portaboat

[sailingdog]

My friend tows his porta-bote, the 10' 6" model, on a dinghy lift, which leaves just the bow of the dinghy in the water. I haven't tried towing mine yet, and probably wont. I generally store it on top of the ama deck, folded up.

[Portabot]

Suggest you drill two holes behind and lower than the original grommet holes so the bow lifts higher. Most owners like the way it tows, now. A couple of years ago we changed the position of the grommet holes as described. That corrected any previous towing problems.

Owners also like the fact that if you hit a sharp rock that would explode an inflatable, you'll get a scratch on Portaboat.

Porta-Bote team

Originally Posted by Glewis

I have had a Port a Boat now for about four years and it is a toss up.Several things to consider.
1. It does not tow well, mine has swamped 3 times in comparitively mild conditions.
2. Carrying it aboard is an OK method but if you fold it, storing the seats and transom board is a PA on a 32 footer.
3. I do like its free board and stability.
All things considered, I would revert to a large pontoon rubber boat if I were to buy a new tender.

[camaraderie]

Portabot...Welcome to the forum. From your post it sounds as if you are affilliated with the Porta-bote company.
Just FYI...we welcome vendors here to answer the questions of posters about their products on this forum. We do not permit advertising or self promotion within the forum but advertising is available through the "contact us" selection below if you so desire.
Just wanted to set out the ground rules...I'm sure your input will be valued!

[Valiente]

Portabot, keeping Cam's mod hat size in mind, I am curious as to any recent changes you've made to the Portabote design in response to owner concerns.

Specifically, I have yet to meet a Portabote owner who didn't chuck the plastic seats in favour of wood or fibreglass. I have also heard that a lot of people retrofit oarlocks of higher strength.

Don't get me wrong: I am likely going to buy your product this winter, and with only those caveats, most people seem to like the Portabote as a decent tender that solves a space issue.

What kind of prices can I expect to see at the boat shows this winter?

[sailingdog]

Many also make a wood or fiberglass transom. Mine is old enough to have come with a wood transom, but the newer plastic ones don't seem to be durable enough from what I hear. This may have changed though.
Personally, I didn't know they had made any with a plastic transom...so I can't say what the situation is from first-hand knowledge. I am building wooden seats to replace the plastic ones though. That's a project for this winter.

[erps]

Valiente,

Did you end up buying a Porta-bote? We're replacing our dink this winter too. When I look at the weight of the RIB's, I wonder how well the wife and I will be able to manage them in a few years down the road. I'm leaning towards the porta-bote as well, but overcoming the lemming effect can be tough. The docks around here are filled with RIBs and it kind of makes me wonder why I haven't seen more porta-botes.

Sailing dog, some time has gone by since some of your posts on you porta-bote, are you still happy with it?

[Waterrat]

I don't have a Porta boat but I have heard of people cutting out part of the bottom and epoxying Plexiglas or lexan so they would have a "glass bottom boat". I thought it was an interesting idea. Has anyone tried this and what do you think?

[sailingdog]

From my experience, the Porta-bote makes a great dinghy for longer term cruising. I have both a small (<9') inflatable and the 12' 6" porta-bote. The porta-bote gets up on plane with the same 3.5 HP motor that I use on the inflatable. It is pretty close to indestructible, although I am planning on re-building the plastic seats out of plywood and glassing it over. I'm also glassing over the plwood transom I have, to give it some additional protection from the elements and abuse. Given the rocky shores in my cruising area... and that some of the docks are less than inflatable friendly, I'm glad I have both. BTW, the porta-bote has greater carrying capacity and a much drier ride than the inflatable—and takes pretty close to the same amount of time to setup.

As for Waterrat's idea....that's not a really bright idea. trying to get the bottom to seal properly would be a nightmare, since the high-density polypropylene the porta-bote is made of is really slick and most adhesives just slide right off of it. Also, that would destroy the ability of the boat to fold.... which kind of defeats the whole purpose for having one.

[Valiente]

Originally Posted by erps

Valiente,

Did you end up buying a Porta-bote? We're replacing our dink this winter too. When I look at the weight of the RIB's, I wonder how well the wife and I will be able to manage them in a few years down the road. I'm leaning towards the porta-bote as well, but overcoming the lemming effect can be tough. The docks around here are filled with RIBs and it kind of makes me wonder why I haven't seen more porta-botes.

Not yet, as it isn't winter boat show time. But the crash of the U.S. dollar means I am still very likely to go with that. Portabotes should be 15-20% cheaper for me than the last time I looked at them three years ago.

We are having built a nesting dinghy which, when combined with the PortaBote, will give us two rowable/sailable/motorable options. We will share a 2.5-3.5 four-stroke between the dinghy and the Portabote as needed.

[CapnHand]

I recently got some Portaboat brochures. One of them shows a photo of a Portaboat with a lateen rig sail. I noticed this image on their website as well. I didn't see a price option for this. Does anyone know if this is a 'factory option' or is it a DIY modification done by an owner?