A folding boat is usually a smaller

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

, typically ranging from about 2 to nearly . Folding boats can be carried by one or two persons, and comfortably fit into a car trunk when packed. They come in several varieties. There are

folding kayak A folding kayak is a direct descendant of the original Inuit kayak made of animal skins stretched over frames made from wood and bones. A modern folder has a collapsible frame made of some combination of wood, aluminium and plastic, and a skin m ...

s and folding

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

s. These types often use a wooden or aluminum frame and PVC or waterproof fabric for the hull. Other folding boats consist of plastic sheets or marine

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

, resembling

origami ) is the Japanese paper art, art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of pape ...

. Although there is much to be said of the advantages of a folding boat, they are not commonplace in boating. Aluminium and inflatable alternatives are far more prevalent despite some folding boats such as the

Seahopper Seahopper is a brand of wooden folding boats, built in Wellington, Somerset, England. Since 1974, more than 7000 Seahoppers have been built in this yard. Seahoppers are built from plywood, with a PVC membrane. History The Seahopper was develo ...

having been sold for several decades. Sailing versions are particularly popular. Folding boats have been in use for some time with Shellbend folding boats being developed in the 1890s by Mellard Treleaven Reade. They were constructed from mahogany and canvas.

Related types

Traditional boats in the same category as folding boats include inflatable

dinghies A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...

and small aluminium boats (tinnies). Inflatable boats try to solve the portability problem with an inflatable

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

and side pods. This allows better storage and weight advantages. The main problems of these craft are that they are still quite heavy, they can puncture while on the water and can be time-consuming to inflate and deflate for usage. Folding boats require in the order of 10 to 15 minutes to set up and put away but are much tougher than an inflatable craft, and may ultimately be smaller in storage as an inflatable boat may have hard board components for the floor.

Aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

boats cannot be disassembled, and the folding boat of space-age material is stronger than aluminium, while the strength to weight of some wooden ply is actually better than aluminium. The lower stiffness and rigidity may add to potential safety of a folding boat by allowing it to flex over waves. This stops the boat from the rocking effect of an inflexible boat.

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Some folding boats have a transom for attaching an electric or petrol engine outboard. These are usually in the order of 2 - 4 HP but can be up to 10HP. Electric motors are versatile on a folding boat and are well suited to calm water fishing due to low noise and weight.

Models

OutDoor 2018, Friedrichshafen (1X7A9969)

Folding boats of various types and makes have been created over time. Among them are: * Berthon Collapsible Lifeboat * Engelhardt collapsible lifeboats, as used on the ''Titanic'' *

Flat-Out-Boat The Quickboat is a folding boat, based on the flat-out-boat geometry. It is constructed using composites with high density foam cores. The first boats were due for release to the public in mid-2013. Before release, the Quickboat was expected to ...

Folding kayak A folding kayak is a direct descendant of the original Inuit kayak made of animal skins stretched over frames made from wood and bones. A modern folder has a collapsible frame made of some combination of wood, aluminium and plastic, and a skin m ...

* Frankton *

InstaBoat The InstaBoat is a portable, aluminium folding boat. It first came onto the market in 1978, and has undergone many changes over the years. References Folding boats {{boat-stub ...

* Porta-bote *

Quickboat The Quickboat is a folding boat, based on the flat-out-boat geometry. It is constructed using composites with high density foam cores. The first boats were due for release to the public in mid-2013. Before release, the Quickboat was expected to ...

* Shellbend

References

External links

{{commons category, position=left, Folding boats Folding boats

Related types

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Models

See also

References

External links