February 23, 2007
Follow-up Porta-bote Review and Aftermath
We had held out posting our 1.3-year dinghy review until we heard back from Porta-bote on our inquiry regarding warranties (so we could include at least one piece of useful information for our “used porta-bote”-Googling friends). Since they didn’t respond, we just posted the review anyway and mentioned that Porta-bote was not being expedient about getting back to us (with a palpable note of irritation). We again emailed Porta-bote, this time to ask about outboards since we were looking to possibly buy a 9.8 Tohatsu and the company used to deal Tohatsu outboards, and we got a fantastically prompt response. So Joshua responded once more asking if they had received our previous email regarding the Porta-bote and if there was a warranty; again, no response. A couple days later, Joshua responded with an irritated ‘curious-you-respond-so-fast-to-a-potential-sales-lead -but-not-to-a-warranty-inquiry’ and gave the URL for the bote review blog post, in case they were interested. Within one hour, a lengthy rebuttal was posted to the blog by Sandy, the president of Porta-bote. Of course, I had to type out my lengthy response to his very defensive response, and well you know how it goes. And he still hadn’t answered our question as to whether there was a warranty.
But at last Sandy has responded to my response to his initial response and has confirmed that yes, there is a one-year warranty on the plastic seats and transom. He also added: “if you treated an aluminum or fiberglass or inflatable dinghy the way you described treating your poor porta-bote so vividly in your blog, you wouldn’t have a dinghy left to say nasty things about. 59,989 owners can’t be wrong! Yeah for Porta-Bote!” Which, for one: I have to say I’m surprised to hear he read so extensively in my blog because I only described one incident where the bote took a wave that trashed the transom. Another: what makes him think we treated our bote poorly? By exposing it to the harsh sun? By using the rowing set-up? By actually taking it in the ocean? That an inflatable or hard dinghy of another material would have survived the abuse we supposedly lash upon our poor bote is false, as any owner of such a dinghy could verify. And did I really say anything nasty? I feel I wrote a fair and constructive review.
But back to the warranty; our bote is 1.3 years old (although the seats broke at around 9ish months and the transom at 11 months), yet Sandy has generously offered to replace our seats and transom at no cost. We sent a reply asking to have the seats and transom shipped to my mom’s house so we could pick them up next time we visited but never got a response. Two weeks later and about when we had given up of every hearing from Porta-bote again, Mom sends me an email saying that a tall box full of some weird black plastic things just arrived!
So there you have it: all you broken transom/seat bote owners (provided you are in the US) can get replacements if it’s been less than a year. If it’s been more than that, well, I guess you have to assert yourself as a major pain in the ass to get any response.
Based on reports from the people who contacted me, a common source of failure seems to be when the Porta-Bote is decelerated quickly from wide open throttle. The weight and momentum from the outboard under these circumstances is greater the the transom is designed to withstand.
Comment by Steve — March 2, 2007 @ 6:39 am
Well—all I can say is the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Glad you bugged them about this. We will keep the new seats and transom safe and dry in the garage. –Mom
Comment by Peg Bowden — March 4, 2007 @ 9:37 am
So are you happy with your porta-bote
i have a new 14 foot.
open seas are not goood for this bote??
Jeff
have fun
Comment by Jeff E — March 23, 2007 @ 8:30 pm
Your 14 footer is probably a lot more seaworthy than our 10 foot model. However, seaworthiness is a matter of opinion. I wouldn’t go out in any real weather in it. For example we just came across the bay here at Isla Guanaja, Honduras. It’s blowing 25+ and there is a mile or two of fetch. It’s pretty hairy. If we took a wave it would be almost impossible to self rescue. It depends on your own comfort level. It will never compare to a 14 foot inflatable as far as seaworthiness is concerned. The coast guard uses those for a reason.
We’re happy with it because it meets our expectations for performance. It rows well and we don’t like to put the motor on it all the time. A majority of cruisers always moter anyway. If you fall into this catagory an inflatable would probably be a better choice.
Comment by joshua — March 30, 2007 @ 3:09 pm
I have an 8 footer I bought about 6 years ago. I started out with an electric trolling motor and it worked just fine. Until one day……I was about a half mile offshore spearfishing, some weather came in and my battery was dead. To my surprise rowing the portabote in 4 to 6 ft waves was difficult but not unbearable. It handled well for such a small and light weight craft. Unfortunatly the pressure on the seat placed by my body from rowing broke the middle support. I never bothered to get it replaced. The seat still holds my weight and keeps the boat open, even with a broken support. I know eventually this will cause other problems, but I am still holding out. Now I have a 3.5 Tohatsu which I purchased from Portabote, and still run a mile or two offshore on calm days. Overall, for the price, this is a pretty damn good little bote.
Comment by vida_del_mar — May 2, 2007 @ 6:29 pm
[…] So, fine. We requested information on warranty once upon a time. Sandy replied saying although our seats were out of warranty, we pissed him off enough that Porta-Bote would send replacement seats/transom anyway, just to make us feel bad happy. So we gave an address and a few weeks later they appear, unannounced (that is, until after they arrived), but appreciated. We sent a thank you email. AND we posted a follow-up to our blog explaining what Porta-bote offers as seat/transom warranty and what they were doing for us. Done. Everyone’s happy. Whatever! […]
Pingback by TimeMachine » Porta-bote Redux Redux — May 17, 2007 @ 7:59 am
Update: Replacement seats and transom arrived but there was NO transom. Only seats. I am assuming this was unintentional but I’m still pretty bummed out since the transom was the really badly broken part and the piece that prompted us in the first place to contact Porta-Bote about possible warranty.
Comment by cheyenne — May 24, 2007 @ 8:10 am
[…] is a follow up to older stories: 1.3-Year Porta-Bote and Kayak Review Follow-up Porta-bote Review and Aftermath Porta-bote Redux […]
Pingback by TimeMachine » Porta-bote Again — June 21, 2007 @ 9:46 am
I had a similar problem with my transom, transom where the motor mounted cracked after I use it couple times with a small gas motor. I contacted Porta Bote and was told that it was my fault because I used a wrong (older) motor. I was told that out of 70,000+ Bote sold I was the only one that have a transom problem. I finally talked to the manufacturer and was told that a reinforement bracket was added to the transom since I bought it. They finally COD me a scratch-up transom after I bugged them long enough.
By the way, I think the reinforcement bracket helps but not enough because it is in the wrong place (at the bottom instead of at the top). Transom should be redesigned with a different manufacturing process if they really want to fix the problem.
Comment by Jacky — June 27, 2007 @ 12:05 pm
how is the port a bote now
i still have my 14 thinking about selling it
Jeff
Comment by Jeff E — June 29, 2007 @ 7:22 pm
Sounds to me like you might be better off making your own transom from marine plywood. A couple 3/4 inch pieces glued together and drilled to mount in the plastic transoms stead would probably solve this for good. I know they’re heavier, but weight and strength are sometimes tradeoffs. Short of building a transon using carbon fiber or kevlar…
Comment by Lee — August 28, 2007 @ 9:38 am
[…] Follow-up Porta-bote Review and Aftermath Porta-bote Redux Redux Porta-bote again […]
Pingback by TimeMachine » 1.3-Year Porta-Bote and Kayak Review — September 6, 2007 @ 9:24 am
I have a different problem, and am looking to see if others have had that. I had a wooden transom, so no problem there, but the so-called “bladder” (the folding bit that keeps the water out)has split virtually from top to bottom on one diagonal fold. It has had only light use and never been stressed out(I only used a Min-Kota electric motor, and mostly just rowed), so the only possibility is that it was unfit for the purpose. It is my belief that it was never properly “hinged”, so that each folding operation stressed it out further until it failed from fatigue. There is a ten-year warranty on the hull, but (based on the details of that), the only deal Sandy would give me (the boat is only 5 years old) would cost me about £650, which is too much. Additionally, he suggested “somthing may have slammed into that area”; this is nonsense because it would have left visible stress marks (white on the green)and becaause I know that did not happen. Please contact bote.miller@ntlworld.com if you have any relevant information.
Comment by L S Miller — September 28, 2007 @ 1:50 am
I am fishing the rivers and inlets here in Alaska and saw the Porta-Bote as a practical boat for my purpose. But having read the above comments I’m left with the feeling that the company doesn’t give a damn about its customers or its warranty. Considering the cost of these things one would hope the company was more prompt to satisfy a sold customer. I’ve always had good performance from AVON Inflatables….
Comment by mel shapiro — August 3, 2008 @ 11:29 pm
I have been researching this boat because of it being so portable. I was interested in getting the 14′ model but after reading about how the company handles their customers in this review, I am definitely changing my mind and will be letting my friends know as well who were also interested in this boat.
Comment by Rob Davids — August 6, 2008 @ 9:12 pm
I am looking at the 12ft porta for fishing (standing up flicking lures) with 1 or 2 in the boat. Mainly river mouths and generally sheltered water. On a good day some open ocean stuff. Probably use a 6hp 4 stroke.
Interested in any comments about the stability of the craft and ease of fishing/ maneuverability
Thanks
Comment by Ross Bell — August 29, 2008 @ 3:44 pm
Hello Porta-Bote friends,
I have read the comments above and this is my reaction. We are the Porta-Bote distributor
for the Netherlands, Belgium and France for over 15 years now. Of course during this time we have had also a few customers with a warranty case. Just as it will be with any other product.
But I can say that we have had no troubles at all with Porta-Bote USA regarding the warranty. We always could satisfy our customers again.
It is always so pity that only the customers with a bad experiance show their problems and all the customers who are satisfied you never hear. As you can read above it is also always that the negative people are often to believed more than all the positive and happy one’s.
Therefore,..happy owners. Please identify yourself. It must be more than 95%!!
Many happy watersport and fishing time wishes to all Porta-Bote owners.
GB trading - The Netherlands
Comment by GB trading — September 18, 2008 @ 10:56 am
Well, I’m not sure where to begin . . .
First of all, I would like to thank Cheyenne & Joshua for this blog . . . without it I would not have “squeaked my wheel” so loudly in defense of the Porta-bote that my husband and I own.
We recently discovered a crack in the fold of the bladder and contacted Sandy to find out what we should do. Shipping from Texas to California and back to Texas would be quite expensive–we both agreed. So, he suggested something called Scotch Weld . . . but I wasn’t sure . . . so I did a little research and that’s when I found this blog and a group on Yahoo called PortabotersWorldWide –http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PortaBotersWorldWide/. I started a post on this Yahoo Group to see what others thought and told everyone that Sandy said this is not a problem he’s heard of before–just like he told me on the phone when we first spoke. He of course denied this on the Group and tried to turn it all around on me: I never sent the pictures of the damage like I said I would, I refused to ship the boat back, etc., etc., etc.
The moral of the story is: Sandy is sending us a new hull . . . even though he doesn’t think we deserve it. Basically he wants me to hush up and in turn he looks like a respectable business man who went above and beyond to make the ungrateful customer happy. ((And he did in this instance–just like he did for Cheyenne and Joshua–but I believe it was solely because he was being held accountable in a semi-public setting where others would know the outcome.)) I’ve received some flack from other Porta-Bote owners for being a whiner and disrespectful, etc., etc., etc. You know that saying, “when you walk a mile in my shoes”? What a painful walk this has been! All in all, I think everything turned out okay. And I feel good knowing I didn’t lie or cheat to get justice!
I love the Porta-Bote and don’t intend on tarnishing its name. And for the record, thank you Sandy for sending us a new hull. We are truly appreciative.
Comment by alouwomack — October 17, 2008 @ 10:12 am
Interesting reading. I had similar dealings with the company. Short version: hull arrived damaged in shipping. The damage was not visible until it was unpacked. Sandy gave me a load of attitude about not marking the damage on the bill of lading (The damage wasn’t visible???). They replaced the hull. I was insulted & bitter and tried to sell the boat. Couldn’t sell it, so now I use it and like it. Good product - good service - poor packaging - poor interpersonal skills.
Comment by Angus — January 19, 2009 @ 8:56 am
Hi Angus,
I am glad to hear your hull was replaced . . . too bad it was not without a fight.
Sandy has replaced our hull since I last posted here. I believe we received it around Thanksgiving (2008). We agreed to send in a sample portion of the bladder so it could be analyzed by an offsite company. He recently let me know that the offsite company has downsized and doesn’t do that sort of work anymore. But his own company analyzed it and he says it passed inspection.
I would rather fess up and say we did batter or abuse our bote but that was never the case. Our damage started at the seam of the bote . . . not a random crack caused by trauma.
However, I am thankful he did replace the hull . . . but it was a pretty painful process . . . and I was left feeling like an exploited/complaining customer. But, oh well, what do you do???
Good luck to you and your Portabote. I hope you get to enjoy using yours as much as we have ours.
Comment by alouwomack — January 20, 2009 @ 9:07 pm
Well, it sounds like porta-bote is having some growing pains but the end result is still a good product. I’m a first time buyer looking to purchase probably in May.
I don’t think this is the kind of craft that was meant to be tied up all day , day after day on a dock …. I understand you go out, use it … come back, give it a wash off fold it and store it inside somewhere.
Comment by Willy — April 8, 2009 @ 11:25 am
Wau
I have a sailboat and look for a foldable sturdy and reliable dinghy whith which I can row in all conditons as it is the main power to propell us. I owned an old Banana Boot in Europe but disliked it as it was difficult to open up and the Sail and its rigging was useless. I wonder if PortaBoate is the same product? I am furhter really pissed to read about the CEO and his behavior pattern. When I buy a product, any product, and it fails due to weak parts or whatever I demand in all fairness a honest description as to what the products really can stand up to and mostly I expect excellent customer service, each and every time. I have a similar experience with the CEO of Pudget and shy away from good products because the owners or Managers had once a great idea but have no decency and courtesy to understand how to deal with clients.
Andy
Comment by Andy — April 18, 2009 @ 12:04 am
Well … Mr. Wau, few companies offer a 10 year warranty on their product ( try that with a 52″ LCD TV )… I think it’s great the CEO is able to email you and chat with you about the product. ( very rare these days ) …. he is even willing to take the time out to speak to you on the phone ( real time !! ) …..ALSO we see the CEO himself trying to keep everyone happy even though some folks may have abused their bote. Contrary to popular belief the public is not easy to work with. It appears that Porta-Bote ( made in america ? ) is doing their best to offer a quality product and Sandy deserves an A+ for effort and patience. I hope to be purchasing one soon!!
Comment by Will — April 20, 2009 @ 12:47 pm
Tahnk
Comment by Yang — June 24, 2009 @ 12:06 pm
Whoops. THANKS to all who posted here. I have called them once as prospective customer and the sense I got on the phone was very similar to the complaints here. I got the sense that they were interested in the sale, but may not come through with the service. Of course one call does not an accurate judgment make. Hence my jumping on the web to check. There are plenty of other companies who will provide good service. These posts have the ring of believability and really does turn me away from picking one up.
Comment by MY — June 24, 2009 @ 12:08 pm
I have a two year old 12ft Porta Bote with a 3.5 Mercury. The second time I had it out was on a lake fishing. My wife caught a trout and was bringing the fish close to the boats starboard side so I could net the fish. I leaned over the side with a hand net to net the fish, at which time the boat overturned. As I leaned over to net the fish I was aware of the starboard side of the transum dipped under the water, that was all it took, there was no recovery. I flopped into the water imemdiately and my wife, who was seated on the center portion of the center seat, was catapulted over me and into the water. We were drifting with the motor in netural and there was slight wind with 6 to 8 foot chop. I could think of no reason for the boat to have overturned other than simply leaning over to net the fish. My wife suffered hypothermia and a mild heart attack as a result of falling into the freezing water and remaining in the water for twenty minutes until we were rescued. The boat was fully submerged except for the first foot of the bow was out of the water, hardly enough to hang onto without pushing the bow under as well. I haven’t used the boat sense. The boat was highly advertized and un-tipable and un-sinkable on their website. As a result of my incident, the Porta Bote site was changed in the stability section. Has any one else had stability or tipover issues? Needless to say, my boat is for sale.
Comment by Don Bellante — September 23, 2009 @ 5:44 pm
I have been using Porta-Bote 12ft with my 5hp Nissan Engine since last 6 years, I can say this is an amazing boat, and today we have a porta-boters club and we really have best of fun.. It would have been extreamly difficult with inflatables and other traditional boat. Hey check out this site folks..
www.portaboteme.com they have put some nice testimonials.
Comment by Mike — October 19, 2009 @ 5:00 am
My question would be wouldn’t it have been easier to call them rather than to do email tag when we all know that emails can go into cyber-space.
I love my Porta-Bote and have had great service, whenever I have had any questions they were happy to help me.
My understanding is that the hull has a 10 year warranty and the seats and transom have a 1 year warranty, I traded my older seats (2 year old boat) for the brand new seats that have a weight capacity of 600 lbs. I couldn’t be happier, I take my dog and my grand children on the boat who enjoy fishing.
Thank goodness for Porta-Bote
Comment by Sarah — October 19, 2009 @ 5:03 pm
Sarah: We used email because we were in Panama.
Comment by cheyenne — October 19, 2009 @ 7:07 pm
Hi Folks,
Looks like our comments were cut off.
Sandy Kaye
President
Porta-Bote International
Comment by Sandy — October 20, 2009 @ 10:20 am
I bought a used 1998 12 foot Portabote about eight to ten years ago. It had the original wooden seats and transom unitl 2005 when I replaced the seats with the plastic seats. They said the plastic transom wouldn’t work on my model so I built my own replacement transom with marine plywood though it needs replacing again after 5 years. Sounds like I will be making another with the past comments on the plastic transom’s reliability. Not only that but looking for parts on their web site is not easy…couldn’t find a way to do it. I spoke to a saleman at a sportsman’s show today and he didn’t know about the parts either.
I have used the boat every year for at least two weeks straight in the Adirondaks. I use a Nissan 5hp with no problems. I have also taken it out around where we live in Maryland (Chesapeake Bay tributaries).
The boat has served me well and has never flipped, cracked, or failed. It has made it through a heck of a storm on an Adirondack Lake that caused some serious praying but came out fine. The funny story was I was sailing on the lake in a small homemade sailboat when the storm hit. My nephew came to rescue me in the Portabote and the two of us ended up cowering in the bottom of our boats as the lightening storm hit.
I recommend the boat for anyone looking for a good runabout or small fishing boat. Works great and stores easily. We camp so being able to tow the camper and throw the Portabote in the truck or camper is a big plus. I even have the sail kit, still brand new and never used. That I am not too confident about.
Comment by Ellsworth — January 30, 2010 @ 10:44 pm
I consider purchasing a 14 foot porta-bote, but I’m a 350lb guy and I wonder how the seats handle my weight?
Dealer in canada assured me that would be no problem(???)
Any advise please?
Comment by Stefan — February 8, 2010 @ 9:27 am
I fully stand against anyone commenting my favorate Porta-Bote. I love it, l Love it and I LOVE IT.
CUT IT OFF YOU GUYS DONT SPOIL THE IMAGE OF A NICE COMPANY AND A NICE PRODUCT WHICH HAS A GREAT VALUE.
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE REALLY GOING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS BOAT.
A PERFECT LIFESAVING BOAT..
PORTA-BOTE WAS VERY HANDY TRULY A LIFE SAVER AS WE USED IT TO ESCAPE A FLOOD WHICH HAS PUT MANY PARTS ITALY IN GREAT FEAR
Comment by Lorrie Glatton — March 14, 2010 @ 1:08 am
I’ve had an interesting experience here in Australia. I recently purchased a second hand 14′ and it looks in very good condition EXCEPT when I put it in the pool to test it the boat drew water. It isn’t a lot of water,about 1m long and 1-2cm deep over a few hours but that is unloaded. I’ve read they may take a little water through the bottom seam but this seemed excessive. When I contacted the Australian agent (I will add that he was polite and got back to me quickly) he advised the warranty only extends to the original purchaser . This seems a bit slack as car warranties pass on to successive owners but, so be it. He suggested the original owner may have damaged the stern seam with the motor (no damage visible though) and suggested using marine sealant on this seam. I’ve yet to source a small outboard so I can’t test it more thoroughly at this stage.
Comment by Greg — May 1, 2010 @ 4:40 pm
I just came back from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, by Lake Saganaga. This particular area allows motorized boats with 25HP or less motors. I have a 14′ jon boat that I used, but because I have a pop up camper, the boat and trailer had to be pulled by my brother in law driving a separate tow vehicle. I have been looking at the Porta-bote and am considering selling my jon and trailer to buy a 12 porta-bote so that I can take it when camping with the pop up….all that said, I am re-thinking all this because of the customer service experiences that many of you have posted. It’s a pity…to me good products are good not only because of design and quality but especially it’s customer service….
Comment by joey from minnesota — July 10, 2010 @ 7:46 am