REPORT FROM ANNAPOLIS: PART 5: A PORTA-BOTE IMPROVEMENT

 I use an eight foot Porta-Bote for a dingy and have since 2001. I find it a rugged lightweight dingy for my use. I can carry it on board folded up or as usually do on deck.

Porta-Bote has improved it's design over the years. From changing the original seats from wooden marine plywood to more lightweight Styrofoam filled plastic. On my boat they have gotten a little beat up but are still functional. The transom on my Porta-Bote is still plywood but, after nine years exposed to all kinds of weather and sitting in water on occassion it is showing signs that it really should be replaced.  Happily, the Porta-Bote people have once again improved their unique boats design as I saw at their booth at the Annapolis Boat Show.

They have streamlined the seats even more and made them more rugged and stiff than the molded plastic ones I have.  They have also replaced the wooden transom with a marine plastic one that will not have the problem of delaminating over the years like my wooden one is.

Like the Garhauer Blocks I reported about in an earlier post. It's good to see there are some companies like Porte-Bote that continue to refine and improve their products making for happier customers like me.