Porta-Bote, a foldable boat for camping enthusiasts

Say hello to Porta-Bote, a foldable boat for camping enthusiasts – Made in the USA.

People who enjoy the great outdoors often also enjoy boating in its various forms for a variety of reasons. Smaller ‘boats’ like canoes and inflatables offer an inexpensive way to get out on the lake and fish or just exercise via a little rowing. If you want more boat than that, you’ll have to consider where to store it and how to tow it with your RV. Space is limited in many suburban neighborhoods and often outdoor enthusiasts have to choose between boat and RV. Now thankfully, there is a way you can have both.

Behold the Porta-Bote. A light weight folding boat made of plastic that more resembles a surf board than a boat when it is stored. Porta-Bote takes just 4 minutes to unfold and setup, making it highly convenient and easy to use. The folding bench seating within the boat gives it all the sturdiness it needs and because it’s made of plastic, you’ll never have to worry about a fish hook disaster common to all inflatables.

The Porta-Bote solves a lot of problems related to storing and towing a boat. Instead of towing it behind your travel trailer, Porta-Bote can be mounted on the side or top of your RV and comes with a good number of accessories including these:

• Porta-Deck – a UNIQUE BASS CASTING/FISHING DECK® with Built-in/Foldout REMOVEABLE Boarding LADDER® and Swivel Seat
• Porta-Dolly – wheels for your boat when portage is necessary
• Porta-Sunshade – a bimini sunshade keeps you from burning in the sun
• Outboard motors – Wholesale pricing of Suzuki powered motors
• Sail kit – porta-bote becomes a sail boat with this attachment
• Swivel Seat – Attaches directly to the removable bench seating
• RV mouts – Carry your porta-bote everywhere you go.

Over 90,000 Porta-Botes are used around the world for a variety of reasons including emergency services, scuba diving, fishing and in place of dinghys. For more information about Porta-Bote, see their website at www.porta-bote.com

After multiple emails with the company (they were very non-committal about the cost of these boats), I had initially given up on getting any kind of price quote from them. Eventually they sent an email in March of 2013 with MSRP pricing listed: