Folders don’t require a lot of maintenance. Unlike inflatables, they don’t have deep folds that retain moisture when dismantled for storage – mine are usually dry inside and out by the time I get back from paddling – if not they can easily be wiped down with a towel.
You do need to lubricate the aluminum frame joints with Boeshield T-9 to prevent them from freezing together from corrosion if you paddle in salt water and don’t have a way to flush the boat out with fresh water and intend to leave it assembled. You can get little drip bottles or spray bottles at bicycle shops though you might have to get it or something like it from a marine supply shop. And, as with inflatables, you have to remember to open the valves in the blow up sponsons and seats when you bring the boat off the water, especially in hot weather, since expansion with overheating can rupture a seam (all folders come with patch kits and the repairs are simple but not something you want to do a lot.)
Folders are perfect for apartment dwellers which is one reason they are so popular in Europe and Asia, where a lot of people have small living spaces in densely populated cities. In fact my largest folder, the 15’ 9" Feathercraft Wisper I bought from a couple who had two of them – they bought them to spent a month touring the Adriatic and Ionian Sea coasts from Greece to Croatia, camping on beaches out of the kayaks. They sold the two boats to buy a Feathercraft tandem K-2. The Wisper is an amazing boat but Feathercraft closed their business 3 years ago so their models are no longer available unless you find a used one. Quite costly – almost $5,000 new (I paid $2,200 for mine used.)
I know an American who has a vacation home on the Bay of Kotor, Macedonia, off the Adriatic. He uses folding kayaks for their family trips there.
If you are curious about folders, there is a forum at foldingkayaks.org similar to this one that is devoted to all kinds of collapsible boats.
Pakboats is a fairly small operation, located in New Hampshire, USA, though the brand has international distribution. They are pretty responsive to questions if you ever want to contact them about availability and shipping overseas (contact info on their website). The owner and boat designer, Alv Elvestad, is a native of Sweden and often travels back to Europe.
They did suffer a terrible fire earlier this year that burned up one of their warehouses and they lost a couple of hundred boats, but they should have their inventory back up by now (though our idiot president’s trade war with China may be making things tough for a lot of kayak importers, since many of their components and boats are sourced from Asia.)
