Boat in a bag?

[Expidia]

My next boat (a 24 footer) will have a cuddy, which I'll use for some weekenders. I plan on keeping the Lund too for some short trips and will keep the 24 footer in a marina next season for some longer outings.

Sometimes I'll be on a mooring and will need an inflatable that I can keep in a bag on the bow.

I don't want one that says "West Marine" on it. Or a boat that stays inflated and hangs off the transom.

I don't think I'll need a solid floor or even a motor. I just plan to row it to shore from a near by mooring.

Any suggestions on something I can keep in a bag and just inflate it when needed?

I know Zodiac and Avon brands are top of the line and I've seen a few others online like the Saturn brand that look decent without the high end price of a Zodiac/Avon.

 

[jspringator]

Re: Boat in a bag?

http://www.boatstogo.com/inflatable_boat_sd230.asp

I like my Saturn.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Boat in a bag?

If you're going to keep it deflated and out of the sun most of the time, then the Saturn boat is what I would get just because it's nearly half the cost. The West Marine boats are not bad either, but I can understand about not liking the name. Get a boat with either an inflatable floor or for an even faster set-up, a slatted floor. Both boats roll up tight and don't require any assembly other than perhaps a seat and the oars. An 8' inflatable rolls into a bag about 2 by 4 feet and weighs about 50lbs.

 

[lester]

Re: Boat in a bag?

Saturn will work for your needs, and you can use the saved money on your big boat. I have a Saturn and it is as good as any Zodiac I've ever owned for about half the price.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Boat in a bag?

Saturn will work for your needs, and you can use the saved money on your big boat. I have a Saturn and it is as good as any Zodiac I've ever owned for about half the price.

Thx for your response. The saturn for the money does look good. From what I read on another forum Zodiac owns Avon now and both are made in the far east.

They do say the hypalon material that Avon uses is better than the pvc material.

I'm leaning towards an inflatable floor to keep the weight down since I'll store it on the bow.

 

[Sea Rider]

PVC or Hypalon

PVC or Hypalon

[QUOTE)
They do say the hypalon material that Avon uses is better than the pvc material.


Zodiacs are made of Strongan Duotex fabric, a fancy French name for PVC, Avon are Hypalon as are more expensive Zodiacs. If you do not intend to leave the boat all year round at a beach, excesive sun, etc go for PVC. A Hypalon boat can cost as much as 2-2.5 times more the coast of same PVC model boat.

Happy Boating

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Boat in a bag?

Hypalon much better than PVC.
Frequent bagging and assembly of an inflatable not recommended. You can't do it aboard a cuddy unless you get one of those tiny ones around 7 feet, and even then get an air floor.
You'd get real tired of assembling a solid floor inflatable more than a couple times a season even on dry land.

From what I read on another forum Zodiac owns Avon now

weird...

hope they don't wreck the Avon reputation

 

[Expidia]

Re: Boat in a bag?

If you're going to keep it deflated and out of the sun most of the time, then the Saturn boat is what I would get just because it's nearly half the cost. The West Marine boats are not bad either, but I can understand about not liking the name. Get a boat with either an inflatable floor or for an even faster set-up, a slatted floor. Both boats roll up tight and don't require any assembly other than perhaps a seat and the oars. An 8' inflatable rolls into a bag about 2 by 4 feet and weighs about 50lbs.

This is good info. Thx, it's what I was looking for. I first read that they weigh about 150 lbs and I did not want to store 150 on the bow especially on one side because the boat will be aluminum.

As another poster below noted I also don't want to try and assemble a blow up to often especially if it had a slat or wood floor.

I think you've zeroed in on what my needs are for me . . . an 8 foot boat with an inflatable floor. I guess if I caught one at West over the winter as a close out I could live with it.

Material wise it will be in the bag 98% of the time and the 8 foot should work OK, there are only two of us most of the time, I could always make two trips if I had guests on board a mooring.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Boat in a bag?

http://www.boatstogo.com/inflatable_boat_sd230.asp

I like my Saturn.

This one does look good. Decent price for a quality product but looking at the video it looks tight for two people because of the motor bracket.

I might be better off room wise with one that the tubes go all around. I can probably row faster than a 2.5 outboard. The outboard would just be one more thing to move from my trunk to the boat each outing.

Does that particular tube style with the bracket offer more support for someone sitting on the tube? I do see several people on bigger inflatables sitting all around the tubes when they move from say a sailboat to shore.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Boat in a bag?

i using just for boarding at your regular mooring, you can always leave the inflateable attached to the mooring.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Boat in a bag?

Remember a wood slatted floor is different from a wood panel floor. The slatted floors stay in place and roll up with the boat. If you look at the "Red Star" boat ad on the right side of your screen, you can see what a slatted floor looks like. They're even faster to set up and take down because you don't have to inflate and defalte the floor. The down side is they are not designed to plane, but it doesn't sound like you would need it to anyway. I don't think Saturn sells this type boat, but West Marine does. Good luck, let us know what you decide to get!

 

[trayscool]

Re: Boat in a bag?

We have a 9' Avon with an inflatable keel and wood floor. it is awesome! last year the only motor I had was a 15 hp. we put it on there and had no problems, even though we could only use about half throttle. it towed myself, my girlfriend and my fat dog just fine. i would highly recommend an avon. I am now looking for a 12' roll up and they can be had used for around $700

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: Boat in a bag?

"Quote:
Originally Posted by Expidia
From what I read on another forum Zodiac owns Avon now

weird...

hope they don't wreck the Avon reputation"

The sale was over ten years ago and they immediately wrecked the quality of Avon by changing the materials. Avon, up until then, was the most durable of all Hypalon fabric boats. Avon then went to single layer Hypalon instead of two layers. Npw they are no better or no worse than any other Hypalon boat.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Boat in a bag?

"Quote:
Originally Posted by Expidia
From what I read on another forum Zodiac owns Avon now

weird...

hope they don't wreck the Avon reputation"

The sale was over ten years ago and they immediately wrecked the quality of Avon by changing the materials. Avon, up until then, was the most durable of all Hypalon fabric boats. Avon then went to single layer Hypalon instead of two layers. Npw they are no better or no worse than any other Hypalon boat.

I don't know for sure if that's true. You can't believe anything you just read in a forum.

But I figure their new ones at least are made in China!

 

[SnappingTurtle]

Re: Boat in a bag?

I don't know for sure if that's true. You can't believe anything you just read in a forum.

But I figure their new ones at least are made in China!

When it comes to inflatables, and from TOHATSU GURU, you can believe it.

He is not some new to SIB, just bought one on Ebay, now I know everything expert. He was active in the inflatable industry at a high level, before most posters here knew there was a inflatable industry.

Be nice to him, and if he has time, he will give you more details than you ever wanted know.

 

[SnappingTurtle]

Re: Boat in a bag?

... and go back and read what Drowned Rat wrote again.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Boat in a bag?

Quote:
Originally Posted by lester
Saturn will work for your needs, and you can use the saved money on your big boat. I have a Saturn and it is as good as any Zodiac I've ever owned for about half the price.
Expidia: Thx for your response. The saturn for the money does look good. From what I read on another forum Zodiac owns Avon now and both are made in the far east.

They do say the hypalon material that Avon uses is better than the pvc material.

I'm leaning towards an inflatable floor to keep the weight down since I'll store it on the bow.
__________________
2007 Lund 1425 Classic SS
2007 40 hp Merc 4 stroke EFI ELPT
http://s198.photobucket.com/albums/aa2/expidia/


What Tohatsu Guru was referring to was one of "my" first posts above where "I" read that in another forum.

I didn't want to steer him wrong if he thought what I wrote was the gospel about who makes Zodiac's or Avon's now.

Nice direct marketing advertising on this site as there is now showing a RedStar 9 footer on the right siade of the page for $599 with free shipping, looks like a reasonable price but any of these online vendors can order them from China and slap a name on them. No info listed on the site so it's probably a cheapy.

I could probably reach down to those prices by buying a slightly used Zodiac or Avon on Craigslist. But weight might be an issue with the better boats.

I like the slatted roll up floor option because my Wife is not going to step on a squishy inflatable floor. I know her, I'll have to listen to her complain "every" time she gets into to it (if she doesn't fall overboard, or be pushed hahahaha).

A reviewer of the West's 8 model said he would like to have seen a double layer of slatted floors so that tells me there model is squishy too and it's going to feel more ridgid in the store than on the water.

But I do like West's 50 lb weight factor for storage and tote abillity.

I'm still in the middle decision wise because I'm sure I'd like to upgrade a little so I could use the inflatable to do some fishing in the bays I moor in for the day. It would be nice to drag a worm around with a real small outboard. I know my kids would love to do that when their with us for the day. I might be leaning towards the bracket style now. If I'm going to spend the $ I might as well get more use out of it.

I might be able to snag a small boat and motor used that would fill the bill and just not store it on the bow.

The search continues . . .

 

[Expidia]

Re: Boat in a bag?

This Zodiac model looks good if I'm upgrading but it does not have a slatted wood floor. Maybe I could get it with an optional slatted floor for rolling it up purposes? I could keep the wood floor that it came with in my cars trunk and only assemble it when someone is going to go fishing that day. But for resale value I don't want one made in china. I read West's new Zodiac models are china now.

I do already own a 2 yr old deep cycle battery and a 36 lb thrust Minn Kota that I use with the Lund 15 now.

I'll use the 2007 10hp 4 stroke Merc that I own (but never use on the 15 because of the weight) on the bigger boat for trolling.

Not good for the inflatable, long shaft and heavy. Not portable.

I'd like to get a 2.5 to 5 hp for trolling but I find most are so noisy and idle rough due to the 1 cylinder. I had a 5 hp Honda 4 stroke 2 cyl and sold it because it was noisy, heavy and idled rough. I bought it new 5 years ago and was never happy with this particular Honda.

I quiet 3-5 hp might be the ticket, but I don't want a smelly 2 stroke.

I figure if I buy the inflatable FIRST before I locate the 24 footer, I can always blow up the inflatable, put it in my living room and sit in it while I scroll through on my laptop top searching for the particular model and year I'm in the market for over the winter

 

[SnappingTurtle]

Re: Boat in a bag?

My Hypalon SIB is 20 years old and still does what it is supposed to, often. Quality is worth the extra money if you intend to use it.

As far as your choices are, you need to decide just how often you need to use it, and how often you want to use it. Once you have one, most of the time, you will wish you could do more with it than originally planned, just as you now mentioned in your last post.

I am not a big fan of the middle class boats. They don't cost much less than the small high-end models, but the quality is not much better than the cheapos. You pay for a brand, that was famous for high-end quality decades ago, but is now just a name belonging to a mega-company producing in China.

I would either go cheap, or invest in heavy long term use.

You will spend just as much, if not more if you decide to go for a quality made small dingy with motor, you just won't have the portability of a inflatable, nor will you have the negatives.

As tashasdaddy mentioned you can leave both types permanently moored, but both will have to be watched if you plan on going the motorized way. Little motors have a tendency of swimming off into the blue yonder.

Enjoy the search, take your time, get what suits your needs today & tomorrow, and you will be happy for years.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Boat in a bag?

Thx. What you say is true because that's why I have so many accesories in stock. I try and buy the best so I can transfer them to my next boat each time I upgrade to a bigger boat.

I'm not selling my Lund so since I'm buying my next model used, 1 -3 years old hopefully it will come with accessories so I don't have to buy new ones again.

I need to upgrade to an SUV anyway over the winter so I can transport the bigger boat anyway so getting maybe a 9 footer will be better since I can toss it into the SUV. I'm going to trailer the bigger boat a few times a season (like to Newport RI) and keep it on a different lake each season like Lake Champlain, the Hudson River, Lake George etc.

I don't moor unless it's in a bay for the day or overnight while on a cruising trip. I would never leave the inflatable moored unless boat and motor are locked up. Mostly, a you say, line of site situations like while in a marina restaurant. I'm a freak about getting my stuff stolen even though every things insured it's still an inconvenience and there are deductibles to deal with.

I would either go cheap, or invest in heavy long term use.

You will spend just as much, if not more if you decide to go for a quality made small dingy with motor, you just won't have the portability of a inflatable, nor will you have the negatives.

As tashasdaddy mentioned you can leave both types permanently moored, but both will have to be watched if you plan on going the motorized way. Little motors have a tendency of swimming off into the blue yonder.

Enjoy the search, take your time, get what suits your needs today & tomorrow, and you will be happy for years. [/QUOTE]