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any advice on inflatable boats??

Submitted by scottbec on Tue, 2013-04-30 09:32

Hi All,

I am just chasing some advice / thoughts in regards to inflatable boats.

We tow a caravan and also have a large kayak on the roof of the 4x4, so we are looking a the option of an inflatable as we cant take a roof topper tinny... 

We have found a few big ones (up to 4.7m) which roll up into a nice big bag and were wondering how sea-worthy they are and if they are a practical option. Are they a hassle to pump up and is there really a risk of a stray hook sending us buzzing around the ocean as it deflates...

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Scott

 

‹ 40HP Merc won't start after running dry at full-throttle tell me your fuel useage ›

Jayden20

Jayden20's picture

Posts: 672

Date Joined: 29/08/11

 fold up boat??

Tue, 2013-04-30 12:15

 fold up boat??

scottbec

Posts: 242

Date Joined: 18/01/07

we've had a look at them, but

Tue, 2013-04-30 14:28

we've had a look at them, but seem to hear more negative reports than positives...

Likc

Posts: 361

Date Joined: 09/08/09

I’ve had a 3m inflatable,

Tue, 2013-04-30 13:31

I’ve had a 3m inflatable, just a cheap one and unless it was really calm, I got wet and it was like sitting in a bath tub. I think anything without a hard floor will be similar because it just bends and twists with waves.  

mjohns

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Posts: 337

Date Joined: 11/01/07

You can get ones with hard

Tue, 2013-04-30 14:45

You can get ones with hard wood floors aswell,

 

I had one years back, a bitch to row i know that much!!

scottbec

Posts: 242

Date Joined: 18/01/07

cheers guys - we are looking

Tue, 2013-04-30 16:18

cheers guys - we are looking at some with ali floors, so hopefully they would be fairly rigid.

 

tigerfish

Posts: 88

Date Joined: 20/08/10

 I've had a couple of

Tue, 2013-04-30 19:23

 I've had a couple of inflatables before. Last one was a Dhuwest 3.8m with an aluminium deck and 25hp motor (they are chinese made import but decent qualityand I think site sponsors WaterworldWA are dealers for them). Main drawbacks to fold up inflatables are:-

  • They do take some effort to put together (mainly the inserting the deck sections - airdeck ones avoid this but not as stable to stand on). I would suggest going through putting it together in the shop before you commit to buy.
  • The bigger models (3.8 to 4.2m) ones are pretty heavy and unweildy when rolled up in the bag, and a decent size motor (i'd suggest minimum 15hp for bigger models) would weigh a bit too.
  • They sit very low in the water and are generally a wet ride in any sort of chop
  • They do have a limited lifespan. Most of the cheaper ones are made from PVC and will degrade especially if they spend a lot of time in the sun.
  • Punctures are obviously a worry but not as big a deal as people think. You would really struggle to puncture with a fish hook (gaff would be a different story though)
  • Difficult to launch/ move - ideally need some dinghy wheels or a folding trailer

Plus points:-

  • They go like s**t off a greased shovel with a relatively small motor. Mine with a 25hp was borderline dangerous
  • They are very stable and pretty much impossible to sink or tip
  • Can take a lot of people for their size "sitting on pontoons"

scottbec

Posts: 242

Date Joined: 18/01/07

 thanks tigerfish, thats just

Tue, 2013-04-30 19:32

 thanks tigerfish, thats just the sort of info i was chasing. cheers