Took my Porta-Bote out for it's maiden-to-me voyage...some pics included

[Wakko]

I bought my '05 12 footer about 5 weeks ago and have been accumulating my supplies and propulsion for it. I bought an old 7.5 Gamefisher and a 50# trolling motor for it and spent a couple weeks getting the Gamefisher running again.

Anyway, here's the layout of crap before I loaded it up into the SUV (note the battery is missing, life jackets and floating seat cushion were in the truck already) :

Got to the park and it took me about 30 minutes to set up for the first time. I decided to leave the troller and battery in the truck, though I do want to test it out with it at some point. With the wheels at the oarlocks the boat is VERY well balanced and takes virtually no effort to wheel it to the ramp. I had to hold on pretty tight to slowly guide it down the ramp, but it got in fine, I jumped in and backed out easily. Wheels came right off and off I went.

I noticed IMMEDIATELY that there's some intrusion, likely from the stern. Water came in right as I put it in the water, but not enough to keep me out. I noted one transom bolt is missing the rubber washer, but that was the high bolt so it shouldn't matter. I think water was coming in from the split at the keel, but I'm not sure. Considering the guy gave me a bailer when I bought it, yet he said it didn't leak, I think he knew about it.

The motor was a bit sluggish, I don't think the boat got into much of a plane. I tried to put all the weight on the port side since I was seated on the starboard side, but 30 pounds doesn't offset 170, so the boat was canted. Top speed according to my GPS was only 12 mph. I have zero idea how to properly trim it so I Tried a few different settings, didnt' notice a whole lotta difference. Occasionally while in shallow water I did hear the motor spin up and I don't know why, so I kept it at lower throttle until getting back into deeper water.

The negative: As expected, these seats are TERRIBLE. I was sliding all over the place, even with the cushion in place. I will need to add some sort of rubber grip tape or coating or something. I didn't attempt to use the folding seat. Also as expected, rowing sucks. The oarlocks flex way too much to put any real force into it, and I do enjoy rowing, so I may add some extra plates to the side to strengthen it.

Major issue: While under full throttle, some kid in an aluminum scooted past me and I hit the waves sideways. The top lip of the transom smashed in and the motor came OFF the transom. Fortunately I had a firm grip on it and immediately killed it, and since it's a very lightweight motor I held onto it. The entire top edge is trashed, so I put the motor back on and nursed it back to the ramp. I will dremel off the broken pieces and figure out a way to rebuild it and strengthen it. I was chapped though.

Getting back to the ramp was fun. It was VERY awkward bending over the gunwales to reattach the wheels. Even though I really didn't think it was going to, it just felt like it was gonna capsize. Wheels went on very easily and I motored over to the ramp (there are two side by side) and just drove right up. The guys on the other ramp were rather surprised to see me simply get out, grab the bow and drag the boat up and over to the truck. They weren't expecting the wheels.

Disassembly was about 30 minutes, again not in a hurry. Overall I had fun, but honestly not as much as I'd have liked. trying to find places to stow the gear (the anchor was slidin all over the damned place) was a hassle, and I don't know how strong the boat is. I'm hoping to go out next weekend so will need to get that transom in order before then. I burned about a gallon of gas in three hours, the majority of it under power, much of it under full power.

 

[barato2]

Re: Took my Porta-Bote out for it's maiden-to-me voyage...some pics included

sounds like you got the "benefit" of their "engineering improvement" (ie, cheapening things) over the years. the seats used to come with foam pads glued to them, for both padding and flotation. even with those, my butt is hurtin after 8 hrs on the water. that's where i'd go first....go to your local plastics/foam place and get some closed cell sheet foam, then glue it on.

that really sucks about the transom. glad you didn't have the 81 lb four-stroke on there! after that, i'm not sure i'd trust the plastic transom at all. is there any way you could backdate to the marine-ply transom used in earlier models? i'd be happy to make you a template from mine and send it snailmail. mine has held up to lots of abuse and looks to be good for a lot of years yet, despite sometimes mounting two motors there and frequently leaning my weight against it while jettisoning used beer.

they make bags to fit under the seats of inflatables. one of those might work for your anchor. what i'd do is make a plywood replacement bow cap that incorporated an anchor bracket and a pulley, and then a small cleat to tie off rope

for wakes, try to hit them at about a 45 degree angle. i regularly have to deal with wakes from 45' sportfishers and 70' shrimp boats, and this is the best way to get over em without swamping boat or beating yourself or boat up too bad.

i think a little seepage is normal. when i first plunk mine in, i notice about 1/2 gal in bilge the next morning, but the amount that seeps in seems to decrease the longer the boat is in the water. it's never been anything the juice jug bilge pump couldn't make short work of. once i'm offshore, i'm usually taking more water than that over the sides via spray.

as you see, these damn things are far from perfect. i have boats from small inflatables up to 18' tinnies, and the PB isn't always the first choice. it does, however, get used more than all the others cuz my 4WD truck doesn't get 24mpg with them on top or towed behind....

 

[Wakko]

Re: Took my Porta-Bote out for it's maiden-to-me voyage...some pics included

Thanks for the reply, Barato. I picked up the PB originally to use for rowing exercise. I should have looked for an 8 footer, as this one is too cumbersome and impractical for a quick deploy and row session. I definitely have little faith in the plastic transom. The originals were a sheet of plywood with the brackets on there? A template would be awesome! What's that one look like?

 

[portabot]

Re: Took my Porta-Bote out for it's maiden-to-me voyage...some pics included

Hi,

The plastic seats now have the foam inside. The plastic transom has a 1/4" aircraft alloy metal plate in the center to hold the outboard. Sounds like that 20 year old Eska doesn't go down far enough and was sitting to high on top of the transom. Maybe that's the reason for the problem you had. The plastic transom is exactly the same configuration as the old wood one was.

 

[barato2]

Re: Took my Porta-Bote out for it's maiden-to-me voyage...some pics included

Sandy---I used to use an identical Eska on my PB, and the shaft length is about the same as my 8hp rude. both work fine on the wood transom, despite years of abuse of said transom. i don't think you can blame a collapsing transom on the 45 pound motor being mounted "too high", esp if the configuration is about the same.

you'd build a better product and more consumer confidence if you listened to your customers instead of suggesting that every problem anyone has is due to pilot error, and Wholly Blameless and Pure Be the Portabote. you know if you read this forum that i'm one of your more enthusiastic salesmen, but the thing is a work in progress and not every one of your design "improvements" in fact is an improvement. in particular, you should admit the plastic transom is a bad idea and go back to the wood one, which flexes indefinitely and lasts the life of the 'bote........just a thought.