Porta Bote mods

OOPPSS!! Boat!!!

true, i dont know about you but mine kicks screams and carries on till i nearly choke her( only kidding) if i put tools car bits, camping gear in the lounge room, but if her nutri metics stuff is all over the lounge room, over the bed and bedroom floor, in the kitchen, her room its ok....

go figure, so i just gentle kick it out of my way now, i almost tried to play international soccer with it but got caught!!! lol

We have a large(ish) lounge which we rarely use. It's much more comfortabe working in there than in the garage (though cutting, grinding & welding is done in the garage, she's not THAT lenient!).

I was under the impression the site automatically resized the photos.What did I do wrong? Do I need to reduce them before posting?

Cheers,

Mark

IdahOz, about a year ago I was not sure I'd made the right choice. By the time I'd unpack and set up I was getting frustrated. It got to the point I was putting off using the Bote. Then I started getting rid of stuff and making sure anything that needed adding was simple and fast (note the reel is held on with a cord which I tie with a quick release knot). About the only things I'm going to add are the swivel seats and a battery with a fish-finder. I'll make sure these are quick tie on or velcro jobs.

Now I'm really happy with the set up and I can't think of a better alternative for travelling distances, particularly those which require 4wd access. It's a fast enough set up now that I'm happy to head off for an afternoon's fishing, which I'll probably do today ;-). When it comes home, all the bits pack up into two bags and the folded Bote sits up next to the garage wall on a pulley system. Takes up bugger all room.

The bote is not cheap, though. If you don't really get off the beaten track it's probably better value getting a tinnie. You won't get anywhere near as much attention at the boat ramp, hower (maybe a good thing!).

Cheers,

Mark

Julio, in the top pic you can just see my rod holder (it's above the yellow bailer bucket & sponge). It is a clamp on unit. I mainly flyfish so don't use it a lot but it seems to work well. Some have made up brackets which will fit into the oar lock holders. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to do. Remember, if you want to attach anything to the Bote you just need to drill & rivet! Just make sure whatever you attach doesnt sit out further than the rails. You can see the aluminium channel I've rivetted on to secure the bow plate.

Cheers,

Mark

Peter, funny you shoud mention that. Firstly, I'd say the Bote is designed for mid to quiet waters, lakes, rivers, bays and mild seas. Having said that it handles a swell reasonably well. The flex of the hull means it doesn't tip around as much as a tinnie (takes some getting used to at first, though). I think however that the flex makes it spin around in a quatering sea more than a tinny. As for the low bow, yes it does let a bit more water over the top sometimes, though not that I've noticed much difference from most tinnies.

The reason I said funny you should mention this, while taking down the boat today I was thinking about how narrow it is in the nose (bow). Without the plate the bow is normally narrow and I copied my plate from one a guy in the Netherlands made. Today it struck me the inward tilt of the sides at the bow don't do the Bote any favours when it comes to deflecting waves. It also makes the Bote look a bit odd. I've decided to make a new bow plate, much wider than the original (600mm at the base as opposed to 400mm). This has a number of advantages- it will deflect spray better; it will give the bow a better profile; it will give a larger area in the front for storage and fitting gear onto the plate. The last benefit is that when making the plate I had to mess around chamfering the sides to suit the angle of the front. This also meant the flat plate did not sit well into the alloy channels. By making the plate wider it will straighten out the flare at the front and make it sit better. I'll put a piece of foam underneath to fill the "hole" at the front. Wish I'd thought of that before making a new plate last week!

If you are thinking of the Bote as a replacement for your half cabin you may be disappointed. As a replacement for a tinnie however I can't recommend them highly enough.

Cheers,

Mark