Re: mariner 4 or sea eagle fishermans package
My Mariner 4 arrived today! First Impressions:
Dispite their advertizing, Amazon sent the 2013 model boat i.e. red, not yellow trim, and the solid plastic motor mount. I am happy in both cases. The boat supposedly has only changed trim color, so why not get the latest? The motor mount, though not marine grade plywood, just looks nicer and more durable.
Having familiarized myself with any negatives in the reviews, I focused on those areas first. The oars have been described as short and light weight. While I can't speak to the length yet, they appear to very solidly made. Perhaps these have been upgraded, but nothing I saw inspired any concren in that regard. The floor slats, while solid, are inserted in a fairly flimsy sleeve-like bottom, and do have a tendancy to fall out, when not installed. This could definitely do with improvement. For my needs (raised swivle seats) a solid floor will have to be made. The material throughout the oat looks good and solid and the 4 Boston Valves are actually recessed! They are also solidly made, particularly when considering the competition's new valves. Quite impressive! The seats are so-so, apparently made well enough and comfortable, but they sit low in the boat. Again, I intend to custom make new ones. The hand pump works well enough, particularly given its size but I will still use my electric pump to do most of the filling, and only top it off with the hand pump. The owner's manual that comes with the boat seems to function more to give safety advice than any sort of assembly instructions e.g. there are several warnings not to over inflate and by each valve there is a line marked out to be 10 cm, but I can only assume how it is intended to be used - put a ruler beside it and if the line is 'stretched' to longer than 10 cm, I guess you are over inflated. The manual gives no clue. As photos illustrate, there are 2 pole holders, one on the back left and one on the front right. This positioning is great if there are 2 in the boat, but a 2nd for the person steering the boat would be appreciated. I often swap out a light weight casting rod for a slightly heavier one for trolling. This is minor.
The other detail that just jumps out at you, in addition to the aparent quality, is the size of the thing! My previous inflatable, the Sevylor HF360 is 1.5' longer, overall, but this boat is actually 1.5' longer inside! The tube size obviously accounts for this and is why the former is rated to hold 1,200 lbs, while this one holds 880lbs. But what a difference. I regularly took my 12' boat out alone and the fit was good, though tight with 2 adults fishing. Sitting alone in this one, admittedly in my living room, it feels positively huge, and I get no feeling of a shorter overall length. I would imagine it to be spacious even with another fishing adult in it.
I plan to take tomorrow off and take it on its maiden voyage on a local lake.
So far, the Intex Mariner 4 easily met or beat all my expectations. I'll report back on anything I learn after being on the water.
