Porta Boats ?

[DavidGraves]

Howdy

Having sold our Kleppers we find we want just almost anything that will float for a planned trip to up Island Vancouver BC this summer..

There are lots of little lakes in the woods that are a joy to visit and float.

We need to cross by ferry to get to Vancouver Island and I don't want to pay the extra fee for length of our boat trailer.

What are folks strapping to the side or roof of camper these days ?

David Graves

 

[Vic]

David - I had a neighbor with a porta-boat and while I never got to use it on the water, it seemed solid and simple when I was checking his out. The carried it on the side of a class C.

A different model - I've been happy with my Sea Eagle Packfish 7. Sea Eagle has lots of different models and sizes/prices. Might be another option.

Sounds like a fun get-away.

-Vic

 

[Stray Dog]

We travel with a Sea Eagle 380x on appropriate trips. Packs easily, preparation is quick, kayak is suitable for many purposes on many types of waters.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Dave I have a Advanced Elements 2 person inflatable.
It's 12' long. Comes in a "big gym"bag easy to inflate and use.
I ordered mine from airkayaks.com

I have used only a few times but very enjoyable works great.
The kit I have is about $1300.
Frank

 

[DavidGraves]

Thanks All

I have found locally a 12' Fold-A-Boat which seems to be an early rendition in Marine Aluminum of a Portaboat.

The dang little thing is rated for up to 20 HP (!) and is beamy for its length at 60 "

Folds down to 4" thick.

Dang little info on web.

Anyone ever heard of Fold-A-Boat ?

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I follow a couple on YouTube (Free Range Sailing) who use one as a dinghy on their sailboat. They’ve recently completed a circumnavigation of Australia, with the dinghy folded on the deck of their 30’ Klansman sloop. They’re worth a follow. BTW, Fold-A-Boats have been around for years. They have a good reputation.

 

[DavidGraves]

Howdy

The image looks like a Porta Boat on their deck ?

Do you know anything about Fold-A-Boats ?

Thanks

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

David, I guess lumped them together, so I don’t. My apologies!

 

[Cottonww]

I am sort of a kayak Guru with two Warren carbon fibre kayaks(one a sailing kayak) in Fort Collins, two Pygmy kayaks at our winter home in Tucson, and a CLC 17 and Pygmy at our CO mountain cabin, all of which I haul in a kayak trailer for easy loading and unloading. Both my wife and I are in our 80's.
But for trips like you plan where I don't want to pull my trailer, I have a Sea Eagle Razorlite
473rl tandem which pumps to 10psi and handles like a hard kayak(it is made of drop-stitch technology). It weighs about 55lbs. I use a high pressure Sea Eagle electric pump which about takes 3 minutes. The longest time is clean-up following the paddle to completely dry it out.
I would consider selling it and buy two Sea Eagle Razorlite. 273rl drop-stitch kayaks. They weight 35lbs each so twice the total load and of course take twice as long to pump up. But, we both prefer paddling singles.

 

[Vic Harder]

We have a 16’ Kevlar canoe, it weighs 39 pounds and we load it up on the roof of our Puma/Grandby.

 

[DavidGraves]

Hi Cotton...thanks for the reply...looks like a nice boat....PM me any details if you are wanting to sell.

 

[DavidGraves]

Hi Vic

Our Grandby does not have Yakima tracks and this is a one time trip.

I did carry our 70 lb. Old Town wood canvas once on the Hawk and it was just too much to lift.....particularly for this trip where we will be in and out of the water and several back country lakes...perhaps the Sayward canoe Loop. etc.

David Graves

 

[buckland]

Vic one of our canoes is a Canadian made "Swift" canoe, also around 40 lbs. Beautiful to look at. I am just now considering a folding kayak for my wife so we can take on trip (store on roof rack).... Mexico... where we won't use a boat much but great to have in a pinch.

 

[Vic Harder]

Vic one of our canoes is a Canadian made "Swift" canoe, also around 40 lbs. Beautiful to look at. I am just now considering a folding kayak for my wife so we can take on trip (store on roof rack).... Mexico... where we won't use a boat much but great to have in a pinch.

Looked a Swift too. Bought a Hellman, I think Bob Hellman used to work at Swift.

 

[buckland]

I think you are right.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Vic one of our canoes is a Canadian made "Swift" canoe, also around 40 lbs. Beautiful to look at. I am just now considering a folding kayak for my wife so we can take on trip (store on roof rack).... Mexico... where we won't use a boat much but great to have in a pinch.

Rob, which folder(s) are you considering? Some, like our Long Haul, can be pretty heavy and still take up a goodly amount of room.

 

[buckland]

This is Oru we are looking at the 20 or 25 lb models … here is the site

https://www.orukayak.com/pages/compare

 

[DavidGraves]

Sitting on a leaf.....I just can't do that but then we get lots of wind and etc.

I guess they and the Tucktec design are innovative and would do in a pinch....

Anyone here actually paddled one of these for more tan and hour ?

I would love to hear comments.

 

[CPT Davenport]

My wife and I are avid kayakers. 3 years ago we found Oru kayaks and purchased two, inlet models. These changed everything! The fact that a 9.5' kayak can fit into a backpack is amazing. We have been able to hike in to waters where a car top launch is not possible. We just returned yesterday from a trip to Mendocino. We paddled the Big, Albion and Noyo rivers as well as a few calm, ocean coves. We left the camper at home this time and stayed in an Airbnb. We were able to fit both kayaks in the trunk of a Honda Civic, and only spent $120 on gas for the whole trip. We paddled 5 hours straight one day and the Oru provided a very comfortable and stable ride. They only take about 3 minutes to set up. My wife loves them because, weighing in at only 20 lbs, she can throw it in the car and take off on solo missions with ease. We have been up and down the coastal rivers, in various estuaries and beautiful Sierra lakes. These things are a game changer for access to secluded waters.

 

[DavidGraves]

Howdy

Many thanks for the reply....very helpful to hear from someone one the "other " side of the advertising....

Have you looked at Tuctec and have an opinion of the design...are they the same in essence ?

David Graves