This film is part of Free

Maverick Folding-Boat

Fold your boat in half - The Maverick folding-boat demonstration in Exmouth

News 1980 2 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for South West Film and Television Archive

Overview

The Maverick is a foldable seaworthy boat made in Milton Keynes and this film shows it being demonstrated with Westward TV reporter Chris Fear. This boat was bought for £500 in Exmouth and is towed easily to the jetty and unfolded.

Invented in 1969 the Porta-bote became popular in the 1980s when fishing enthusiasts started downsizing and storage became an issue. Made of copolymer polypropylene it is extremely lightweight, flexible and strong and became a boat used by professionals in rescue attempts and by leisure seekers alike. Sold worldwide, the boat was given a makeover in 2013 changing the design and certain folding aspects.