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Porta-Bote Tests And Reviews By International Boating & Fishing Experts

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ALASKA OUTDOORS . .VOL 6b x

Porta-Bote Stability Test... In The Rough Alaskan Waters

It's seldom that I have the pleasure of testing a product that really excites me. Even after a summer of testing, I'm more excited about this product than when I first received it. This 12' Porta-Bote is something else!

One of Porta-Bote's most remarkable qualities lies in its construction. The entire hull is constructed from space age polypropylene, twice as thick as an aluminum hull. My first experience with its durability occurred when I first picked up the boat from the freight office in Fairbanks. The boat had just come off the truck. Much to my dismay the dock attendant dropped the boat from the top of the 12 foot high ramp. The boat smacked the concrete hard, bounced a few inches, and stopped. I was sure I'd have to file a damage claim. But after careful examination I found only a few scratches. I later found out why. Porta-Bote guarantees the hull material for 10 years against defects. It's also unaffected by sand, saltwater, even acid.

On Cook Inlet, I rammed my boat into the beach at full throttle with seven-foot waves following me close behind. I sheared a pin on the outboard, but Porta-Bote survived with flying colors. And best of all, I didn't get swamped!

The hull material isn't the only item that deserves recognition. The hinges on the newly redesigned Porta-Botes are completely watertight.

For several years, I used an Avon inflatable for most of my lake and stream fishing. With a little muscle power, I could drag it to the water's edge. However, it had several disadvantages. The inflatable was prone to punctures and Alaska's wilderness rivers are "puncture heaven". Inflatables are also painfully slow to inflate and deflate, and are bumpy in rough water.

But Porta-Bote has all the advantages of an inflatable and none of thedisadvantages. It's extremely stable, and can accommodate fly-casting without tipping. It's virtually puncture proof to white water boulders and if you do tip it over, it floats even when completely filled with water. With a 5 H.P. outboard it jumps on step.It would take a 20 H.P. outboard to do this with my inflatable. Ever try to lift a 20 H.P. outboard?.

It has outstanding maneuverability for river use, and on Cook Inlet. it rode better than anv boat I've tested. The "flexihull" absorbs the shock of the wave so you don't have to.

Porta-Bote can easily be strapped to the pontoons of a float plane and carries beautifully. It's the ideal boat for wilderness excursions. I wish some of the lodges had these boats at their camps. They'd never get me to leave. The craft is truly a joy to fish from. I've just installed my graph recorder and down rigger.

The 69 lb. Porta-Bote hull is balanced so I can carry it under one arm and it takes me just a few minutes to assernble. And heaven knows when those trout and grayling are rising, it's no time to be pumping up that inflatable or untrailering that semi-V.

If it sounds like I'm excited about my Porta-Bote, you're right. I wish I had one 12 years ago when I first came to Alaska. I could have gotten to all those far-away fishing and hunting spots I could never get to with my other boats.

The only thing more remarkable about this boat is the price. Porta-Bote actually costs less than many "quality" inflatables which offer only half the options!. The new square back models have a 5' beam for and 12' models are available in Duck-Hunter Green (Olive Drab) , Pacific Pearl and Aluminum.

If you're contemplating a boat purchase this year, you'll best enjoy Alaska's rivers and lakes with a folding Porta-Bote.

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Volume 56 .......Number 8

Dawn arrives quickly at the Lake Whatsit RV Park. As the ruby sunrise fades to yellow, ducks flock shoreward for breakfast handouts. A kindly looking neighbor invites you fishing 'just as soon as I unfold my boat'.

Whoops! Did he say unfold his boat? You smile politely and close the screen door behind you. But faster than you can think up a reason not to go fishing, your neighbor removes a surfboard shaped object from the side of his RV and proceeds to open up his boat - his Porta-Bote.

Porta-Bote is a unique, hardsided craft that folds to 4 inches flat for transport or storage, then opens up to become a highly dependable and stable craft. The Porta-Bote is designed for people and car owners who prefer not to (or cannot) handle the ordinary, heavy, rooftop boat or trailer another piece of equipment. The owner simple has to unfold the boat, insert the seats and transom, launch the boat and go fishing.

There are three models available: an 8 footer, one that is just over 10 feet and the largest, at 12 feet; beams (width) are 56, 60 and 60 inches respectively. The smallest is rated for two people, the mid-sized for three and the largest boat can handle four.

Constructed of polypropylene, a space-age resin, the Porta-Bote hull, itself is buoyant, and the craft will float even when full of water, according to the manufacturer. Foam flotation attached to the inner sides and seat cushions, plus marine grade plywood seats and transom add still extra flotation. Additionally, all three models have nearly 24' of freeboard. This makes for an extremely stable craft.

Those who enjoy the serenity and cardiovascular benefits of rowing will find Porta-Bote tracks very well under oar power. Due to its shallow draft, this nifty rower rides on top of the water rather than plowing through it. By coupling this high riding approach with a patented tri-hull configuration, Porta-Bote avoids amassing bow wakes under oar. Which means it really rows fast!

Porta-Bote is ideal for fishing. Since it floats in just four inches of water, it launches as easily from shore as it does from the dock. Its shallow-water abilities allow it to reach those hard-to get-to places. And, its durable bottom is strong enough to ward off sharp submerged rocks or tree limbs.

Folding Porta-Bote makes an excellent

"RV Couple's boat".

Add a small outboard motor (5 hp works well with the 12' model) and Porta-Bote will whisk you away to your favorite fishing spot at speeds up to 20 mph.

For those who prefer their propulsion courtesy of the wind, Porta-Bote offers a sail rig option including leeboards, kick-up rudder/tiller, mast boom, sail and all necessary rigging.

Porta-Bote hulls, according to the manufacturer, are as rugged as the new plastic auto bumpers, almost impossible to puncture.

Back on shore, Porta-Bote folds back down to four inches flat. It can then be attached to specially designed locking RV mounts or simply placed on the roof of an auto with available car top straps.

The manufacturer is so confident about its products that Porta-Bote comes with a 10-year limited hull-and-hinge warranty. The product has now been built for over twenty-five years. There are now over 50,000 owners out there.Porta-Bote is distributed worldwide.

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The 12' Folding Porta-Bote may be one of the best all-around fishing and hunting boats made!

The hull folds to four inches flat, weighs only 69 pounds, can be strapped atop a car like a surfboard, fastened to the side of a van or motor home, lashed on top of a camping trailer or attached to the struts of a pontoon plane. Yet, it's full 12 feet long (also comes in 8 & 10-foot lengths), has a 60' beam and 24 inch depth amidships, and will handle an outboard motor. It needs only 4 inches of water to float.

On a recent houseboat-camping trip to Lake Powell it rode the highways inside a friend's trailered houseboat. For the first day's cruise we pulled it up on the rear deck and assembled it. The next day we lashed its bow high on the aft rail of the 'mother ship' and towed it behind us - stern in the water - like a dinghy.

Paul Hawkins and I found the Porta-Bote a pleasure to fish. It's comfortable for sitting in, roomy for moving around and steady enough for stand-up casting. Under full power it moved quickly up a water filled Powell canyon. Poking along, it nosed easily among the snags and rocks of fishy-looking coves. It turns quicker than any boat I ever tested - and without heeling over. It rows beautifully, with oars that clamp to the oarlocks so you can drop them to cast, that break in the middle for packing, and are foam filled to float.

Its hull (made of polypropylene) impervious to salt water is incredibly tough. I caught a nice Lake Powell largemouth by drifting the boat into a deep crack in a cliff face where an aluminium boat would have scraped noisily along the rock and a fiberglass hull would have scarred. We cast a fat plastic crankbait into the dark apex of the crack. In an open-ocean run a week later the hull showed its ability to 'slither' over wind-chop and boat wakes without the annoying bouncing of rigid craft.

As far as I'm concerned, Porta-Bote may be one of the best all-around fishing and hunting boats made!

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Volume 24 · Number 21 FOLDING PORTA-BOTE FIELD TEST

0nce upon a time, tenders were essentially wooden or fiberglass rowboats. Then came inflatables, which are easier to stow, less likely to damage the boat they are tending, and more stable. True, inflatables are not a joy to row, but boat owners in this country have never been too fond of rowing, anyway. When manufacturers noticed that many people didn't deflate their inflatables, opting to stow or tow them, and that the lowly tender could be used as a runabout, the RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) was developed with a fiberglass bottom surrounded by inflatable tubes.

RIBs retain some of the disadvantages of inflatables. They're not as rugged as a rigid dinghy and they will eventually deteriorate if subjected to long-term ultra-violet (LTV) exposure. They generally provide poor stowage. Their basic configuration wastes interior space - the side tubes intrude into the cockpit so that usable space is limited. And it's very difficult to add things like cleats; with inflatables - any type you have to buy rubber cleats and fittings and glue them on.

What And How We Tested

Porta-Bote, a design concept that's been around for the past quarter-century (over 50,000 in use, worldwide), provides a good measure of stowability in a boat that's fast and roomy. It's made of polypropylene, with polypropylene hinges that allow it to be folded to the size of a large surfboard. We ran Porta-Bote through pretty much the same range of tests that we used in testing stowable inflatables. We noted things such as ease of assembly, time to assemble (in the case of the Porta-Bote), and quality of workmanship.

We tested a 10' Porta-Bote with a 4-hp. Suzuki. We set up the same acceleration course we had used for inflatables. We laid out a string of floats on 50' centers, and measured the time it took to pass each float with two people aboard. We then took the boat out into open water and measured top speed. Lastly, we just ran Porta-Bote through a series of turns, tight and otherwise, headed for whatever chop we could find (including some fairly serious boat wakes), and generally had some fun.

The first Porta-Bote we ever saw was a double-ended skiff that was described to us as "sea-going origami." That was a long time ago; more recently, Porta-Bote replaced the double ender with a square-back model that makes much more sense with an outboard. This "Genesis III" series of boats comes in three sizes- 8', 10', and 12'. We tested the 10' model.

Porta-Botes are made of polypropylene, almost 1/4" thick. There are three chines running the length of the boat; each of these is actually a hinge. transom. With the seats and transom stiffener removed, you can fold Porta-Bote's center hinge up and end up with a flat package measuring about 10'10" x 24"x 4" that weighs in at 59 lbs. The three seats and the transom stiffener bundle up nicely. The folded boat can be lashed to a rail or stored on or below a deck.

Assembling the Porta-Bote is quick and easy. The entire operation, after a bit of practice, takes about six minutes. All fittings are stainless steel or anodized aluminum. Once you put the Porta-Bote together, you have an open dinghy with a 5' beam. The seats and gunwales carry enough foam flotation to keep the boat afloat and upright even if swamped.

Performance with a 4-hp. engine was, in a word, startling! The boat, even with a 200-pounder and some gear aboard, jumped up onto a plane in less than 50', with no movement nor other acrobatics required on the part of the driver. With only a driver, we reached a speed of 15.2 knots. As a reference point, the easiest-planing RIB we tested, the Apex A10, could only achieve a partial plane and a top speed of only 9.3 knots, with a 4-hp. motor and a solo driver.

The Porta-Bote has a soft ride, apparently because much of the force of waves hitting the boat is soaked up in the hull's flexing. It's a nimble boat, not surprising for a beamy, essentially flat-bottomed craft. What we found surprising was how accurately it steered, exhibiting very little of the skidding on turns that we'd expected. The handling of the Porta-Bote was very good. Accurate turns could be negotiated at speeds that were somewhat above our testers' confidence levels.

Stability is excellent. You can stand almost anywhere in the boat without danger of tipping. Porta-Bote is roomier than a comparably sized inflatable. Unlike an inflatable, the entire interior of the boat is available for loading gear.

The Porta-Bote's polypropylene sides aren't apt to damage a fiberglass or wood hull, even in a forcible meeting. The Porta-Bote isn't likely to be damaged either. The hull material, which carries a 10-year warranty, is really tough. Hulls are available in pearl white, olive drab, and aluminum colors, which are molded into the plastic so that they can't come off. The hull requires no maintenance other than washing occasionally..

An important advantage of the Porta-Bote over a RIB is its price. A 10' Porta-Bote costs about half of what you'd expect to pay for a comparably sized RIB. Incidentally, Porta-Bote's pricing is a refreshing change from the usual industry practice.

Bottom Line: Inexpensive, fast, stowable Porta-Bote is a good performing, low-cost alternative to an inflatable or RIB.

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Test Review By Fred Jobson - Freshwater Fishing Australia

The Foldable Porta-Boat is good to fish from, cheap to run, stores anywhere, requires minimal maintenance and performs brilliantly.

The concept of Porta-Bote's construction and design seems so simple that when viewed for the first time I know many anglers have reservations about its durability, so we will put that concern away right from the start.

The hull is constructed of four roughly surfboard-shaped panels of space age, high impact polypropylene that fold flat to approximately 10 centimetres. These panels are held together by hinges of the same material and then held apart by the ply seats which are bolted to th e hull to form a roomy 2.6 m, 3.25 m or 3.8 m hull (depending on the model). The Porta-Bote can be rowed, sailed or used with an outboard motor.

The polypropylene hull panels are made of the same material that is used in bulletproof vests and car bumpers. With ultraviolet inhibitors it is almost totally inert to sunshine, petrochemicals or just about anything else you can subject it to. It is also flexible and will scratch when run up on snags and oyster beds.

My own Porta-Bote hull has been used hard for 13 years, lowered off cliff tops, fallen off roof racks at 65 kph, run onto rocks and estuary oyster leases and all the normal things that happen to small fishing boats. It has some unsightly cosmetic scratches on the hull bottom but is basically in excellent structural condition. Apart from some minor repairs to the marine ply seats, there have been no repairs or maintenance, or deterioration in functionality of the hull. Nothing affects the moulded-in colour.

Assembly

Quick and easy best describes the process of assembling the hull although it is not as quick as the old models. Assembling the boat is simple for one person. The hull is laid out and held apart with a special wooden rod and the seats and transom are slotted in and then "locked" in place. Each part only fits the one correct position so you do not need a manual or diagram.

When the weather is cold, the hull can be quite stiff and hard to hold apart causing some fun and games when you are by yourself. The new two step boat opener which holds the hull apart fixes off season problem.

Construction

The hulls I have seen are of excellent finish with no defects or poor workmanship. The actual hull components are at least as good as my old model (which has survived 13 years of hard use) but with the heavier material and fittings of the new model the Porta-Bote will become almost indestructible in normal use.

The marine grade ply seats are heavier and have more bracing and padding with closed cell foam than previous models. This makes them a little heavier, but also much stronger.

With the seats in place and firmly held by the stainless bolts, the outer hull is flexed and gains enormous strength. The seats do not just hold the hull apart as they did in the old model but actually form an integral part of the hull designed strength.

So strong is the assembled hull that it withstood Japanese Coast Guard tests in which they loaded a standard production hull with 1/4 ton of concrete, and raised it 6 metres before dropping it to the water.

The closed cell flotation provides adequate flotation as well as the comfortable seats, even with a full load of passengers. The hull passes US Coast Guard safety standards and is European Union and National Marine Manufacturers certified.

Portability

The main hull folds to a surfboard shape only 10 centimetres thick. It can be stored in your bedroom, the hall, under a car in the garage or anywhere else if you are short of space. The seats and transom form another package, but will store under your bed.

The hull is the main component of the 3.8 m Porta-Bote and weighs 31 kilograms. It is still manageable by one person but is pushing the limit for easy one person loading and unloading from a roof rack.

Carrying the hull on a roof rack is simple and practical; caravaners can carry it on the side or on top of a pop top easily. It has minimum wind resistance when on the roof top and can do everything a tinny will do when you get to your destination.

Performance

The old hull was designed for a maximum of 3 hp outboards and displacement speeds only. The new Porta-Bote is completely different and can accommodate more powerful outboards.

What amazed me was how easily it did get up on the plane - with one person and a 3.5 hp outboard it will plane at about 12 knots. With a 5 hp outboard it will do around 20 knots. At the other end of the scale, with three people aboard and a 5 hp outboard you can expect a top speed of 14 knots.

This Porta-Bote is very easy to row and with the collapsible oars that were supplied with it to test, it was an easy and effective way to troll or just quietly slip through the water without disturbing the wild life or fish.

Fishability

The Porta-Bote is a sound fishing platform that extends the choice of fishing locations by virtue of its portable fold up feature, light weight and ease of construction. Due to the deep keel and chines, formed by the hinge sections, the hull has a really good grip of the water and rows and corners well and is quite stable. you have no hesitation in standing to cast or land a fish.

The seats are foam covered and comfortable and not too low. This foam is extended right along the inside edges of the gunwales to provide flotation but also makes for an excellent place to stick lures and hooks out of the way, sort of a lure storage right around the boat.

The layout of the hull is basic, like all small boats, but you can quickly modify it to be more suitable for fishing. I have a portable Lowrance sounder complete with stick on transducer, 2 clip on rod holders, a berley bucket made from a 5 litre plastic container, and a live bait tank complete with cutting board that fits neatly in place. This turns my Porta-Bote into a fishing machine rather than just a boat.

Accessories

There is a whole range of optional extras available, including a mast and sail kit, which turns the boat into a small sailing dingy.

You can also fit a sunshade, a trolling bow mounted (electric) motor bracket, oars and locks, and even a clip-on set of wheels to help wheel it to the water. The oars and locks are very well made, collapsible, foam filled to float, and worth having.

There is also a locking bracket that mounts on the side of a RV vehicle or caravan which is a good idea.

Conclusion

The Porta-Bote is simply great; it is well made, easy to erect and carries a 10 year limited hull warranty. (Porta-Bote International, the manufacturer, has been building Porta-Botes for almost 30 years and has almost 50,000 in use, worldwide).

Portaboat is good to fish from, cheap to run, stores anywhere, requires minimal maintenance and performs brilliantly.

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"Harbour & Shipping" Engineer's Testing Log

- Established 1918 -

Oil Tanker Uses Foldable Boat for Tank Maintenance

By Martin Frid

Groton Pacific Carriers, Inc. bought their first folding Porta-Bote for use on their oil tanker, the M/T Hawaiian Sun, about two years ago. They needed a boat that could be passed through small deck openings for easy access to internal cargo tank areas. The boat was to be used inside the internal water-filled cargo tanks for inspection and repair of the tank walls. The 12' Porta-Bote, which folds to a neat package only 4" thick and can be passed through an opening only 24" in diameter, proved to be a smart choice, indeed.

Opening the foldable boat takes only a couple of minutes and can be done on a platform as small as four feet wide. Once opened, the boat has a beam of five feet. This wide beam together with Porta-Bote's unique hull design accounts for the boat's exceptional stability and maneuverability.

"Porta-Bote's advantages over inflatables were immediately apparent," says Demetrius Panagopulos, technical manager for Groton. "The boat was found impervious to damage from rubbing against rough steel surfaces, and could not be punctured. We are very pleased with the results".

This is a unique departure from the usual use of Porta-Botes. Most are bought by fisherman and yachtsmen as an alternative to heavy aluminum boats or "awkward" inflatables.

Porta-Bote also withstood the test during the application of tank coating. Says Panagopulos: "The coating process exposed Porta-Bote to solvents and epoxy resins and the boat was found unaffected by them."

During difficult tank welding operations, all that was required to protect the boat was a wetted sheet of canvass. This operation could obviously never be attempted using an inflatable, because of the risk of a hole burning through. In the confines of a cargo tank, rapid air loss would equal disaster. "It offered excellent stability," Panagopulos comments. "The boat was often used by the crew to paint areas alongside the hull that had been inaccessible earlier."

Although in production for over twenty years, Porta-Bote has recently become popular with anglers due to the downsizing of automobiles and the desire for a trailerless boat. In recent years, thousands have been sold to people who have moved to tight quartered condos and apartments and found it impossible to store an ordinary boat.

Porta-Bote's entire hull is made from polypropylene, an engineered resin originally developed for use in the aerospace field. The manufacturer states that the material is unaffected by exposure to salt, acid, gasoline - almost everything. Polypropylene is obviously very tough and durable. The hull is virtually puncture proof and bounces off rocks without damage. The manufacturer is so confident of the durability of the hull material that it is covered by a ten-year warranty.

Folding to a mere four inches thick, the boat is easily stored on board a ship or a yacht. It can also be carried on a compact car or side of a motorhome.

Porta-Bote also is available in 8-foot,10-foot and 12' versions. All are designed to be rowed, sailed, or motor driven. Porta-Bote is available in white, aluminum or duck-hunter green.

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Jack Samson - EDITOR - AT - LARGE

To: The good folks at Porta-Bote International

Your portable folding Porta-Bote is indeed all I thought it would be for fishing these big western trout rivers. The enclosed photo is from a recent fishing trip on the San Juan River in northwestern New Mexico. The 10' model (behind me) was just right for two men. It takes the rapids fine and is so light it can be carried almost anywhere. The trout in the photo is a 6 pound rainbow.

You may use me for a testimonial anytime. It is a great boat!

Best,

Jack Samson

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TEST & CRITICAL REVIEW BY

Southern Fishing & Boating - New Zealand's Premier Fishing & Boating Magazine

Porta Bote Genesis IV Reviewed by Allan Burgess The Porta-Bote is a brilliant idea! But like any new idea it takes a bit of getting used to at first. Actually, the Porta-Bote isn't exactly a new idea at all. These craft have been manufactured in the United States, and sold around the world for over 30 years. Over which time almost 50,000 have been sold! They have also been around in New Zealand for some time as well, but chances are you haven't seen one yet. When the Porta-Bote first arrived by courier truck, I must admit to being a little concerned about how time consuming it was going to be to put together!  I also wondered about the durability and toughness of a boat that could be folded into such a small package! We quickly removed the extensive packing and set about assembling the 12' 6" model on our front lawn. Having never even seen one before, other than in a photograph, we were delighted to discover that the whole job took little more than 15 minutes. With practice it was easy to see that this time could be reduced considerably. Disassembly took us just four minutes.  The whole boat is locked together with stainless steel lockpins, bolts and wingnuts - you don't even need a spanner.  As you can see in the pictures the Porta-Bote is put together by first "opening" the hull. It is spring-loaded to some extent, and so requires you to hold it open with your leg until you get the centre seat in place. According to the instructions, the Porta-Bote hull is stiffer in cooler weather and so requires more effort to open. With the middle seat in place it is a simple matter to bolt the transom inside the bladder, and then insert the two remaining seats. The whole business is simplicity itself. Even if you were no good at making model aeroplanes as a kid, I can promise you that you'll have no trouble at all with this. We couldn't wait to try the Porta-Bote out and were soon off to the Kaiapoi River. The Porta-Bote hull is designed to fold down to a package just 4'' thick, and so can easily be transported on a car roof-rack. Space saving on storage is another obvious advantage of being able to fold the Porta-Bote down to such a convenient package. It would be ideal for anyone living in a high-rise apartment, or townhouse, because it could be stored against the inside wall of your garage, or tied to the rafters, unlike a tinnie. You neighbours wouldn't even know you had a boat! Assembly at the Kaiapoi boat ramp soon drew a small crowd of interested onlookers. Our earlier practice on the front lawn paid off and we had the Porta-Bote together in no time flat. The hull itself weighs about 68lbs. When you add on the seats and transom, it was still light enough for two people to carry down to the water.  You could also drag the fully assembled Porta-Bote on your own if you wanted to, though there is a handy two wheel Porta-Dolly available so you can get to "out of the way places" that you couldn't drive to. The hull is made from UV Buffered Copolymer Polypropylene 1/4" thick. The colour runs right the way through so any scratches don't show.  This hull material is incredibly strong. It is unaffected by: sunlight, saltwater, acid, and won't even burn! Most importantly the hull is resistant to even the sharpest rocks that would puncture the hull of a tinnie! Once on the water it was soon obvious why Porta-Bote has been so successful over the past quarter century. It handles extremely well. It is a pleasure to row, even for someone as rusty as I am on the oars. The oars are foam filled to make them float if dropped overboard. During later "testing" on Lake Selfe, in the Canterbury high country, I soon came to appreciate just how easy this craft is to row. On this lake you're not permitted to troll with a motor so I had a go at rowing instead. The action of a lure when trolled behind a rowed boat is much more lifelike than when using an outboard. I hadn't rowed far when a giant rainbow erupted out of the water quite some distance behind us. I let go of the oars and gabbed for my rod. This big fish rocketed up out of the water several more times in quick succession before my lure snapped off at the knot. "Never mind," I thought, "there are plenty more in here!" And so it was, my son Stephen and I caught and kept a fish each as the evening progressed. At Lake Selfe we also discovered another important feature of the Porta-Bote: our muddy boots made an awful mess on the floor of the hull but this washed straight off later with the hose! The seats are covered with thick foam, as is the inside top of the hull. This material gives the Porta Bote considerably extra buoyancy. It will still float even when full of water. The foam covered seats are also very comfortable to sit on. Under power with our 5 hp Johnson outboard the 12'6" model flew along. The manufacturer claims speeds up to 20 mph with a 5 hp outboard. I don't doubt this for a second. It maintains excellent directional stability under power as a result of its deep keel design. It is also worth noting that it floats in just four inches of water. What a great boat this is. For me it is just ideal for fishing on lakes around the South Island. It is particularly suited to fishing Lakes Lyndon, Selfe, Georgina, Evelyn, Pearson, Taylor, and Katrine, in the Canterbury high country, were the regulations do not permit fishing from boats that are being mechanically propelled. The Porta-Bote enables access on these and other South Island lakes and rivers where otherwise shore access is difficult. The West Coast has many waters that features native bush to the shore line. At these places even the most modest craft is a huge asset. The Arnold River, and Lake Poerua instantly come to mind as being ideally suited to fish with the Porta-Bote. These delightful waters are almost unfishable from shore. Holiday anglers in the Marlborough Sounds could also make great use of a Porta-Bote for sea fishing. Wetting a line for a snapper just off shore is a very pleasant experience indeed!  It would also be a great little craft for: whitebaiting, setting a mullet net, or as a ship-to-shore dinghy. You can even  use it as a sailboat!  The travelling angler will also greatly appreciate not having to tow a trailer everywhere they go, instead either carrying their Porta-Bote on a roof rack, or strapped to the side of their camper van. Some Canterbury anglers also use their Porta-Bote for salmon fishing. The method is to launch at the gorge, and drift downstream, stopping to fish  likely looking holes on the way. I can't wait to give this a go myself. It would also be a good boat to cross the rivermouth lagoons when salmon fishing. Overall the Porta-Bote provides just the right balance of portability, fishability, and excellent design.  Our score: Highly recommended! The Porta Bote is ideal on the South Island lakes. Here a big rainbow trout has been caught on light spinning tackle while drifting and casting on Canterbury's Lake Selfe.     The motor makes it easy to get to out of the way places down the other end of the lake.     The Porta Bote is very stable. You can stand up to cast a line if you so desired. Assembly at the Kaiapoi boat ramp soon drew a small crowd of interested onlookers. Our earlier practice on the front lawn paid off and we had the Porta-Bote together in no time flat.   Two anglers can carry the 12' 6" Genesis IV down to the water's edge.   Our 5hp outboard pushed the Porta Bote along very well indeed. The manufacturer claims speeds up to 20 mph with a 5 hp outboard. I don't doubt this for a second. The Bote maintains excellent directional stability under power as a result of its deep keel design.    It is also worth noting that it floats in just four inches of water.     The Bote also slides easily across the grass making it possible for one person to launch and retrieve.        <Back to Homepage ..........................................To Top Of Page> . . . . . . . . . .Porta-Bote has to do with the following activities: Boating, folding, foldable, boats, foldingboats, foldableboats, camping, camp, canoes, watercraft, water, craft, fishing, angler, lake, kayak, freshwater, salmon, flyfish, trout, hatches, fisherman, Banana, Boot, salmon, carp, lakeboats, field, stream, kayaks, canoe, outboard, outdoors, recreation, yachts, tender, trimarans, catamaran, duckboats, bote, dinghies, dinghys, dingy, practical, sailor, rowboat, row, duck, hunt, rv, flys, flies, float, tubes, port-a-boat, portaboat, Brittania, Foldboat, Foldaboat, Fold-a-boat, portable, Apex, Kontender,Folbot, Fold-n-Tote, Toteboat, Porta-Dollys, collapsible, van, sports, utility, vehicle, Zodiak, Avon, small, Pokeboat, inflatables, aluminum, jon, sailboats, recreational, vehicle, motor, sportaboats, car, top