Charlie Morgan wrote in
:

I have the smallest (8.5') porta-bote and a 29 pound, 3.5 hp motor. It
planes quite easily. I can set it up on the foredeck of my 27 foot
sailboat and hand launch it over the lifelines in about 7 minutes with
no help. I routinely drag it up on shore without any fear of sharp
rocks or broken glass. Its one tough little boat.



Charlie. We have a 12' Portabote on Lionheart. To launch and retrieve,
we do it VERTICALLY!

We clip on a line from the top of the mast to the boat's bow bridle,
folded up. Winch the boat up the mast until the stern just barely clears
the deck, bottom to the mast. Pull it apart and set the seats and
transom in place. (I'm too lazy to bend down to do the transom. It's
better winched up to chest level unless there's a gale.) Now, with the
boat put together, haul it away from the mast and flip it over so its
stern's bottom lays on the rail. Grab the stern line that's longer than
the boat but let the boat pull stern away as she goes in the water to
leeward. While paying out the line around the winch drum to control the
bow, simply push the stern overboard and let her have her lead to
leeward, still tied off to the mast. When the bow goes overboard, clip
on her bowline you already tied off to a cleat. Unclip the topping lift
and pull her in with the long stern line alongside, ready to load with
the motor and broken boat parts that always need to go ashore...(c;

We haul her up the mast to leeward in reverse order to take her apart and
stow her against the port rail. "We shoulda got the 14' model.", Cap'n
Geoffrey has said many times while towing all that crap ashore...(c; Two
more feet would have been just as easy to setup this way....(c;

Larry
--
Portabote beats blowup dolls every time!