Vehicles on board the boat

How many forms of transport will we need in our new house?   You would think that the boat itself would be enough?

Actually, a boat this size needs a dinghy.   Two Fish is the house and the dinghy is kind of the car.  I am not into fancy cars onshore but my dinghy choice has consumed hours of my time.  The Argentines have made the process easier because they limit imports into the country.   So we think we will get spam, spam or spam as our dinghy.   We are limited to about 11 feet, otherwise the dinghy won’t stow properly on the stern.  (Kind of like a house with a small garage that won’t fit an Escalade.)   The simple choice is a dinghy with bench seats and a 25hp Yamaha engine to push it.     If you want to spend some more money, comfort can be your reward.   Electric start, steering wheel, built in running lights and a higher chance of having your dinghy walk off without your approval.   Also you might look like the guy in an Armani suit during a Grateful Dead concert.   No one will be offended, but there may be a few snickering comments when you are out of earshot.  The Argentine customs authorities will most likely make the final call.

Our second vehicles will be folding bikes.   We have been all over the world on cycling vacations and wish to continue this in the future.  We have chosen Brompton bikes because they fold into a small space for stowing on-board and fit in the dingy for trips to shore.  LAST MINUTE EDIT!  Before posting this we discovered Bike Friday.   We have heard rave reviews their bikes.   So we have decided its Brompton or Bike Friday.  Stay tuned for a post in the future.

We don’t have full agreement on the next vessels yet.

I enjoy going on long swims in lagoons and other bodies of water.  Often Gail kindly provides a life guard function by paddling near by.   This is more to protect me from speed boats than drowning and is a nice way for her to get on the water.    Historically, she has done this in a sea kayak.   But a kayak would need to be stored on deck which is a bit “hobo”  and not very seamanship like.   An alternative would be a inflatable model that is both kayak / stand  up paddle surf board.   Inflation would be easy since the compressor for the dive tanks should be able to do the work.   When going off to sea – deflate and stow in one of the forward lockers.

I have found a company that makes cool stand up paddle boards, ULI is their name.  Need to do more research but have a email chain on which model was best suited for our needs.

A kite surfer looks like a blast.   Never tried it so the plan is to take a few lessons before I buy one.    Advantage is easy stowage.   This way I don’t have to buy a surf board or a wind surfer.   Both are no fun to try to store.    Another idea left on the cutting room floor – a foldable

Foldable Tri

trimaran.   Maybe next time when I buy that 80 foot catamaran.