The Pudgy: Versatility personified
September 2024
By Pam Humbert
We all reach a stage of life, eventually, in which time no longer seems infinite. Having entered this realm myself, I’m trying to temper the urge to fill every free moment doing something “productive” with an activity, instead, that I might actually enjoy. Life is short! So, this past June, when I found myself momentarily sitting idle on a day that featured a gentle breeze, I decided to go sailing. Friends were understandably unavailable on such short notice, and my husband was at work. Me wanting to sail – and no one to sail with – was a dilemma with which I was familiar. I recalled a certain lovely windless Saturday on which we headed out on Morgana, our 30’ Pearson, for the weekend. Opting to wait out the doldrums, we anchored in Lloyd Harbor where the morning slid pleasantly into afternoon, and afternoon into early evening. By the time the late day southerly filled in, we were just too “settled in” to set sail. It was a situation we’d been in several times before, with our Zodiac T/T Morgana tied off to the transom. I thought: “I sure wish you had a sail, T/T!”
After I got home that weekend, I researched tenders that rowed, towed, motored and sailed. Where my research landed was on the Portland Pudgy. The Pudgy was eight feet of Polymer with lines somewhere between fugly and cute. Reading on, I discovered that the original concept of the Pudgy was as a tender that might, in a pinch, double as a sailable liferaft, i.e, something that one might use to rescue him-or herself with on the open ocean. And, as an added bonus to their seaworthiness, Pudgies were light. The design even incorporates a clever storage compartment for the sail kit. The package sounded enticing, and the online video clips were convincing. I shared what I’d learned online first with my husband, Jim, who dismissed the idea. Next, I shared it with our daughter, Kate, who thankfully was interested. “She’s kinda . . . cute? I like it in white. You should get one and name it Puff’n.” The notion of buying a Pudgy fell off my radar when further research failed to turn one up for sale locally, and a trip to Maine where they’re made seemed too far away. Plus, they were a bit pricey for an 8’ dinghy. Sensibility prevailed . . . until that day in June.
“Find a Pudgy!” This was now my mantra.
My usual sites bore no fruit, but Facebook Marketplace did. There was a Pudgy in Pennsylvania, and it was white. Much closer than Maine, of course, but still a bit of an undertaking. On a whim, I posted on Marketplace, “Looking for a Portland Pudgy,” hoping to find one even closer. After some weeks, the first response I got to my post was from a fellow Pudgy enthusiast. “Did you look at the one in PA? I found one closer to me and bought it. It’s a fun little sailboat!” I replied that life was busy (again), and hadn’t gotten a chance. When another quiet afternoon came, I checked to see if it was still for sale, worked out the logistics of a road trip to Pennsylvania, and of bringing yet another boat into the family. By the time Jim came home from his job that evening, I had already worked everything out: “I want that boat,” I said.
Long story short, we bought it. We then spent the better part of a hot July day washing away her last-life’s soil, applying her new name, sorting out the bits and nuances of our new girl and fitting her out for her launch and residence at the village dinghy dock. By dinner time one late afternoon she was tethered to the dinghy dock, waiting for me to return.
When I found myself free again, I didn’t waste a moment’s time. I headed down to the village where Puff’n waited. I checked my expectations, but remained hopeful. I hadn’t yet sailed the boat, so had no idea what to expect. I cast off fully rigged in less than 15 minutes. She tacked effortlessly in the zephyrs as I led her out of the tiny narrows behind the village town dock. Once clear, I set a course across the harbor into the dense mooring field, where she slid along easily, made fair headway upwind, and bobbed gently in the wavelets. The sound of water gurgling and bubbling filled the air as she sailed along. I tested her basic attributes as we made steady progress out of the mooring field. I was loving my new Puff’n! With that thought, my focus on her design and capabilities ebbed and I relaxed, and became more present. The zephyrs turned into a nice breeze, and suddenly all the sailing teams from both Centerport and Northport Yacht clubs came barreling down the channel. They flew past me and Puff’n. The lingering question of fugly vs. cute was answered when a young sailor in an Opti shouted with admiration, “I love your boat!”
After a few pleasant hours the air temperature jumped in typical July fashion; it was time to head in. I turned downwind and into the channel that Puff’n and I now had all to ourselves. It lay before us like a red carpet. I put my feet up on the gunwale and let Puff’n carry me effortlessly home. It brought me back to my childhood sailing a Minifish. Lounging in the well, with my feet up, and running with the wind. Nearing the dock, I turned upwind, loosed the sail and landed her like a boss. She’s the perfect little boat to serve as a towable tender, and most importantly, a terrific little sailing buddy.
With my little Puff’n, a jaunt around the harbor is just a zephyr away.
Pam Humbert, a Northport/East Northport, N.Y., native who’s been boating since she was seven years old, is a devoted wife and mother of three grown children. She is also the founder of P.K. Services, providing start-ups with the skills and services they need to help keep their sails trimmed. Pam, her husband Jim, and their family cherish their days aboard their Pearson 30 Morgana, a Celtic name meaning “dweller of the sea.”
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