Dan,

You are correct that we sail and think about just our 27 foot boat. But I MUST say that if we had any size boat (well, up to a Mega... ) I would still go with the PB. Most likely I would up the size to the 10 foot. I might also carry an extra outboard. Like a few here have suggested, maybe a 15 HP and my 3.5 also. I use the 3.5 hp, 2 stroke because I can heft it up to our stern rail with one hand and Jill can carry it. It will plane our PB with one (NOT both) of us in it. If I could get a slightly larger OB without a big weight penalty, I would.

If I didn't go with a PB, I would go for a hard dink. Maybe like the one I built some time back. http://www.svguenevere.com/prep/proj/dink/

An inflatable is my last choice. Sorry.

My preference for the PB or hard comes from an experience I had with one when I lived in Hawaii. Due to some unexpected winds that came up when 4 of us were doing a SCUBA dive, we almost did a cruise to Japan in it. It seems that not only are they hard to row in wind, but heavy winds and waves also use quite a bit more fuel.

It IS what I feel and I do see some good things to them, just not for me. Having said that, I do carry a toy Sevylor 2 person inflatable with the toy oars in our aft cabin in a small bag. Just in case I MUST get to shore and something has happened to our PB.

Greg