I currently own a 9' inflatable Sea Eagle but am thinking of (upgrading?) to a "Porta-Bote".  I've seen several good reviews of those boats.  Have any of you had any experience with these?  If so, please provide input as to whether you think I will be disappointed or will enjoy this boat and the reasons why,  

If any of you have any ideas other than the Porta-Bote that you think I should consider, please chime in.

I believe I could probably get a decent used aluminum boat for near the same price, but I don't have storage space for that nor do I have good means of towing it either.  

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the site first off, do you have a link to the boat? or a picture?

I too was in your position, and looked into Porta botes heavily.

I came to the conclusion, that for the price, a jon boat would be a much better bet.

I know a few people that have, and have had porta botes, some like them, some don't.

If you're just going to use it on a calm, low pressure pond or lake, I think it would be fine, but if you're fishing pressured water, with wake from other boats, wind, and using an outboard, I'd think twice.

Hello Korea-Bassin.  I am new to this board (as of today!) and was tooling around when I noticed your post.  Since I have a Porta-Bote, I thought I would chime right in.

First of all, I have a 16.5 ft SmokerCraft I use for much of my fishing.  I also do a lot of small pond and still water fishing and the Porta-Bote really fills the bill.  I have the 9 ft model I bought at a local fishing show, and I got the detachable wheel kit so I can pull the boat down the street and out to the pond.  This small boat only weighs slightly more than 65 lbs and can take a small outboard although it gets up on plane with a decent sized  trolling motor.

The boats are designed to be taken apart by removing just a few bolts holding the transom in place, and then taking out the seats.  The boat folds up to a thickness of about 4 or 5 inches, allowing you to put it on the roof of your truck or whatever.  The who thing is extremely mobile and user-friendly.

I love that little boat and have had hundreds of hours of fishing fun in the thing.  I cannot recommend it more highly.  If you get one, you will not be disappointed.

Firstl, welcome to the Forum.  I have a SeaEagle 9 and I too looked into the Port-a-Boat.  In my opinion, it's too expensive and too bulky.  I decided to stay with my raft and its trolling motor.  

Thanks everyone for the input.  I'm leaning towards going for the Porta-Bote.  Now, I just have to convince the other half of the joint banking account that its a good idea. ;D

Hello Korea-Bassin. I am new to this board (as of today!) and was tooling around when I noticed your post. Since I have a Porta-Bote, I thought I would chime right in.

First of all, I have a 16.5 ft SmokerCraft I use for much of my fishing. I also do a lot of small pond and still water fishing and the Porta-Bote really fills the bill. I have the 9 ft model I bought at a local fishing show, and I got the detachable wheel kit so I can pull the boat down the street and out to the pond. This small boat only weighs slightly more than 65 lbs and can take a small outboard although it gets up on plane with a decent sized trolling motor.

The boats are designed to be taken apart by removing just a few bolts holding the transom in place, and then taking out the seats. The boat folds up to a thickness of about 4 or 5 inches, allowing you to put it on the roof of your truck or whatever. The who thing is extremely mobile and user-friendly.

I love that little boat and have had hundreds of hours of fishing fun in the thing. I cannot recommend it more highly. If you get one, you will not be disappointed.

Would you say that it is feasible to transport the Porta-Bote on the roof of a sedan? I currently don't own a truck or SUV, so I'm wanting to make sure this is something I will be able to get to the water. Thanks for the input.

KB, sorry it took so long for me to get back to you.  I have been out of town and just returned.  Anyhoo...

Yes, you can put the porta-bote on the roof of a sedan.  With the seats out and the transom removed, the thing folds up to about 4 or 5 inches thick and looks a little bit like a surfboard.  I brought mine home from a local fishing expo, folded up and inside my Explorer.  Once of the reasons I decided on the bote was it's ease of transportation.

I agree with the other posters that this boat, like any boat, has pluses and minuses.  This bote is not made for Lake Erie or water that has exceptionally high traffic and wake activity.  However, if you are in smaller and quieter waters, this may be the thing you are looking for.

We are loaded with small lakes in my area, and especially during the week, I am often the only person out on the water.  My porta-bote has gotten me into a lot of good fishing holes during these times.

Good luck with your decision.