[panel]

Hi , I'm considering buying a folding boat or porta boat as an alternative to inflatable or aluminum boats.
I always like to hear the opinions of people who have or had this type of boat as it looks like a great boat in the water and light weight and easy to transport.
Thanks.

 

[scissorbill]

I'm currently hemming and hawing over building a pram and as I searched for ideas and plans I found a few sites that showed the "how to" for the fold away boats and they look quite neat.
Myself I'd take a wood pram (or a fold away wood pram) over an inflatable or an aluminum at this time (there would probably be some exceptions)
BUT, that's because I want something Easy to handle (load/unload) by myself.
An inflatable is fine but if it gets windy It's a little tougher 'cuz you ride to high in the water (IMO).
I don't plan on going to lakes where I need an engine and run for 1/2 an hour to get to my spot.

All have their pros and cons. But it depends on how YOU want to use it.

 

[panel]

I'm not sure what a pram looks like , is it a canoe?

 

[panel]

Yeah I see the Pram looks like its light to carry , still have the transport issue.

 

[arrgh!]

Ran into an older guy at the free Harrison boat launch with a sailing porta-bote. Craziest thing I have ever seen but this guy was a lifelong sailor who had had boats up to 40 ft and sailed all over the place. Apparently they tested these things by putting 1000lbs of cement in bags in one and dropping it 25 feet from a crane into the water with no resulting damage! Looks like it is made out of old cardboard boxes painted silver but he reckoned it was the business..... Whole thing folds down flat. He brought it in his van and bolted it all together on site.

 

[samw]

Here's my 8.5 footer:

 

[arrgh!]

It took the sailing guy 30 minutes to rig and then he was sailing away into the afternoon Harrison winds. I was quite impressed. Have you had a motor on it, sam?

 

[samw]

I haven't hooked up the motor yet but I got the Minn Kota Endura C2 40 last month. I should be receiving my Minn Kota Battery charger and Power Center box this week. Then it'll be ready to go on my next trip.

 

[allofthisforyou]

My father's in the market for one of these atm, mainly because I'm away for school 8-9 months of the year and he finds our 10 footer hard to manage on his own (it's ~150lbs).

His buddy owns one, and he's taken a ride in it once or twice. He said it's not very stable unless you have the optional floor (accessory, or DIY) installed. That being said, I guess he likes it enough to be looking for one.

Something similar, panel, is the Instaboat (http://www.instaboat.com/). Cheaper than the Portaboat, but it only comes in one size. Personally, I like the fact that it's aluminum, though that does make it a bit heavier and -- apparently -- the Porta bote is bullet proof.

:cheers:

 

[Lv2Fish]

Seems pricey at $2-3k considering you can get a used 17' double eagle with engine for that price. I've been using a wal-mart 12' that cost me $139 and dropped in a hinged plywood floor. Not as cool as the porte-bote but works great on the lakes around here trolling with a mini kota and I've even used it off Ambleside for coho on a few of the calm days.

 

[samw]

If you can drive to the States, the prices there are less than half the price here (Just FYI). I got mine from a dealer in Saskatoon during an inventory blowout sale. I went with this because it has the pros of both the rigid boat (not prone to punctures, more efficient) and the inflatable (portable, lightweight, space saving).

 

[Rootbeer]

LV2Fish, I just bought myself one of those inflatable boats this year. I would love to see any more pictures you have of the mods that you made, and any suggestions or warnings that you might have.