porta-bote

Submitted: Tuesday, Jan 07, 2003 at 17:03

ThreadID: 2838 Views:12930 Replies:2 FollowUps:7

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paul

anyone got one ? travel with one ? I have found only one seemingly independent review on the net which was as critical as it was complementary.

I am talking about the one that folds up. If you are interested and dunno what i am talking about go to www.porta-bote.com

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Reply By: OziExplorer - Tuesday, Jan 07, 2003 at 17:26

Tuesday, Jan 07, 2003 at 17:26

I had one previously and not that far off buying another one. They are great if you use them within their limits. What is more, they have improved since I had mine.
Best alternative I know to no boat. We used it all the time we spent in Northern Australia in the rivers for 2½ years. We had one of the very first shipment into Australia of the Honda 2hp four stroke outboard motors on it.
If you use the porta bote within its designed limits it is great. There is a guy that runs around here locally with one on the side of a VW Kombi and have seen him fishing on Lake Hume with it.

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Reply By: ptcrowe - Tuesday, Jan 07, 2003 at 18:32

Tuesday, Jan 07, 2003 at 18:32

never owned one sorry but after looking at the web site i was impressed ther're the ducks nuts.

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Follow Up By: Oziexplorer - Tuesday, Jan 07, 2003 at 18:49

Tuesday, Jan 07, 2003 at 18:49

They have not changed much at all since the orginal design, so that does speak well for them. However, I would like to see it plane with a 3.5hp motor with an average 100kg Aussie male in it.
Would now be 17 years since we had ours. We loved it and used it heaps.

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Follow Up By: Bruce - Wednesday, Jan 08, 2003 at 10:33

Wednesday, Jan 08, 2003 at 10:33

they have actually changed a bit in design ..I know a chap who had one of the earlier models and went fishing with him in it...he has in the last 6 mnths got hold of the latest model ..the stern has been reshaped and a few other differences...as for planing with 100kg weight in it , forget it , ..just potter along quietly and it should last forever....but I prefer my tinnie ,to each his own..cheers

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Follow Up By: Oziexplorer - Wednesday, Jan 08, 2003 at 14:51

Wednesday, Jan 08, 2003 at 14:51

Bruce I would also prefer a tinnie, but transporting the tinnie is my issue, and a folding boat is better than no boat. Overall, I was very happy with ours. Will have another one by the end of the year.

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Follow Up By: Bruce - Thursday, Jan 09, 2003 at 12:51

Thursday, Jan 09, 2003 at 12:51

Spoke to the guy who has the latest model at bowls yesterday and he says his does actually plane..he runs a 4hp yammie on it and sits in the middle seat ..reckons it goes along real well...as for transporting..you still need a roof rack , tinnie or porta bote...both are good and either would do what I want a boat for...but..the porta bote is a bit to expensive for me..o.k. for you blokes with plenty of moola to throw around ..cheers

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Follow Up By: Oziexplorer - Thursday, Jan 09, 2003 at 13:18

Thursday, Jan 09, 2003 at 13:18

Bruce they are expensive now because they are made in the US. Before the Australian dollar was devalued they were quite cheap, and what you could call reasonably priced. Must check up what they are worth now, as last time I checked was early last year. I am almost sure, the one I bought all that time ago was $380. That was about $80 more at the time to a equivelent tinnie.

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Follow Up By: Bruce - Thursday, Jan 09, 2003 at 14:31

Thursday, Jan 09, 2003 at 14:31

Your pocket will have to have a lot more than that in it now Ozi..from memory I think they are about the 2 grand mark...there is a dealer in NSW , but I am damned if I can find his email address at the moment ..had it last year but have a computer crash since then...I got my Dolphin tinnie for $500 s/h ...so , big difference in price...but depends what suits ya and how big the pocket is dont it...cheers

FollowupID: 5889