I have the controversial (on the forums
) Porta Bote. It's the 10'6" model, 60" beam. We don't start cruising until September so haven't used much, and I can't comment on whether its better than a standard inflatable. What I can tell you is that it fits nicely on the bow upside down with transom touching the mast with room to walk around on the sides and front. It also hangs on our davits without causing problems docking the few times we've done that from sticking out too far. Folded, it gets strapped to the stanchions.
So, whatever you end up choosing, my .02 is that you can go up to the 10' range instead of going with the 8' range. 12' range would probably be too big. The size question is one I've seen discussed here on the forum.
As to the Porta Bote, it seems sturdy and has more interior volume than similarly sized inflatables. If it ends up falling apart or has issues that we don't like, we'll end up going with a RIB for our next dinghy.
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