Porta-bote haters: what's not to like?

[Sailingmartin]

Darknoid. My dogs didn’t like jumping up and down from the boat from the shiny plastic seats. However, a bit of non-slip tape means they now have a bit of grip and are much happier.

[BlackHeron]

We were hit by 6+" of rain once in just a couple of hours, along with a pretty bumpy anchorage where the wind was blowing hard during this storm counter to the current. It was enough to swamp our Porta-Bote as it was hip-tied alongside our sailboat and probably a lot of rainwater was also pouring off of our sailboat into the bote as well.

The 22lb 2hp 2-stoke outboard was OK and there was enough inherent floatation of the PB so that the powerhead was kept completely above the water although waves were splashing up against the front a little bit. It was stowed in the "up" position earlier but the violence of the storm and the rocking of both boats where such that it knocked the outboard down again since this little old Yamaha does not have any mechanism to keep it locked up in the raised position if the boat is getting pounded by nearly 2-foot waves.

After bailing out the bote the old Yamaha started right up second pull, although a few weeks later the kill switch mounted in the face of the powerhead which was getting splashed by saltwater stopped working.

Any hard dinghy would have faired similarly that night and many ribs or roll-up inflatibles would have been full of water as well, although they probably would have held an even heavier outboard up out of the water due to the air tubes.

No real harm done. Swapping out a kill switch is an easy enough job for an experienced cruiser.

[Marlincaptain]

Originally Posted by Darknoid

Hi, I got here looking for reviews of PB. I'm not a sailor, I just did some sea kayaking in NZ and AU. But I bought a holiday home on a island in the middle of a Finnish Lake. The distance to cover on water it's about 2 km. It could be pretty windy up there but I don't have to put the boat in the water if the weather is bad.
Main reason I'm looking at PB is that I'm going to drive a campervan with 3 dogs (total weight 100kg) for 2,300 km to get there and a PB could ride on the top of the van and I'm not so sure dogs and inflatables could go along well.
What would you advise?

We ended up buying a used 12 ft portabote and a new 6 hp yamaha 4 stroke motor. Due to pandemic and location of boat for sale, our friends in VA picked it up for us since we live in Delaware and had travel restrictions. We have not picked up boat or used it yet so no feedback to offer at this time. From our research the 12' and larger hp motor was going to be beneficial for windy weather, weight in boat, etc. We purchased so we would have a boat when we are towing our 24' travel trailer.

This forum was a wonderful resource for information when we were researching what to purchase. I am sure you will find it very helpful as well. The members are very generous with their time and input.

[gansett]

My Dad got the optional brackets and used to clamp his portabote to the side of the Winnebago.
I used to borrow it and duct tape it to the roof of my car...

[mkjones]

Portabote currently having a summer sale - $2199 for the 10' model. Think that's a price worth jumping at or wait for boat show season?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by mkjones

Portabote currently having a summer sale - $2199 for the 10' model. Think that's a price worth jumping at or wait for boat show season?

That is a good price. I paid about that for my 10-footer some 17 years ago. I got the sail rig included in that price.

[Celestialsailor]

This thread looks like it’s been going on a while. I’ll chime in since I’ve had all kinds of tenders. My latest dinghy was a 10ft portabot. I used Garhaurer surfboard brackets outboard of the season stantions. That was a great advantage. However, I still I had to stow the seats which took up serious room on a berth. It performed well but I saw two that needed transom repairs. Both cases had the owners in touch with the factory. Months later, I asked the factory about the problem and claimed they knew nothing about it...hmmm.
I have had inflatables and hated the leaks. While in Mx. on the morning nets, I would hear call outs for dinghy repairs. I think my best boat was a 9 1/2’ nesting dinghy that I custom built. I’m going to go back to that concept and put it on davits. It will have to be a xtra light to work well and maybe 8’.

[BlackHeron]

I firmly believe that the vast majority of transom issues and leaks are from using too large of an outboard and/or not having them trimmed up properly to keep the lower unit off of the bottom of the transom where the membrane meets the hinge when at full thrust.

Any damage or deformation of the otherwise straight flat plastic of the hull there will cause the membrane and the sealant in the seam at or near the fold to self-destruct when the bote is folded.

[hpeer]

Black Heron,

I’ve considered this but the rips to me dont look like that kind of damage. Im not seeing push marks on the plastic or rubs on the lower unit.

I am curious why you have come to this conclusion. What are you seeing I am not?

[Celestialsailor]

Even on the RIB's I've seen leaks on the seams.

[BlackHeron]

There is no high air pressure in a Porta Bote. Heavy polyethylene membrane doesn't just rip. Fold tests on the membrane show that the design of the membrane/hull hinge can withstand a thousand folds or more.

[hpeer]

My fold tests, and those of hundreds more, show that the membranes fail when double folded.

The PB failure point is not a simple fold. It is the point where two folds meet.

As I said above, I considered that the outboard was pressing on the keel of the boat and indeed it can happen that the OB does press on that point. However I see no wear associated with such contact.

But also you are making as assertion with no explanation. Even if the OB were pressing on that point what would be the mechanism causing the failure? If you are saying the OB pushes on the bottom at that point you need to consider it would be pushing on the end of the keel tube.

To my knowledge the PB company owner has never provided this explanation. If it is true then PB should issue a statement explaining how it occurs and why. If such a statement exists I would like to see it. It would be the responsible thing to do.

I don't hate PB’s even though I have the famous leak. I would just like to see some better solution.

[Celestialsailor]

When I was in Mx, that's what I saw also. On folding transom at the bottom center seemed to be the problem area. Although I did not have a problem with my 10 footer. The owners were told to use metal tape that you would use for ducting. Both the cases I saw, the owners had contacted PB for a fix and when I saw PB at the boat show at Jack London Square, they denied the problem. I would not be surprised if we see a modification in design.

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

When I was in Mx, that's what I saw also. On folding transom at the bottom center seemed to be the problem area. Although I did not have a problem with my 10 footer. The owners were told to use metal tape that you would use for ducting. Both the cases I saw, the owners had contacted PB for a fix and when I saw PB at the boat show at Jack London Square, they denied the problem. I would not be surprised if we see a modification in design.

The design, and the problem, have been around for decades.

There have been no transom flap changes in that time that I've seen - but many modifications to the interior...

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by skipgundlach

The design, and the problem, have been around for decades.

There have been no transom flap changes in that time that I've seen - but many modifications to the interior...

I also had the old double ender style (no transom) and no problems with it. However, you could only mount the smallest of an engine on it. Like a 1.2hp. Cruise and Carry. Once at anchor in very high winds, I had to be towed out to my boat. I'm sure PB figured out they need to change the design to facilitate an outboard.