I can't speak for the Mexican coast, but I can speak to the Bahamas and Caribbean. We are beaching the dinghy all the time, and most of the time there is some surf. Along with that, we often have a 3+ NM dinghy run to get to our destination. That is often in 2+ ft. chop. Those are the reasons we use a RIB with a 15 HP outboard. The porta boat wouldn't serve our needs, nor would a 3.5 HP outboard. If we need to protect it, we can pull it up on the side of the boat via a halyard as we don't have davits. We travel with it on the foredeck. I would say that the ratio of RIBs to Porta Boats is 100 to 1 in our cruising grounds. A slow wet dinghy is not what you want. We can plane with 4 people.

Whatever your choice, enjoy!

Steve