help-10 foot porta bote

chaz555

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Sep 4, 2013
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I have acquired a used 10 footer that has blue pipe over the seams. Is this proper for a PB? The seats are plywood and the fore and aft are wide like decks. Is this proper? Seems like an old model, but as sound as my previous PB. It's a double ender of course and should be easy to handle for an older gent. Thanks before hand.
 

thomasiam

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Jul 1, 2013
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Re: help-10 foot porta bote

post pics please
I have acquired a used 10 footer that has blue pipe over the seams. Is this proper for a PB? The seats are plywood and the fore and aft are wide like decks. Is this proper? Seems like an old model, but as sound as my previous PB. It's a double ender of course and should be easy to handle for an older gent. Thanks before hand.
 

barato2

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Dec 7, 2010
Messages
2,956
Re: help-10 foot porta bote

chaz---what the factory puts over the seams on older boats looks like split drip irrigation tubing, and if i ever need to replace it, this is what i'll use.. is this what you're seeing? never seen the wide seats you mention even on a friend's older double ender. post some pix maybe?
 

chaz555

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Sep 4, 2013
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Re: help-10 foot porta bote

Yes it looks like water pipe but blue. My previous PB's had black. Also the seat mounts were plastic material and this one has stainless "U" shaped brackets riveted to the hull. I'm working on some pix but I drive a boat better than a computer!! Thanks for the replies.
 

barato2

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Dec 7, 2010
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Re: help-10 foot porta bote

the stainless brackets are what mine has too....what they used with the wood seats. i like it better than the plastic....sturdier IMHO, and easy to replace seats and transom when needed.
 

chaz555

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Re: help-10 foot porta bote

I thought mine was an older double ender. I'm surprised that you have stainless brackets, I thought you had a newer PB with a transom. I'm not even sure I have a real PB!! Although I've never seen a Knockoff. Outside of hull has metal tag with rivets stamped "KPB 10643 0378".Inside metal US Coastguard Cap info, with "K Enterprises", Menlo Park, Calif.at the bottom with no ZIP Code, Therefore I thought "OLD".'m still working on pix.
 

portabot

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Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
7
Re: help-10 foot porta bote

Yes it looks like water pipe but blue. My previous PB's had black. Also the seat mounts were plastic material and this one has stainless "U" shaped brackets riveted to the hull. I'm working on some pix but I drive a boat better than a computer!! Thanks for the replies.

Hi,

The "blue" tubing on your double ended Porta-Bote was used on the earliest models dating back over 38 years ago. It's the same material used to manufacture the Porta-Bote hulls. It's still the same material but with a black color.

It is made from an extremely durable polypropylene copolymer. Obviously quite strong.Most of these boats have outlived their original owners. This material was original developed by our aerospace engineers almost a half century ago to provide tubing that could carry the exotic and highly corrosive fuels needed to be use in early spacecraft.

Enjoy your Bote.
 

barato2

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Dec 7, 2010
Messages
2,956
Re: help-10 foot porta bote

notwithstanding the blather from Sandy, it still looks and feels like drip irrigation tubing to me, and i suspect they order it from irrigation tubing suppliers rather than NASA contractors. it does eventually lose some of the springiness that holds it on the gunwales and seams, and comes off.....i kept looking down and seeing my keel strip waving in the water beside my boat. you can just snap it back on but i eventually got tired of doing it and pinned it in place at the bow and stern with #6x1.5" machine screws and nylocks...this seems to have worked great.

Chaz---yeah, mine is a transom boat. i think they went to the plastic seats some time in the 90s.
 
Last edited:

Davidtiledog

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Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
2
Re: help-10 foot porta bote

I have acquired a used 10 footer that has blue pipe over the seams. Is this proper for a PB? The seats are plywood and the fore and aft are wide like decks. Is this proper? Seems like an old model, but as sound as my previous PB. It's a double ender of course and should be easy to handle for an older gent. Thanks before hand.

I have an old 10' porta-bote with NO SEATS! Can anyone supply me with the dimensions so I can make replacements?

My Bote has black tubing over the seams.

Thanks
David
 

portabot

Cadet
Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
7
Re: help-10 foot porta bote

Hi,

The last time we produced a boat with blue tubing was about 35 years ago. Many
of these older models have outlived their original owners.

Enjoy.

Portatech
 

chaz555

Recruit
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
4
Re: help-10 foot porta bote

I have an old 10' porta-bote with NO SEATS! Can anyone supply me with the dimensions so I can make replacements?

My Bote has black tubing over the seams.

Thanks
David

Hope this helps: center seat I made at 47" x 10". The end eats are the same at: 37"x 20". The s/s brackets are 13"apart at outside edges so the end seats extend nearly to the end of the boat like a deck. My motor mount bolts to the seat. My bote is the older with blue pipe!! Good luck. Charlie
 

Davidtiledog

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Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
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Re: help-10 foot porta bote Seat Dimensions

Re: help-10 foot porta bote Seat Dimensions

Hope this helps: center seat I made at 47" x 10". The end eats are the same at: 37"x 20". The s/s brackets are 13"apart at outside edges so the end seats extend nearly to the end of the boat like a deck. My motor mount bolts to the seat. My bote is the older with blue pipe!! Good luck. Charlie

Thanks for the help.

There were two versions of the 10". One had the triangular or curved bow and stern seats. your dimension for the bow should have a long side and a short side. you have given the long side at 37"side to side x 20" front to back? What is the short side measurement near the point of the bow?


I also got an answer from the PB owners forum on Yahoo:

* All seats are 1/2" thick
* All Seats are 9-1/2" deep
* Center seat: 49-1/2" wide
* Rear seat: 49" wide at widest. 45" wide at narrowest
* Front seat: 42" wide at widest. 26" wide at narrowest.
* 
* To make center seat supports, first make seats, 
* install and measure from the bottom of each seat 
* to the bottom of the boat in the center of boat.

Thanks again
David
 
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