Dinghy: Rowing, Motoring and General Info
“Better performance characteristics in one package than any dinghy I’ve seen…The best dinghy ever made!” Mike M., Harborside, ME.
The unique and innovative Portland Pudgy safety dinghy gets you where you want to go, whether you’re blue water cruising, sailing offshore, or exploring a lake. Designed as a tender for blue water sailors, it is also a dynamic lifeboat you can sail to safety. The resulting versatility, ruggedness, buoyancy, stability, roominess, and high quality workmanship put the Portland Pudgy safety dinghy in a class by itself.
General Info about the Portland Pudgy Safety Dinghy
Rowboat / Motorboat: The Portland Pudgy safety dinghy is ideal to row, motor, and tow. It tracks perfectly and moves along nicely with a small motor.
The Pudgy is extremely buoyant and has huge carrying capacity, both in the roomy cockpit and inside the storage compartments in the double hull. The oars pull apart and stow through the transom hatch. There’s 12 cubic feet of interior storage within the walls of the hull. The Portland Pudgy (7′ 8″, 128 lb., USCG-approved for 4 people) is designed and manufactured to be an exceptionally rugged, stable, unsinkable boat. See Dinghy FAQ.
“We put the Torqeedo motor on it yesterday and tooled around in a 5 knot current and 20knot winds…We were able to cruise at 5mph with two adults wide open, 4 mph at half throttle. Amazingly, cruising through white caps, we remained dry.” Jeff G., Nottingham, NH.
Safety Boat/ Recreational Boat: This small boat is so stable you can walk around in it. The Portland Pudgy safety dinghy has all the benefits of inflatable boats and RIBs (rigid inflatable boats), without the risk of deflation. There is no need for an unsightly, expensive, and deflation-prone RID kit with the Pudgy: it’s unsinkable, with built-in buoyancy.
The Portland Pudgy safety dinghy is a self-rescue boat, even without the optional inflatable exposure canopy, sea anchor and other survival gear. With its sail kit, the Pudgy is a fun sailing dinghy!
Unlike inflatable boats, the Portland Pudgy safety dinghy is a joy to row. Because the Portland Pudgy is so stable, rugged, and tracks so well when rowed or motored, it’s also a great boat for fishing and hunting.
“The Pudgy rows beautifully, with little effort…the Pudgy goes where she’s pointed. Period. Like she’s on rails. No arguments or drama…” Mitch Z., MD.
Self-Contained Unit: All of the accessories, oars, sail kit (including telescoping mast and boom), safety equipment, fishing gear, lunch, beverages, camera and tripod, and more, can be stowed inside the double hull, via the five watertight hatches.