Dinghy choice is almost as personal as the tow vehicle. If you can get by without one it makes the sailing more enjoyable. If you are in a group like the NW cruise you can always bum a ride when you are on the hook or a mooring. I took a hard dinghy on our group cruise in Maine because it we were not planning to stay at any Marina for two weeks and I like the ability to get up in the AM and do as I chose - wonderful trails and shoreline. If I am not sure I take my single person inflatable but it isn't good for carrying loads to and from shore but is very nice for cruising the shore line in the AM or PM. If I am just going for an overnite or two I gennerally don't take anything. I would forgo the thought of the engine swaping on the water. You are gennerally close enough to shore that it is an easy row or paddle. I am currently selling my 15' 6" Bolger Lite Dory and thinking of aquiring an East Port Pram. It is 7' 6" and might fit sideways in the cockpit while trailering and would fit in the back of the pickup for a quick trip to the lake for a short sail. When I cruise by myself for extended periods I much prefer the hard dinghy so that I can fish and just mess around. This does make crossing large bodies of water in strong winds a bit more worrisome. In genneral the hard dinghy is easier to get in and out of both at the boat and the beach. Howard Audesey built a nice dinghy - lets hear his report :-) Thanks Doug Kelch --- On Mon, 8/3/09, Blake Reimer <blkreimer@yahoo.com> wrote: From: Blake Reimer <blkreimer@yahoo.com> Subject: M_Boats: I must be getting (a) dinghy?? To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Date: Monday, August 3, 2009, 5:17 PM With thoughts towards the great NW next year, I wonder if I need a dinghy for my dimunitive-enough-as-it-is M15. What say? Do others use a dinghy for such locales with their M-15? If so, what are you using? With oars or motor(assume my 2hp can do double duty..) or both? Has anyone tried the newfangled Kaboats (strange, inflatable kayaks with a transom)? Am I any more out of my mind than usual to think I would need one? Blake M15 IOTA _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats Remember, there is no privacy on the Internet!