10.8ft dinghy as a first boat?

[JohnFromLisbon]

Hey everyone

 

After years using rental canoes and small boats I'm thinking of getting my own boat this Christmas. The two (huge) constraints I have are: 1) I live in a 3rd floor apartment with no parking/garage and 2) I drive a small '04 Mazda 2, which basically a slightly larger Fiesta with a tiny gas engine

 

Because of that I've been looking at inflatable boats, especially a 10.8ft dinghy with a full wooden floor from factory. It's relatively cheap, about €500 shipped (~$560), comes with a couple of oars, two bench seats, pump, emergency repair kit, etc. I can easily assemble it in like 15 minutes, I can carry it around in the trunk, it weighs about 100 lbs, it's made out of 3 layers of 1100 deniers PVC, mandatory 2 year warranty, etc. Sure, I might let out a few four letter words having to carry it upstairs when getting home from a fishing trip, but it seems like a viable option (considering).

 

I've also been looking at the porta-bote, specifically the 10' model. But I'd have to keep it at my grandparents' old place, roughly 60 miles away, meaning a heck of a detour every time we wanted to go fishing somewhere other than there. Also, for the price of the 10' model, I could buy the dinghy, gas outboard, fish finder, trolling motor, battery, and a literal boatload of tackle for the same money. I'd definitely have to wait about 7 months until I could even consider buying it.

 

My question is, considering costs and constraints, is the dinghy worth it? Do you think it'd be a good choice, running it for 2-3 years? Or should I save up and get something better next year?

 

Thanks!

[J Francho]

An inflatable sounds like the best solution for you, given your constraints.

I know there is a guy that lives in NYC, and transports his gear on the subway.  He's totally portable.

[Smalls]

My first “boat” was a 10 ft dinghy. I actually really miss that thing. Took less than 15 minutes to set up, including loading it with rods/tackle. Everything including trolling motor fit in my trunk, with space to spare. 
 

The only downsides were that a) if I wasn’t anchored, I was at the mercy of the wind and b) with the floor being so low, it made certain presentations a little harder, like walking a frog or pitching. 
 

$550 is a great price, too. They can go for thousands over here. 

[JohnFromLisbon]

15 hours ago, Smalls said:

The only downsides were that a) if I wasn’t anchored, I was at the mercy of the wind

 

I learned that lesson fishing from an Old Town canoe. It was super fun to fish from but as soon as the wind picked up, before we bought an anchor to carry around, we might as well head back to the dock

 

Thanks @J Francho and @Smalls!

 

[WRB]

Inflatable pontoon 1 man fishing boats are popular and easily transportable in a small car.

Tom

[Smalls]

8 hours ago, JohnFromLisbon said:

 

I learned that lesson fishing from an Old Town canoe. It was super fun to fish from but as soon as the wind picked up, before we bought an anchor to carry around, we might as well head back to the dock

 

 

 

It’s so much worse in an inflatable. But the positive is that they are super easy to anchor. A 10 lb dumbbell on a rope kept me in one place.
 

The nice thing about being so light, though, is that a 24 lb trolling motor whipped me around the lake pretty quick.