Porta-bote

[tazin river]

Any of you have experience flying one of those with a Cessna 180 on floats?

Trying to figure out what is the best small portable boat/inflatable would be best to haul around for weight and space?

Cheers

Tazin

[bkn4thr]

I got one with a 2hp Honda , slows you down a bit but other than that you don't really notice it out there. Very easy to strap onto the floats. There is a fair amount of space needed inside too cause you have to haul the seats and transom. Tough little boat though. Quite slow with only a 2hp!

Bkn

[Blakey]

I don't know about the newer plastic ones but I have carried an older aluminium one quite a bit. Don't tie it too far forward and make certain it's on upside down (So it doesn't fill up with water.) and it's like it's not even there. The aluminium model has seats that store flat inside the boat so I didn't need room inside for anything but the motor. I have heard stories of guys having them bend in the wind if you don't have a 2X4 inside them but I never had a problem with that so perhaps only the plastic ones are prone to that. It's just enough boat for two guys to fish a small lake.

[DHC2eater]

Hi Taz....I was once involved with Tazin Lake Outfitters....I flew the porte-bote often down to a river runnig into Athabasca to catch big Jacks.I couldn`t tell it was even there and was able to assemble it while standing on a set of Caps(round tops)

Also flew narrow 12 boats...can`t remember if I flew 14`s or not

Is the Porte-bote still there?????

DHC2eater

[DHC2eater]

That was on a 185...

[GreenStar]

I bought a barely used plastic 12 footer 3 years ago, but have never got around to using it. Would you guys happen to have a picture of one tied onto a Skywagon you could share? Thanks.

[DHC2eater]

I have no pictures.I used straps and had it on the side and/or on the spreader bars...The one I flew had stabalizers on the stearn and thus had to face the rear of the 185 or they`would flap in the wind etc

It was as if it wasn`t even out there!

DHC2eater

[bkn4thr]

Sorry, I can't find any pics either, I only found one of the boat beside my plane and its a print in a frame.
I too used straps to the pasanger side struts with the Stern forward!

Bkn

[GUMPS]

Stern forward and strapped to the pilot side, so you can keep your eye on it. This is what I was told by an old time bush pilot.
Haven't flown boats on Cessna just beavers and otters.

[GreenStar]

Thanks anyway, have yet to see a good picture, there just does not seemed to be that many port-a-bot's flown in. Whenever I get around to trying it out, I will post a picture. I had heard to put the stearn foreward, had planned on putting it on the pilot side and did buy some industrial strength straps to attach it.

[YYZSaabGuy]

Interestingly, the porte-botes that come up via a quick Google Images search all appear to have squared-off sterns.
Wouldn't mounting them stern-first, i.e. into the wind, impose a drag penalty?
Why not bow-first, so you at least get the benefit of some streamlining?

[beech 18]

Dec 17, 2012

Flat face forward so you get a better airflow
over the tail. A lot less vibrations.

[DHC2eater]

Guys..Its a folding boat and once folded the bow and stern are flat and the same with the exception of the flimsy sterm stabalizers which will bend in the wind and should be rearward...Maybe the new ones don`t have the stabs so can be flown either way....A regular boat or canoe with square stern should be flown stern forward and on the polots side so you can watch it come loose(hopefully not)

DHC2eater

[Lost Lake]

Don't forget to check the rear stab. 180's are famous for beating up the rear stab due to the ugly drag thing in front of causing turbulence. Always, pipot side and read forward.

[Castorero]

Taz,

I looked at porta-bote more than 30 yrs ago when I was looking around for a means of transport once landed in the hinterland.

It seemed like a good alternative to the Small Zodiacs and Achilles of the time with their heavy cumbersome wooden floor, slats and other necessary paraphernalia needed for their proper functioning.

They were just too heavy and took up too much room in the 185, so the Porta boat looked appealing.

A friend had one in his garage and he happily let me have it for a week end. That ended the budding love affair, nipped it in the bud, as it were, before it had a chance to flower into a full grown weed.

I found it slow, unstable, small, and just downright ugly.

I told my friend this when I came back and he wasn't at all surprised at my assessment as he proceeded to point to a corner of the garage to what appeared to be a bandaged, bundle of orange. "You may want to try that, then" he said.

"What the hell is that?" , I sputtered.

"That, my friend is a Metzeler Jolly inflatable, inflatable floor, inflatable transom with wood transom, not to mention tough inflatable pontoons, all for a weight of 35 pounds in the size of a small ruck sack."

"So, why didn't you give me that to try out instead of this Medieval contraption?"

"If I had, you would not have appreciated it as much as you will now." Ahrgg....

My friend had a way of teaching that always meant that you had to put some sweat equity into whatever it was that you were after.

Well, that little Metzeler and its larger sister Maya have been with me for a long time since that first encounter and I would not trade them for anything.

They are tough, light, longitudinally stable and take up little room in a 185.

Yes, you have to pump them up and down, but that is a small price to pay for a boat that will not swamp, capsize or sink if you put a hole in it.

I have always used a 2 HP motor because of its weight and these boats move at a good clip with a moose in them.

The Jolly is big enough for two and the Maya will carry more of course, so one must have both.

Anyway, that's my two sents woth...


Castor

[tazin river]

Thanks Castor

That`s certainly answered it for me!

I looked at the Achilles and was not aware the the Metszeller (sp) was still in business. Will look it up!

Happy New Year!

Tazin

[Castorero]

Taz,

How time flies.
It appears that Metzeler is no more, having been bought out by Zodiac in early 2000's.

Some of their designs were sold apparently and GRABNER of Austria is still manufacturing what appear to be brand new versions of the "Jolly" and "Maya" under different names.

The transoms are now integral and not removable, which is probably a good thing and a time saver.

These are expedition quality boats and not your cheap week-end recreational inflatables. They even have an inflatable canoe

The design, even the way the seams run, are identical to the original Metzeler design.

A Canadian distributor exists in Ontario:

HAPPY CAT NORTH AMERICA: Mr. Allan Vessmann, CAN - Thornhill,ON L3T 2X9
53 Laureleaf Road, Tel.: 1 416 358 4170
Remark: only HAPPY CAT Catamarans

They do have an online store and you can find it all at http://www.grabner-sports.at

Nice to know that I can still replace my style of boat with a new one after all these years.

Interesting how these threads twist and turn, eh?

Cas