Inflatable boats
- Thread starter Todd780
- Start date
SDDiver5
Expedition Leader
Lol
You don't understand how and inflatable is doable with an inflatable??????
Let me clarify, mounting an inflatable to the roof of your vehicle is doable when taking said inflatable to and from the lake.
Boom.
Although we currently have kayaks a SOAR canoe is in our near future. They fit in a large duffle, can be self bailing and have options for a rowing frame or motor mount.
Cheers,
Scot
https://soar1.com/soar-16/
Cheers,
Scot
https://soar1.com/soar-16/
F350joe
Well-known member
Something else to consider with inflatables…. Glued seams are more flexible and better for folding it up for storage but only last about 5 years. Welded seams don’t like to be folded and can leak if they are, prefer to stay inflated, but last forever.
A grumman 19’ square stern canoe or bigger Portabote, i think, would be good choices for you. Both are super tough, just different experience, can go on the roof and are easy to set up and tear down. I have an electric motor for my canoe as well as a 9.9hp Tohatsu and a 1940s 1.5hp Envinrude. They all have uses depending on the trip.
I’ve been down the inflatable road and they just not that fun. They dont like rocks and dirt, don't paddle well, pain to set up and bigger pain to put away when camp dirty and wet.
A grumman 19’ square stern canoe or bigger Portabote, i think, would be good choices for you. Both are super tough, just different experience, can go on the roof and are easy to set up and tear down. I have an electric motor for my canoe as well as a 9.9hp Tohatsu and a 1940s 1.5hp Envinrude. They all have uses depending on the trip.
I’ve been down the inflatable road and they just not that fun. They dont like rocks and dirt, don't paddle well, pain to set up and bigger pain to put away when camp dirty and wet.
DirtWhiskey
Western Dirt Rat
I was going to suggest a moto-cat like you have. They are great especially with a drop stitch floor. What exactly do you not like about it? Seems like a great portable solution. I personally don't mind dealing with wet inflatables, but I'm sort of a river rat. I have four packrafts, a 3 man SOAR inflatable canoe, a 2 man IK, various SUPS and a 14 foot cataraft that I'm just now outfitting. In truth inflatables are probably the only practical solution in a compact, portable size. Not too hard to rig a framed raft/cat with temporary wheels for shuttling the boat to and from camp on the lake. You can easily store them on a roof if you don't want to trailer, although trailering is easy. Also, I have multiple craft in PCV, Hypalon and urethane, a hodgepodge of glued and welded seams, some of them over 15 years old and have never had a seam failure. YMMV of course.
RAD rig BTW! Love to see more of it, do you have a build thread?
The_Squid
Member
I have a Stryker HD 380. 12'5". It's collapsible, solid aluminum floor, inflatable keel. Works fantastic. Rated for 30hp. I have a 15hp Mercury outboard for it and it easily gets up on plane and does 30 km/hr (19 mph). The 6hp Mercury doesn't get it going as well (12 km/hr), but is adequate for smaller lakes.
stryker-hd-380-12-5-inflatable-boat
ABBB
Well-known member
I can’t account for the dude who’s experience was that they fail in cold water, but I spent some time in Svalbard and they use zodiac boats everywhere up there. After a backpacking trip we were picked up on one and ferried a couple hours back and it was driven like it could slam into an iceberg or whale or 10ft swell and breeze on by. My tailbone wasn’t so lucky…
I can’t imagine the locals, tour companies, and Norwegian authorities would invest in these things if they failed in cold water.
I can’t imagine the locals, tour companies, and Norwegian authorities would invest in these things if they failed in cold water.
F350joe
Well-known member
I sold that rig and miss it but We’re the Russos on Youtube bought it and have taken it to the next level, they have a walk around on their channel.
older glued seams were much better, the new stuff has about a 5 year life span. Welded seams will last forever if you keep the boat inflated or don’t work the seams too much. Loved the Cat in the pic but it literally fell apart and i got sick of chasing and patching leaks. There are some really good inflatables, like a Zodiac in Hypalon, but for that kind of money you can have a boat that wont pop and last a lifetime. Just have to store it on the roof where an inflatable can get rolled up and put the the truck bed. There are trade offs with every set up, i just wanted to share my experience to add some insight. If I were to do another inflatable it would be a quality cat, no glue nor urethane.
lost1
Member
Although it is convenient for camping, weekend getaways, boondocking etc, a boat trailer adds a level of complexity to an overland setup especially if its only for purposes of moving a boat. I love my zodiac but it takes up too much room when folded and can't really be used for much else than a boat. The hard floors could be used for table or ground mat, but the voluminous parts such as motor, fuel, and boat itself have limited use. My last trip was with inflateable stand-up paddleboards which take up considerably less space but for the amount of use they got, it would have been easier to rent or leave them behind,
Deleted Member 183
Well-known member
For several years we made our annual trip down into Baja with a 12' Aquapro (from NZ) aluminum hulled RIB and a Yamaha 25 hp 4-stroke. It was definitely fun when we were staying somewhere for a week or 2, and even more fun when we had friends come hang with us at one of our many "secret spots" on either side of the peninsula. Then honestly it just got to be too much work for the pleasure. Here are some of the factors that got me to swap out the RIB for an inexpensive sit on top kayak:
* I liked snorkeling off of it, and exploring up and down the coastline of wherever we were, but my girl didn't!
* While "boating" on the Sea of Cortez is very relaxing and benign. The Pacific can be a WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY! On one episode I was out exploring on a beautiful clear day with a buddy of mine that is a Tuna boat captain out of San Diego and we were having a great old time... Then he "perks up" and I ask him "what up Dood"? He then screams at me "move to the bow of the boat and lay over the front of it, I'm taking the tiller"! Totally confused, I did as I was told and he turns the boat towards the beach, guns the outboard at throttle a full throttle. So I looking toward shore and see a 4'~5' wave coming towards us! My confusion quickly clears and I realize we are about to get hit by the beginning of a "Norte" ( the Diablo winds)! So I hold on tight and we hit wind driven wave, get air, land and make it safely back to shore. No harm, no foul!
So that evening I can see that my buddy was still "twitterpated" and I ask "What's up man?"
He asks "Joaquin, you know in the US we have the Coast Guard right?" I nodded I did.
He then explained that there was no such thing in Mexico, then asked if I knew what the next land mass we'd drift to if the motor had failed us.
I admitted I didn't... And he jumped out of his camp chair and screamed "JAPAN"!!!
So that is why we just travel with a kayak and I stay less than 100 meters from the shore! Worst case, i bail off the kayak, swim to shore and let the kayak travel to Japan without me!
* I liked snorkeling off of it, and exploring up and down the coastline of wherever we were, but my girl didn't!
* While "boating" on the Sea of Cortez is very relaxing and benign. The Pacific can be a WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY! On one episode I was out exploring on a beautiful clear day with a buddy of mine that is a Tuna boat captain out of San Diego and we were having a great old time... Then he "perks up" and I ask him "what up Dood"? He then screams at me "move to the bow of the boat and lay over the front of it, I'm taking the tiller"! Totally confused, I did as I was told and he turns the boat towards the beach, guns the outboard at throttle a full throttle. So I looking toward shore and see a 4'~5' wave coming towards us! My confusion quickly clears and I realize we are about to get hit by the beginning of a "Norte" ( the Diablo winds)! So I hold on tight and we hit wind driven wave, get air, land and make it safely back to shore. No harm, no foul!
So that evening I can see that my buddy was still "twitterpated" and I ask "What's up man?"
He asks "Joaquin, you know in the US we have the Coast Guard right?" I nodded I did.
He then explained that there was no such thing in Mexico, then asked if I knew what the next land mass we'd drift to if the motor had failed us.
I admitted I didn't... And he jumped out of his camp chair and screamed "JAPAN"!!!
So that is why we just travel with a kayak and I stay less than 100 meters from the shore! Worst case, i bail off the kayak, swim to shore and let the kayak travel to Japan without me!
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Alloy
Well-known member
Should be upside down though.
Bran Comew
New member
Although Zodiacs are tough, they’re not immune to damage, and you'll need to watch out for sharp objects that could puncture them. Over time, you might find yourself patching leaks more often. Performance-wise, they can't match rigid hull boats in terms of speed or handling, especially in rougher waters.
Another Stryker boat owner here. I have the Pro 420. Although you can deflate and fold up, it’s a chore. So I trailer mine. 25hp Yamaha on it. It’s built out for fishing and it does it’s job well. Welded seams. I’ve had it in some pretty sketchy situations and it has done great.