The docks and piling have taken a beating during Sandy:

Who knows how well they will hold up after another Nor' easter. The nights are getting colder but, the harbor is still pretty dark after the sun goes down as power still has not been restored to a lot of the island.  I hunker down in the cabin once the sun goes down. Nice and cozy with a hot cup of tea. Internet and cell phone service has finally improved quite a bit. I can surf the Internet and see what other areas have experienced. I poked my head out  and saw an orange glow way to the east on the shore. I was thinking uh oh ,  somebody's beach house is on fire and from the Halloween orange glow it's pretty intense. I see it grow bigger as I keep looking. Then I'm thinking there are no houses in that direction on the beach where this fire was. They are on the bluffs. I was relieved a little while later what I had really seen was the orange moon rising through some hazy clouds on the horizon.

I took off the sail and took it home.  As I headed home I noticed the cars lined up at the gas stations along with several Police officers at each one with gas directing traffic. I was glad I had filled up on Monday right before the storm and I have a small efficient car allowing me to make several trips back and forth without worry.  Though I can understand the desperation of some in the search for gas.  

I still have same gas in the Honda 2000i generator and about a half gallon in a Jerry Jug left over from the latest cruise. But, the winds have been brisk and the sun has been shining so I have not had to fire up the generator for charging in a few days on board.

SUNDAY Nov. 5 2012

After my morning coffee I walked the lopsided stormed tossed dingy docks 

to get to the area where the fellows of the boatyard found my overturned Porta Boat dingy sans the Honda BP2 outboard. The consensus is the outboard went to the bottom when the dingy flipped. It was low tide and I spent an hour throwing the grapple. But, the only thing I caught were some Oysters and mussels:

It's possible the motor is under the dock I was standing on since it was the one that broke away during the storm. I may have to wait until they move it and maybe try some again. But, it may be a lost cause at this point anyway.

I tied up BIANKA in front of a 47 foot Hunter that was moved at some point when I was away. The owner came back this morning to remove some steps and  fenders he had left attached to the dock. I asked how the boat fared which was tied to the dock during Sandy.  He said he had some damage in the stern area because every cleet on the dock except for the stern one had been pulled out during the storm. When I looked at the dock he was right four or five cleats were  missing from the dock.

I dropped the boom on BIANKA and removed all the lines. While I was sorting them out.  The owner of a big beamy Regal power boat across the dock  arrived with his nephew. They were there to siphon some gas out of the Uncles boat so they could keep the generator running at home.

As high tide approached I took a lot of the canned goods I had in BIANKA's galley and put them into an empty cooler to bring home along with the Porta Boat dingy. I'm timing this with the high tide because it is easy to lug this stuff  up the gangway at that time. As I was folding the Porta Boat for the last time this season. I noticed that two of the four screws that hold the transom were missing. Not sure how they could have loosened but, found it strange they were gone while the two others were still there and tight.

I also took some time to go over and see a power boat that washed up near the town docks:

There were a few people working on it. Luckily it landed on a sandy patch next to one of the town docks. They had wood rollers underneath and some heavy thick line wrapped around the bow. I wonder if they are going to try to pull it off on the next high tide which according to my Eldridge is about 9 o'clock tonight. I wish them luck.