The one we borrowed fit easily enough. About 12' long by 3' wide, I strapped it to two stanchions inside the lifelines. Our decks are wide so it didn't impede us much at all. But I confess I never haul anything on deck like this. To do it with any frequency would be tedious. There are simple stanchion racks. I personally don't have problems towing our dinghy in the roughest conditions we're apt to encounter, but I would have been nervous with a paddleboard anywhere on deck on our last trip to Cape Cod and back(it went on a rack on our car, with no problems).

I wasn't that steady on it on my first paddle here in Cuttyhunk Pond. I was able to get on and off from the deck and do a bit of paddling, but it was only a matter of time before I was in the drink. That thought isn't too appealing to me here in Maine. But the 12' Paddleboard was designed for a lighter person. I need to try out something in the 14' range. I'm on the fence,...

On the other hand, Mary Ann stepped on an glided off in a little cove off Hadley Harbor on a windy day. She immediately outgrew the cove and headed under a bridge out toward Buzzards Bay before I could catch up rowing.

Having so much fun, she came back and picked up the dogs that seem equally at home on a paddleboard.

So does a paddleboard have a place on a sailboat? It might if somebody likes to walk(constantly), beach comb(endlessly), or simply glide through the quiet of nature. When I see a lone paddleboarder these days(they're on the rise) in a quiet cove at dawn or dusk gliding effortlessly over the water, I can see the attraction.

It's the closest thing to walking softly on water I can imagine. So far, I prefer rowing to achieve most of the above, but I may have to look into an easy to use stanchion bracket for a 12' paddleboard.