If I had to give an opinion right now I would have to say dissappointed.  I'm not sure where to start so this may sound rather rambling but hang with me. 

The seams are really stiff.  Unfolding the boat is work, and folding it back up is even worse.  This makes putting it together and taking it back apart very difficult.  Porta-bote does say the seams will loosen with use and that over time it gets much easier so will have to wait and see.  This is the major complaint with the boat itself.  If this works out it will make a huge difference.

Portable is a stretch, at least with the 12 1/2 foot model.  I can't imagine even two people being able to handle the 14 foot job.  One person can handle the 12 1/2 footer but it is much harder than the listed weight of 69 pounds would make you think.  It is so bulky and not being able to keep it folded completely make it work to move around.  Plus it's so flexible it kind of bounces around.  I ended up strapping the thing closed with bungee cords to move it at all.  I'm a big guy, 6' 2" and 225 and it's pretty much at my limit to move the boat around.  I would highly recommend anyone any smaller consider one of the two smaller porta-botes.  I had considered going with the 10' 8" model but went ahead with this one because I have a niece and a nephew that like to fish and this one would allow all three of us to go at the same time.  Now I wonder if it was worth it.  This is not a knock at the concept of porta-bote, just what to expect to get into when getting the larger sizes.

Stability next.  On their web site they have several pictures of people standing up in the boat doing different things.  I COULD stand up in it but it was not a comfortable feeling.  The floor is extremely flexible and standing was quite a chore with the boat deforming under foot.  No way I would try to do anything that required movement, such as casting, while standing up.  Maybe if I were shorter with a lower center of gravity and didn't weigh so much it would be possible.  I'll find out when my niece, about 5' 1" and 115 guessing, or my nephew, again guessing 5' 6" 150, go with me sometime.  Sitting, the boat was pretty stable.  I could slide to the edge of the seat, slowly, without feeling the boat was going to flip.  Even with my weight it would shift,  but not uncomfortably so.

The boat was quite roomy.  I had a battery, a small cooler, two tackle bags, two tackle boxes, and five rods and still had plenty of room for another person with a couple of boxes or bags and not be cramped.  Extra rods are going to be more of a problem with two people.  Alone I just put them across the other two seats spread out for easy access.  With another person the are going to have to be put against the side of the boat which will mean more tangles  but shouldn't present that much of a problem.  Three people, if at least one or two are small, should fit fine too even with a lot of tackle.  Extra rods will be limited or I think you would be taking a chance on getting them stepped or sat on.  Casting room will also be limited with three people but in my case at least there will probably be three people only if we all go out at night and drift fish for catfish so that's not a problem.

The boat handled fine moving along quite nicely with a 40 lb mk maxxum transom mounted.  Responsive to even fairly small changes of thrust and turning nicely.  Was also pretty quiet.  Much more forgiving to moving around or dropping lures and stuff than an aluminum jon boat or even the rigid plastic bass hunter type boats.

Now a couple of points that aren't subjective.  The optional bow trolling motor mount, allows bow mount of a transom mount motor, is not big enough.  The plate you clamp the motor to will not allow me to clamp my maxxum motor to it.  It's about an inch too short and too narrow.  I could clamp the motor on if I moved it around just right but the clamps hung over the edges and I decided it wasn't worth losing the motor to try to use it and switched back to transom mounting until I can do something about it.  I also ordered the porta-dolly, a set of clamp on wheels to allow you to roll the assembled and loaded boat to the water.  They worked ok on the flat hard packed dirt near the car but once I got onto slightly rougher ground the boat would flex and one of the wheels would fly off.  They claim you can use the porta-dolly on all kinds of ground but that doesn't appear to work in my case.  I couldn't roll the boat more than two feet before the wheel would pop off again.  If you are going to be using it on pavement or hard packed level ground it may be worth it, but otherwise I would say pass on it.

I think that about covers it.  If I've forgotten anything and you have any questions please ask.  Do remember these are my impressions after only one time out.  The biggest thing for me is if the hinges loosen up with use.  If they do I'll be MUCH more pleased with the boat.  I also want to take it out with one and two people with me.  That may be a while though.  My niece won't be home from NYU for a few weeks yet and my nephew plays high school baseball so is pretty much tied up during the week and being 17 his weekends are pretty busy too.  Once school is out he should be able to free up some time for fishing.  So expect another review or two in the next few weeks.

I did take a few pictures but it was 11 pm when I got home last night and I didn't unload the car.  So my camera is at work with my wife right now.  I'll post a couple of pictures either later tonight or sometime tomorrow as time allows.

Same here waiting to see the pics.    I think over time and once your a bit more comfortable with it you will like it better.

I don't think it's really getting used to it.  It's incredibly simple really. (should have covered this in the review) There are two pins each holding in the three seats and four bolts that hold in the transom.  That's it.  In theory it shouldn't take ten minutes to put it together.  Open boat, stick in middle seat, put in pins, repeat for front and rear seat.  Drop in transom, put in four bolts with wing nuts.  No tools required. But the thing is so sinker stiff it's hard to get it open enough to get the holes lined up for the pins or the bolts and putting in that first seat is really hard.  Taking it apart is really pretty easy, I did it in the dark last night without a flashlight, took ten minutes and that includes carrying the seats and transom up the hill to the car.  The hard part is folding it back up again.  I have to walk on it to fold it and then crawl along it while I put bungee cords around it to hold it together.  Takes longer to fold than to take apart.  They do say right up front in the instructions that the hinges are stiff and to give it time so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.  That's why I really want to use it for a while before I give a solid opinion on it.  I have hopes that I'll like it better once it's "broken in" so to speak.

That's pretty darn neat! 

Any new opinions on this boat ka4iqd?