> A friend with a sailboat asked me about inflatable "kayaks" as an > alternative to small, motorized dinghy-like craft. He wants the boat for > short distances (100 yd - 200 yd) and does not intend to transport bulky or > heavy items, but wants to include wife and small child. Additional > concerns: ease of storage, ease of getting into and out of water. I told > him to consider foldable kayaks. Any other recommendations? Ehh - yes! Last autumn Iīve seen a kind of "foldable" boat, called "the banana boat". It is no foldable, in our small paddle world. But it exist since 1975 ! First I give you the dimensions of the short one. unfolded (for storage): length 3,25metre; wide: 0,58metre; high: 0,1metre out-folded - ready for use: length: 3,05 metre; wide: 1,35metre; high 0,43metre Itīs draught vary between 0,1 metre (unloaded) and 0,18metre (fully loadad with 270 kilo) Weight without seats 22 kilo Material is Polypropylene, which means it canīt sink! There is a bigger one available, too. Total dimensions 3,60m; 1,55m; 0,50m, 38kilo (empty) and 360 kilo (it carrys max.). Motor up to 5,52 kW = 7,5 PS, sail 5,9 qm. The boat is made from one piece PP (Polypropylene), foldable by special edge treatment. Canīt explain it exactly. When its unfolded, it take place like a normal surf-board, just hang or lay it where you like. To buld it up, you bend apart the sides out from the middle, and then the sides a secont time. You have to fix 3 wooden seats (front, middle, back), they hold the sides in the correct way. Then fix the skulls or the sail or the motor and "up īn away it goes". With some training, you fix the boat within 5 minutes. It looks like an hard edged kind of Dingi, you can row it, use a motor (up to 1,47 kW = 2 PS) or sail it with max. 4,7 quadaratmetre. I got only the last years price in DM (forgotten to take new prices on the "BOOT"). The small one about 1200 Euro or about 960 USD. The bigger one about 1600 Euro or 1280 USD. Their webside is www.banana-boot.de There is a similar made one on the market, the design is another, it looks more "doing sport", fun... Itīs construction differ in some details, but made from the same material and with same technique. 3 sizes available, Typ 8 (2,62 metre, 22kilo) for 1475 Euro, about 1180 USD, Typ 10 (3,29metre, 27kilo) for 1553 Euro, about 1240 USD and Typ 12 (3,84metre, 31kilo) for 1760 Euro, about 1400 USD. They are called "Porta-Bote" and their adress is www.kalkuhl-gmbh.de bye Jochen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Feb 14 2002 - 09:02:32 PST
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