I'm another happy portabote owner. Got tired of inflatables needing patches,
etc. I bought the 12 footer and can carry 4 adults comfortably. In
hindsight, I probably would have gone for the 10' model, as 2 feet can make
a few more storage options available. I've owned it for 4 years and trust
me, it's tough. The kids take it out all the time and I never have to worry
about a fish hook making another hole like in a portable.

Happy hunting. BTW, search around on the net and you can save yourself a
couple hundred simolians. I did.

D Turner
SV Wind Dominated

What about capacity? The Portaboats can't be close to a dinghy in that
department. And at 205lbs I can sit on the edge of my Quicksilver inflatable
and it's stable. It's a model 300 (9.10') and I've carried 5 adults without a
problem.
And yes, many people find the Portaboat ugly...cuz it is! That said, they're
still pretty slick and I can see their value.

RB

What about capacity? The Portaboats can't be close to a dinghy in that
department. And at 205lbs I can sit on the edge of my Quicksilver inflatable
and it's stable. It's a model 300 (9.10') and I've carried 5 adults without a
problem.
And yes, many people find the Portaboat ugly...cuz it is! That said, they're
still pretty slick and I can see their value.

RB

Lloyd Sumpter wrote:

On Sun, 07 Dec 2003 10:45:46 +0000, Ron Patterson wrote:
=20

1. Portabote owners seem to really, REALLY like their boat, to the exten=
t that
they can find nothing wrong with them (This concerns me: EVERY boat has =
it's
flaws...). They're like Mac owners.

No, they're not perfect.

1. Inflatables have a LOT more boyancy when swamped. It's never happened=
to me, but if I were ever to completely swamp it, it'd probably be more =
difficult to empty the Porta-Bote while bobbing around out there in the w=
aves. They are bouyant (the seats, sides and transom have foam built int=
o them), but nothing like an inflatable.

2. You can comfortable and safely sit on the tubes of an inflatable. Can=
't say the same about the Porta-Bote. On the other hand, you almost need=
to be able to sit on an inflatables tubes if you're gonna put more than =
an couple of people in them. At least ours was that way. We could trans=
port 5 people in it (the same as we can comfortably do so in the Bote), b=
ut most of em had to be sitting on the tubes and they all got at least a =
little wet. Someone was asking about the capacity. I don't recall the o=
fficial #, but for us it's plenty. I'm not a little guy (6'3"/280 lbs), =
but you can see how comfortably I fit in ours: http://rangerbest.home.com=
cast.net/PortaBoteWake.JPG Notice how dry I am and that there's no water=
in the bottom of the Bote. Also notice our speed (indicated by our wake=
). That was with both my wife and I in the Bote, and a Nissan 2.5 HP (re=
ported to 3+ HP) pushing us and while she's nowhere near my size, she ain=
't some tiny slip of a woman either: http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/D=
rakeskathryn.JPG. We were almost, but not quite planing. With just me i=
n the Bote, it will plane.

3. While I can set up ours alone, it's much easier/faster if my wife help=
s - especially getting that first seat in. The same isn't really true fo=
r the inflatable. The limiting factor is how fast the pump can fill it. =
=20

No, the Porta-Botes aren't perfect, but all things considered, I very muc=
h prefer the Porta-Bote to our inflatable for use as a tender. =20

--=20
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979 =20
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean" http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJe=
an.JPG

Lloyd Sumpter wrote:

On Sun, 07 Dec 2003 10:45:46 +0000, Ron Patterson wrote:
=20

1. Portabote owners seem to really, REALLY like their boat, to the exten=
t that
they can find nothing wrong with them (This concerns me: EVERY boat has =
it's
flaws...). They're like Mac owners.

No, they're not perfect.

1. Inflatables have a LOT more boyancy when swamped. It's never happened=
to me, but if I were ever to completely swamp it, it'd probably be more =
difficult to empty the Porta-Bote while bobbing around out there in the w=
aves. They are bouyant (the seats, sides and transom have foam built int=
o them), but nothing like an inflatable.

2. You can comfortable and safely sit on the tubes of an inflatable. Can=
't say the same about the Porta-Bote. On the other hand, you almost need=
to be able to sit on an inflatables tubes if you're gonna put more than =
an couple of people in them. At least ours was that way. We could trans=
port 5 people in it (the same as we can comfortably do so in the Bote), b=
ut most of em had to be sitting on the tubes and they all got at least a =
little wet. Someone was asking about the capacity. I don't recall the o=
fficial #, but for us it's plenty. I'm not a little guy (6'3"/280 lbs), =
but you can see how comfortably I fit in ours: http://rangerbest.home.com=
cast.net/PortaBoteWake.JPG Notice how dry I am and that there's no water=
in the bottom of the Bote. Also notice our speed (indicated by our wake=
). That was with both my wife and I in the Bote, and a Nissan 2.5 HP (re=
ported to 3+ HP) pushing us and while she's nowhere near my size, she ain=
't some tiny slip of a woman either: http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/D=
rakeskathryn.JPG. We were almost, but not quite planing. With just me i=
n the Bote, it will plane.

3. While I can set up ours alone, it's much easier/faster if my wife help=
s - especially getting that first seat in. The same isn't really true fo=
r the inflatable. The limiting factor is how fast the pump can fill it. =
=20

No, the Porta-Botes aren't perfect, but all things considered, I very muc=
h prefer the Porta-Bote to our inflatable for use as a tender. =20

--=20
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979 =20
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean" http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJe=
an.JPG

No trouble getting on and off from the boat. I've had inflatables, and I don't
see any really clear advantage for the inflatable in this regard. Inflatables
are highly overated and over priced as tenders.


Can you put 5 adults into a 10 foot portaboat with the same measure of safety?
My quicksilver is rated to carry 1150 lbs of people and gear. I've had about
800lbs or so on board my inflatable with no trouble. The 10 foot P-boat is
something like 575 lbs max and it's just not as stable.
I'm NOT bashing the Portaboat. I just think the inflatable has an advantage in
this area, IF you need it.
That said, my wife says getting the deflated dinghy out of the cabin is like
dragging Orson Wells to the morgue! We may look into a Port-a-boat again when
we get our next boat.


RB

I

No trouble getting on and off from the boat. I've had inflatables, and I don't
see any really clear advantage for the inflatable in this regard. Inflatables
are highly overated and over priced as tenders.


Can you put 5 adults into a 10 foot portaboat with the same measure of safety?
My quicksilver is rated to carry 1150 lbs of people and gear. I've had about
800lbs or so on board my inflatable with no trouble. The 10 foot P-boat is
something like 575 lbs max and it's just not as stable.
I'm NOT bashing the Portaboat. I just think the inflatable has an advantage in
this area, IF you need it.
That said, my wife says getting the deflated dinghy out of the cabin is like
dragging Orson Wells to the morgue! We may look into a Port-a-boat again when
we get our next boat.


RB

I

When I first got the portabote, I connected my 5hp motor and took it to the
local lake. I was expecting to get some remarks, more on the offcolor
spectrum, but every ol fisherman that was out that day had nothing but
complements on the looks.

So I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. ;-)

Capacity is 670#'s. Not as much as my Avon inflatable, but I'll hand you the
patch kit and pump. I'll be on the porta bote.

"Bobsprit" wrote in message
...

What about capacity? The Portaboats can't be close to a dinghy in that
department. And at 205lbs I can sit on the edge of my Quicksilver
inflatable
and it's stable. It's a model 300 (9.10') and I've carried 5 adults
without a
problem.
And yes, many people find the Portaboat ugly...cuz it is! That said,
they're
still pretty slick and I can see their value.

RB

When I first got the portabote, I connected my 5hp motor and took it to the
local lake. I was expecting to get some remarks, more on the offcolor
spectrum, but every ol fisherman that was out that day had nothing but
complements on the looks.

So I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. ;-)

Capacity is 670#'s. Not as much as my Avon inflatable, but I'll hand you the
patch kit and pump. I'll be on the porta bote.

"Bobsprit" wrote in message
...

What about capacity? The Portaboats can't be close to a dinghy in that
department. And at 205lbs I can sit on the edge of my Quicksilver
inflatable
and it's stable. It's a model 300 (9.10') and I've carried 5 adults
without a
problem.
And yes, many people find the Portaboat ugly...cuz it is! That said,
they're
still pretty slick and I can see their value.

RB

Bobsprit wrote:

No trouble getting on and off from the boat. I've had inflatables, and I don't
see any really clear advantage for the inflatable in this regard. Inflatables
are highly overated and over priced as tenders.


Can you put 5 adults into a 10 foot portaboat with the same measure of safety?
My quicksilver is rated to carry 1150 lbs of people and gear. I've had about
800lbs or so on board my inflatable with no trouble. The 10 foot P-boat is
something like 575 lbs max and it's just not as stable.
I'm NOT bashing the Portaboat. I just think the inflatable has an advantage in
this area, IF you need it.
That said, my wife says getting the deflated dinghy out of the cabin is like
dragging Orson Wells to the morgue! We may look into a Port-a-boat again when
we get our next boat.

We have the 12' and have comfortably (and dryly) hauled 5 full sized
middle-aged adults around the anchorage under power. Each had a
comfortable seat facing forward instead of sitting on the tubes and
getting their butts wet.

Note that ratings for inflatables are very different than other boats
because the tubes have so much buoyancy. 'Course they also cut down the
usable space for gear and supplies. The PortaBote (or any hard dink)
isn't rated for the same loads, but I'm more comfortable hauling heavy
loads around with it.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/