porta-bote

[Styx]

I have a 26' S2 and need a dingy for two that I can row. At the Annapolis boat show I saw an 8' foldable boat called porta-boat. Being that space is limited on my boat, it looked like a workable solution for me. I will be sailing Lake Erie and trailering my boat. Does anyone have one of these boats or advice about them?

Their website is: http://porta-bote.com/

 

[oreana123]

These boats are incredibly strong and fold as small as a surfboard. However, the sides are not rigid and if you expect to row the boat any distance, you will find that the sides of the boat absorb the oars energy. I have rowed a folboat 5 miles against a light wind, and had to work very hard indeed!

 

[kendall]

a solution for that could be to build a U shaped brace that would slip over or clamp to the sides of the boat, oar locks at each end of the U, with the rounded section as a 'dash board' a suitable distance in front of the rower. Not as a backrest, unless you row entirely with your arms.

Made of plywood, or possibly aluminum tube, should be able to store right with the boat without any real impact on space

Would spread the effort around a bit, so it's not a point load. Should reduce the flex to a minimum.

 

[paul1938]

Have one [10'8" one], when seats are in, no flex. Also not near as much windage as inflatable. Other benefit is that it only needs small OB. use kayak racks.

 

[Dubo]

I use an electric motor on mine and it gets the job done. I've seen these with outboards and they seem to move at a good clip. Oaring a long distance would be a chore as mentioned. It is durable and forgiving and once you figure out how best to open it it is fairly easy and fast to set up...it does take a bit of strength IMO to get the seats in but once they are in you are set. I could see opening it in cold weather being a problem as the plastiic would have less flex. I haven't tried that yet.

 

[tkaser3210]

Had a 12' PortaBoat at oe time - great little multi-purpose boat, but the ads are a little deceiving. The boat itself folds to the size of a surfboard, but it's the plywood seats that take up storage space.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

I know of a guy who had one and got in it at Port Townsend, WA and sat in the rear of the thing and started his gas outboard. The boat ended up going teakettle on him. The bow rose out of the water and then flipped over leaving him in the drink - after he fell out of the back of the boat over the outboard. Didn't tip over sideways but end for end. He put it up for sale after that.

 

[kloudie1]

Bill, that sounds more like an operator problem and not a boat problem..

 

[Alan]

I use a 4HP Yamaha on mine (10.5 model) and have for years. When I sit on the rear seat with the outboard and no one else on board it would be impossible to flip this boat even with my 200# ass back there. The only way you could flip this boat is if you had it way over horse powered. When someone shoots himself in the foot, it's not the guns fault.

 

[John]

I have a portaboat and an inflatable dinghy and have tried both off of my boat. I prefer the inflatable, but for my own particular reasons. 1)The inflatable is a little easier to launch off of my foredeck (using a spare halyard to raise it up). 2)The inflatable is a little easier to get in and out of off of my swim platform. That's especially true for my two dogs that we often take with us. Those are my own particular needs, though. I do think that the portaboat is a little easier to row, if that's your concern. And if you don't have a RIB (and I don't), then you don't have to worry about putting a hole in the bottom when you drag the portaboat up on a beach.

 

[Styx]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I found a port-a-boat on Craig’s list for $200 and bought it yesterday. There was one rivet missing and I replaced it. I then tested it out and it works well.