Porta-Bote

[celtium]

I'm at the point that I want a dinghy. I've done a lot of reading about the Porta-Bote. Does anyone have any info? Agreed it's ugly, but I kinda like it, at least nobody would want to steal it!

I know I'll get a lot of opinions for an inflatable...but where do you store the darn thing? If, in the future, I put a wind vane on the stern, that would elliminate the SS arch everyone uses, and interior storage would and is limited, storing on the deck forward I'm not fond of either.

It seems the Porta-Bote would stow nicely along the side attached to the lifelines by the standing rigging on the outside of the lifelines. I would have to buy or reverse engineer some kind of bracket but that would be easy.

I've serached for threads on this site but no luck, if any are there a link would be much appreciated.

Opines?

Thanks

Jay
E 38-200
SF Bay

 

[u079721]

I am a big fan or Porta-Botes, having used one of their 8 footers as the dinghy for our E38-200.

We chose the 8 footer since we didn't' use the dinghy all that much, all because it was so much easier to store. As I hope you can see in the photo I am trying to attach, all we did for storage was lay it alongside the side of the cabin, inboard of the stays. To hold it in place we tied a couple of loops around the boat and fastened them to the handrail. In this fashion the 8 footer was great, and not in the way at all. But if you have more than two people, or further to dinghy, you will be better served by the 10 footer, which could stick out a bit and be a bit more in the way.

Actually the bigger problem is what to do with the transom and seats. These are actually pretty big pieces of wood (now plastic) that need to be stored. On the 8 footer there are two seats, while on the 10 there will be 3 - plus the transom. Our solution was to stand them up in the shower stall, which worked quite well. As soon as we were done with our passage we would launch the boat, which would get the gear out of the shower and out of the way.

We powered ours with a 2 HP Honda 4 cycle, which worked great, and was easy to stow. But if you want to go fast you'll need to get a bigger engine, which will require you to move up to the 10 footer.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[celtium]

Ahhh

I get it, looking at your picture, it fits pretty nicely by the looks of it, kewl! What do you think about your way of stowing it for offshore work, or would you make adjustments?

Have you done any work with the rig in adverse conditions? Guessing you don't have any surf action in the Great Lakes , have you 'jumped' any big boat waves etc.? Looking for beach approach type info in that regard.

Also, you use the 2hp I was thinking of as well. Do you get up to plane with that on the 8' or is that a little tough?

Do you feel you could get into it if you were in the water, for whatever reason i.e. diving etc.?

Do you think the oars are adequate, I've read both opinions on that.

There is a couple who own one and are quite happy with it. There biggest complaint was the transom, the seats, flotation foam, and the oars. The transom and seats cracked, replaced by Porta-Bote after some effort, the oars broke, and the foam is not tolerant of the sun. But they were truly happy with the boat overall.

When you set it up, my guess is you do it on the foredeck and then just lower it into the water? And how do you get it back out?

Lots of questions, so thank you in advance for your indulgence.

Jay
E 38-200
SF Bay

 

[celtium]

Oops

Forgot...I've read that the Porta-Boat is unstable to get into and out of?? How do you do it?

Thanks again - Jay

 

[u079721]

I get it, looking at your picture, it fits pretty nicely by the looks of it, kewl! What do you think about your way of stowing it for offshore work, or would you make adjustments?

Have you done any work with the rig in adverse conditions? Guessing you don't have any surf action in the Great Lakes , have you 'jumped' any big boat waves etc.? Looking for beach approach type info in that regard.

Also, you use the 2hp I was thinking of as well. Do you get up to plane with that on the 8' or is that a little tough?

Do you feel you could get into it if you were in the water, for whatever reason i.e. diving etc.?

Do you think the oars are adequate, I've read both opinions on that.

There is a couple who own one and are quite happy with it. There biggest complaint was the transom, the seats, flotation foam, and the oars. The transom and seats cracked, replaced by Porta-Bote after some effort, the oars broke, and the foam is not tolerant of the sun. But they were truly happy with the boat overall.

When you set it up, my guess is you do it on the foredeck and then just lower it into the water? And how do you get it back out?

Lots of questions, so thank you in advance for your indulgence.

Jay
E 38-200
SF Bay

We only stowed the boat on the side deck when making passages, and would tow it behind the boat when going from island to island on the cruise. But I wouldn't worry too much about security, as I am sure you could tie it down well enough not to worry. I would probably add a tie down or two to the genoa car track that it sits on it that position. No really big surf action in the Porta-Bote, but we have encountered a few big wakes. The boat sort of flexes when this happens, and takes some water over the bow, but it's not a problem. Nice to know that the boat floats even when swamped. Approaching shore was no problem, as you didn't worry about scuffing up the boat when dragging it over rocks or sand.

The 2 HP was great, only weighing 28 lbs, and was a breeze to lift up to the rail for storage. But it will not plane the boat with two people in it. We mostly motored at something like 3 kts. We thought of it as effortless rowing, not quick transport between distant islands or a run into town to get ice.

Never tried to get into while in the water, but the manufacturer claims that is doable, even with scuba gear. Even if it is possible, I doubt it will be as comfortable on your body as any inflatable would be though. Might get scratched by the oarlocks if you weren't careful?

Rowing is not bad. We used to own the original double ended Porta-Bote, and that one rowed as easily as a kayak - seriously. The square ended one has a lot more drag, but is still easier to row than a hundred pound fiberglass dinghy. You will probably want an engine, but it's good to know that the oars do actually work, and you would never get caught being blown offshore if the engine were to stall. BUT, I replaced the stock oars with two-part 7 foot wooden oars, so I guess you could say I didn't think much of the stock oars either.

Our seats and transom were wood, so we wouldn't know about whether the new plastic ones would crack. As for the foam, we keep it covered with an extra layer of non-absorbent foam for extra comfort. We used a couple of those So-pac cushions and held them down with straps. That way it was easy to wipe up the morning dew and not get your pants wet every time.

For set up we covered the fore hatch with a rubberized bath mat first, both to protect the hatch and to give traction. I then stood on the hatch with the Porta-Bote athwart ships and unfolded it enough to get a long pole inside sideways to hold it open. I then added the seats and transom. To launch I hoisted it aloft using a three point bridle I made up attached to a three part tackle we kept aboard for use with the Life Sling. Retrieval was the reverse using the same bridle and tackle. You can also use the spinnaker halyard attached to the bridle, but I had to be able to do it single handed.

The boat is not as stable as an inflatable while boarding, but we never had a problem. We would hold onto the transom ladder while boarding, and only let go when we had our footing. Leaving the beach one person would get in all the way back, and the other could push off and get aboard over the bow, usually without even getting my shoes wet.

 

[WBurgner]

Great Little Boat

Jay,
Steve's comments are on target. We recentlly bought the ten footer and use our five horse merc. Planes easily with two. It is faster and dryer than the inflatable it replaced. We bought a carrying bag for the transom, seats and oars which makes it easier to lug them around.

While I have yet to try it myself, I have heard people mention assembling the boat while hanging from the spinaker halyard. The boat, that is, not the assembler.

 

[celtium]

Thanks!!

I appreciate all the information, sounds excellent. I don't know why you don't see more of them though. A friend of mine did the Haha a couple years ago and only saw 1 or 2, everyone else had the inflatables, curious. The Porta-Bote just makes more sense to me.

The idea of stowing it between the standing rigging and cabin is fantastic. For me that may not work though as I have installed the poly rain window guards (forgot the proper name) so the bote may not fit there without damage to the guards. Still may have to figure a way to install brackets on the lifeline stanchions .

Or I could just move the window shade if I could figure out how to get the silicone sealant off.

Thanks again, any other comments are seriously appreciated.

Jay
E 38-200
SF Bay

 

[u079721]

Not sure why you don't see more of them. I just love the fact that they are practically indestructible on the beach.

As for storage, unless you are staying inshore, I would think having a Porta-Bote (or a sailboard for that matter) mounted on the stanchions is a bad idea in general - just think of what one wave could do. I would see what I could do to store it alongside the cabin.

 

[celtium]

You're correct

One good wave would clean the Bote right off wouldn't it?

But...I installed (www.seaworthygoods.com) Port Visors and boy are they nice. Unfortuneately, the one I ordered was a tad small (my fault, should have ordered 15" not 14 1/2") so it wouldn't stick properly and I had to fill the gap with silicone ...arghhh... as you know, that's a mortal sin on boats, but what's a guy to do?

But unless there's a way to clean that crap off I'll leave it there. Maybe fabricate a bracket that would attach to the standing rigging just above the port? Or just bite the bullet and find some silicone remover, or ???

Jay
E 38-200
SF Bay

 

[celtium]

Thanks!!!

Thanks gents! Your info convinced me. As of the moment I am the proud winner of a 10' Porta-Bote and a 6HP Mercury outboard on Ebay!!

Now I gotta coordinate with the seller and figure out how to get it out here.

Hmmmmmmm, what have you guys got me into?

Very kewl!

Jay
e 38-200
SF Bay

 

[WBurgner]

Congratulations

I think you will be happy with that set up. Look Ontario Portable Boats up on the internet. We purchased the carrying bag for the seats and transom from them. Makes things a little easier to keep track of.

 

[tenders]

The reason you don't see more of them is that they are so homely that their owners keep them belowdecks as much as possible, or camouflage them to look like other, more attractive things, like manatees or Marty Feldman blow-up dolls.