Suzuki 2.5hp = 3.5hp?

It's been a hectic week on the Portabote forum with a debate as to whether the Suzuki 2.5 hp 4 stroke outboard actually has an output of 3.5 hp.
What raised this topic was a couple of statements on the Portabote Suzuki Marine page where it was stated that a Suzuki 2.5 hp was as powerful as most 3.5 hp outboards and a 4 hp was as powerful as most 5 hp outboards. This topic was raised due to a query in the forum as to whether a 2.5 hp or a 3.5 hp should be bought by a particular new bote owner.
Once those statements were challenged things heated up a bit on the forum.
I decided to contact Suzuki Marine here in Oz and also in the US and ask for clarification.
Once I posted my findings on the forum, discussion continued with me copping a bit of flack from Portabote and a couple of forum members.
Finally Sandy decided to contact Suzuki himself and this was his next post:

"From Sandy

Because of the claims and counter claims made, I finally got through to one of the top people at Suzuki this morning.
I explained to him that years ago, when we first joined with Suzuki and were developing our site, we worked with a promotion company that Suzuki was using at that time.
When we asked them how come Suzuki doesn't have a 3.5hp or a 5hp in this country, they told us that the 2.5hp-was as powerful as a 3.5hp and the 4hp-was as powerful as a 5hp.


As a result, we had the statements on our site for many years.


Jon told me Suzuki hadn't used this company for years and to remove those two statements - which we just did.
I, again, asked him "point blank" is there any truth at all to this? He just reiterated, "Sandy, please remove those two statements".

So, thanks to Mat for "sticking to his guns on this topic. What we took as a given

was wrong. Thanks again, Mat. Now, we and two other Suzuki nationwide dealers no longer have this claim on our sites.

Ironically, we have found the main reason most folks purchase the 2.5hp model is the 29 pound weight and the good reputation that Suzuki has developed over the past half century (they make fine motorcycles, also)."

The 29 pound that Sandy is referring to equates to around 13kg.

I think it would have been a difficult thing to make that statement in a public forum so kudos to Sandy for his actions here. I only wish that he'd gotten my name right :)

Cheers,
Matt

I bought myself a PortaBote

Since I started my blog, the relationship between myself and Portabote seems to have gone downhill.
I have tried and tried to get Portabote on board.
Mostly what I've received from Portabote has been misrepresentation and misinformation concerning the new Alpha series, To the point now that I prefer to get information from the users in the forum instead of Portabote itself.  I wanted to do a comparison between the Quickboat and the Portabote and while Quickboat has been keen, Portabote seems very reluctant and I think I know why.

Portabote still has a flexing transom, what I consider to be its Achilles Heel. Even with the new Alpha series and its folding transom. It still flexes.
The problem with that is the fact that you cannot set the outboard angle for maximum performance as the outboard will hit the back of the boat according to recent posts.
This in turn makes steering difficult if not dangerous and can cause damage to the bote itself.
For the life of me I do not know why the transom has been made so flimsy on the Alpha series.

Over the years there have been plenty of posts in the Portabote Forum praising the patented "Flexi Hull" but I have yet to see one post praising the flexing transom.
There have been quite a few posts in regard to the flexing transom, but not one positive that I have seen.
In fact, owners have gone to great lengths to try and strengthen the transom to prevent it from flexing.
They are still trying to strengthen the new Alpha series transom too.

Whenever the subject turns to the flex in the transom, a magician's sleight of hand trick (almost a Jedi mind trick)  seems to divert the conversation from the flexing transom to the "Patented Flexi Hull", thus ends the conversation with no further input from Portabote.
I agree that the flexi-hull is great in choppy water. It does absorb the wave action and gives you a smoother ride than in an aluminium boat.
It does what it says on the box but in my opinion, not as well as Portabote would have us believe.

Along with the flexi-hull comes limitations that Portabote seem to me to be reluctant to discuss.

One such limitation is the loss of performance in that the speed of the Portabote is reduced to around 15 mph (Roughly 24 kph).
According to Portabote, the bote becomes "squirrelly" after that speed.

A couple of people in the forum have even strengthened the hull on their portabote to improve performance.

When I first bought my Portabote, there was no alternative. It was a Portabote or nothing if you wanted a folding boat.

Now there are other options.

It is good for the folding boat market to have healthy competition, a choice.

Early on in my blog I was asked which I preferred, a Portabote or a Quickboat.

I still say now what I said then, It's horses for courses. If you are happy with the Portabote and it suits your needs then go for it. If you want something a little more rigid, then go for that too.

I have had a bit more experience with the Quickboat now and after owning a Portabote and having been in a Quickboat a few times this is how I feel now on the subject.

My Portabote

I bought myself a Portabote
about 6 years ago

If I knew then what I know now

That it would go so slow
Its hull does flex
And that's for sure
But its transom?
What's the go?
It appears to be an Achilles Heel
For my Portabote so slow
I've had my bote at quite high speeds
80k's or more
But that soon stopped
To my dismay
When my trailer reached the shore,
If only I could trailer it
Down the river too
I'd keep up with that Quickboat there
Disappearing from my view.

I would have to also say that there are many people happy with their Portabote.
This is obvious from a recent post on the Portabote Forum:

" I travel about 6 months a year in my rv and where I go there is water from Alsaka (fishing 10 miles out in very good weather), on most rivers in the northwest of the U.S. and a lot of lakes (lake mead, flaming gorge, lake Powell. Columbia River buoy 10 in not so good weather, but all in all I'm fishing on the water or sightseeing. That means a lot to have a boat that's safe and goes with you were ever."

Not everyone needs to travel at speed to get to where they are going. In fact sometimes it is good to be able to sit back and relax, take in the scenery. I do enjoy early morning treks on the river. The only issue I have is when I want to get to a favourite fishing spot in a hurry. Perhaps if I'd bought a 12' boat instead of the 10' boat, I'd be able to add a larger outboard but the 12' boat is too heavy for me to handle by myself. Even Col from Portabote here in Australia said that he would not sell me a 12' bote due to it being more difficult to handle with my medical condition.

Quickboats sold out until October 2015

I just received a newsletter from Quickboats, Australia informing us that the Quickboat has sold out world-wide until Oct 2015.
They are still getting plenty of inquiries including hordes of inquiries from USA and Canada as to when the Quickboat will be available there.
At one time a second hand PortaBote was as scarce as hens teeth here in Oz but there seems to be quite a few available now if that is your preference..

Trim your boat/bote

There is an interesting article on trimming your outboard on the Club Marine website.
It helps to explain the benefits of trimming and the effects of not trimming correctly.

You can check it out here.

Folding transom.

Talk continues on the Portabote forum in regard to the new Alpha series and its folding transom.

The concept is brilliant and saves having to carry the transom separately. It does add extra weight to the hull but I believe that the seats have been made lighter to compensate partially for the extra weight.

Again a new Alpha series owner is trying to overcome problems with what may be its Achilles heel as the transom still flexes, allowing the outboard to hit the back of the bote unless set on the third hole.
This, according to both my own experience and recent posts on the forum also decreases performance, which is why some are trying to modify their new bote already.
While the owner still loves his bote, I feel that you should not have to overcome what some consider an inherent weakness on a new product.

Alpha series feedback.

There has been some very good feedback on the new Alpha Series Portabote on the forum from a new owner.

This is what he had to say:

The good:

The PB is quick considering the 6hp motor. It planes in flat water with my wife, our 100lb dog and myself at 390lb. total plus 3gal. of gas. Or it will plane with my dog and myself with 1’ chop.

We have plenty of space for cooler, fishing gear etc.

The hull seems to be tough.

It behaves well on the davits with cross ties.

The fast folding feature of the new PB is for me an important advantage as I will not leave it on my boat while at the dock.

The not so good:

My first mate (and I) finds the PB unstable compared to our Apex. She does not like it so far.

When our dog shifts from one side to the other, both, my first mate and I have to do some shifting as well immediately to keep the boat stable.

Our dog just does not like it. He cannot find a comfortable position on longer rides and going in and out is not practical for him, especially at the beach. He loves the rides on inflatables or any other floating toy like paddle boards, Hobies etc..

Assembling would take 4 to 5 minutes if the locking pins on the seats would align well, they don’t.

The foldable transom looks not up to the task to me (at least not with a 58lb. OB); time will tell how long it will last.

After the first 20 minutes of using the PB I found some small nylock nuts on the floor. The bolts they belong to at the transomare too short and the threads never reached the nylon for locking. 
Put them on, once back at the boat, just to find them loose again after another half hour ride.

The 4 wing nuts locking the transom have to be constantly tightened. (missing pressure washer?)

The black seats get so hot in the sun that you cannot sit on them without putting a towel or similar on top.

Picked two friends up at the local dock and returning to the boat,about two miles into an 18knt wind with 1’ chop was very wet for the person sitting in front.

Going fast with one person on board, the ride feels wiggly as the boat does not track too well at high speed.

Once I get back home I will install proper ball locking pins well aligned, right sized screws and replacing the bolts with the wing nuts on the transom with ball locking pins and flange bearings. The seats I will flame treat as they are plastic and spray paint with grey epoxy paint including the black close cell foam around the inside of the gunwales. Once all this is taken care of I think the PB will serve me well having the choice to use the Apex when conditions require.

The dog and myself are getting used to the PB, not so the first mate, so far.

I don’t think I will ever use it to surf in 5 foot waves, as mentioned in some other forum.

Feedback Update.

There has been an update on the Portabote forum in regard to the information above.

Copperfire103 has had his Alpha series for 12 months now.

Due to issues he was having he decided to make a few modifications, including modifying the folding transom. After modifying the Alpha series transom he says that now it is rock solid and is a lot happier now.

His "First mate" and his dog seem to be a lot happier now too.

You can see what he had to say here.

Sandy's response to this feed back was:

Hi there,
Thanks for the detailed good and not so good issues with your new Porta-Bote.
I think once you get used to the important flexing you will be able to enjoy the Bote much more.
To see more important details, please click on:
http://www.porta-bote.com/faq/stability

I will notify the factory about the loose lock nuts.
Thanks again for taking the time to report to us.

Fair Winds,

Portatech

It is interesting that I recall an earlier complaint in regard to the wing nuts coming loose on the Alpha series.
At that time it was suggested by Sandy that the wrong length screws were supplied and he offered to replace them free of charge.

It still appears to be an issue.

I believe that the "important flexing" is what is responsible for the high speed instability.
Again. it's a matter of "horses for courses".
What may be suitable for one person or situation may be unsuitable for another person or situation.

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