Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

[illi13]

Hi. I am new to boating and glad that I found this forum. I am looking into buying my first inflatable and after some research have narrowed my options down to Mariner 4 and Sea Eagle 124. I can see that M4 is very popular boat, which is not the case with Sea Eagle boats. I am trying to figure out if the price difference between these tow is really worth it ($280 vs $750).
My main question is about the boat material: they both are made of PVC, so I am trying to find out if SE is much tougher than M4? Any other reasons to pay extra for SE? I also heard that Intex customer support is very poor, contrary to SE...
I searched and found several similar threads, but did not really see any good answers, so any help will be really appreciated.

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Welcome to Iboats,

Both inflatables are of very thin material, less than half of a regular standard inflatable. A real crime to state tough made material. Down issue is that both have thermo pleated seams which require much less pressure, if overly inflated you could blow seam side. Will have a less rigid inflatable compared to a standard sib if wanting to add a small engine.

Which type of boating do you intend to do to start with ? Both mentioned sibs are first entry inflatables, much cool than to be stranded on a beach specially during summer. Boating is fascinating, if you plan to make it a permanent sport would advise to go to the next sib category which costs more, but it's more fun to enjoy...

BTW, would prefer the Mariner versus the crappy Sea Eagle.

Happy Boating

 

[Guest]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Welcome to Iboats! I agree with SeaRider, If you plan to row around a small lake I would go for the M4. If you want to go into salt water, rivers and big lakes invest in an inflatable such as Saturn, Zodiac, Achilles or Mercury quicksilver. You can buy a nice small SIB for $750

 

[illi13]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Thanks a lot for quick replies! At this point I am only going to be fishing and taking my family out on small lakes and may be some mellow rivers here around Portland. I was going to buy Minn Kota Max 45 as well for it. Not planning to go to the ocean or any kinds of rapids. I do not have a storage to keep or transport the boat inflated, so I need to deflate every time. Because of the price difference between SE124 and M4 I thought there must be something superior in SE. Also from what I understand there is no real differenece between 2008 M4 and 2013 M4 except colors. Is that correct?

 

[300winmag]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Sea Rider:
I thought the M4 was .75 thick? Thats better then all the other boats in its price range correct?

 

[300winmag]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

The seats were round in the old version, now they are rectangular.

 

[mrdrh99]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Ha! Never though sea rider would prefer the mariner to anything! But I agree.... Sea eagle isn't bad but their motor mount boats aren't even as nice as the mariner and absolutely not worth that much $

 

[Guest]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Thanks a lot for quick replies! At this point I am only going to be fishing and taking my family out on small lakes and may be some mellow rivers here around Portland. I was going to buy Minn Kota Max 45 as well for it. Not planning to go to the ocean or any kinds of rapids. I do not have a storage to keep or transport the boat inflated, so I need to deflate every time. Because of the price difference between SE124 and M4 I thought there must be something superior in SE. Also from what I understand there is no real differenece between 2008 M4 and 2013 M4 except colors. Is that correct?

I live in a second floor apartment and inflate and deflate after every trip. We all do it in New York. My friend has a small audi he fits 12ft boat and all his stuff including a 9.9hp engine. I am still amazed (yes you smashed) at how he manages it. Looking at the picture of 4 people happy in the m4 is a pipe dream. I have a 12ft boat. My Wife and I fit perfectly. I cannot imagine more people in my boat and it is rated for 5 people. CHeck out this vid Zoom 350 setup with mattress pump - YouTube

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Winmag,

Hard to tell if it's a 0.75 mm fabric which doubt, would be more inclined to be a max 0.5 mm fabric. Found some tech specs stating: Material: 30 Gauge Super-Tough Material which doesn't say much, would be more easier to state fabric gauge in mm. Has a 3 layer sandwich which is much better than plain PVC, fabric stretches least compared to. Liked the Mariner because it's nicer looking has a alum slatted floor, a nice overall round bumper which hides the fabric overlap compared to the more pricier cheapo and flimsy look of the SE which has a out of this world price.

Back in 1976 the only inflatable down here was the Sevylor brand when was owned by Zodiac. Had great time with a K-86 as a first sib starter. Was the beach envy when taking it out of the car trunk, after full infllation, a Mercury 2.5 was placed at back floating transom, some cold beers were added and voila, a full nice boating day assured while the rest of mortals were stranded on the beach.

As stated by Weimed. if you plan to use it on a heavy basis, big lake, costal boating better go for a standard air deck 340-350 sib with a Kota if you like.

Happy Boating

 

[illi13]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Thanks again for help. Unfortunately I will not be able to afford Zoom boats at this point. Even the SE price point was a bit higher than what I was planning to spend initially. Seems like the M4 will be my first boat. BTW in their description it says that the thickness is 0.65mm...
They recommend the 30lbs motor, but I have seen people using much bigger ones there. Does anyone know what speed can you get on this boat with minn kota 45 and 2 people on board?

 

[mrdrh99]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Pretty much all trolling motors will top you out no more than 4-5mph on speed 5. Not my knowledge but just what I found online. My 30# tops out at 4mph per my gps

 

[mrdrh99]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Btw, sea rider..... On the side of the boat itself it says max pressure 0.8

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Btw, sea rider..... On the side of the boat itself it says max pressure 0.8

That's because of the thin fabric used and thermo pleated seams. Standard 0.9 mm fabric sibs works with 3.0 to 3.5 PSI, pressures which gives harder tubes and better overall water performance compared to.

With 0.65 mm fabric and just 0.8 PSI imagine riding on water on a huge marshmellow...

Happy Boating

 

[CopperFox]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

illi13:
Based on your stated interests, I think you will be very happy with the M4. There are a couple of threads on here, both quite current, that have grown with input from a number of us M4 owners. I'm sure you'll get a good idea of how we feel about this boat and get some ideas for modifying yours, if that time comes. Certainly feel free to ask away just about anything regarding the boat and in no time you'll have much input.
Though they advise a 30 lb thrust, and this does perfectly fine, I started with one and then bumped up to a 55 lb thrust when I found myself with some unexpected cash. I don't regret the purchase at all. I've read and tend to agree that max speed (#5) on the MK30 is about the same as (#3) on the MK55. But to start, and for the price, a MinnKota 30 might be the way to go. After all, you could lose your interest in boating, or decide you want to get into it on a much larger scale (read: aluminum or fiberglass). At ~$100, the MK30 will get you out there nicely on 100-200 acre lakes.
The 2013 M4 has the square/rectangular seats with red trim on the boat. The prior version, 2008, I think, had the same seats, but with a yellow trim for the boat. The version before that had round tubular seats, with the yellow trim for the boat. I think I would prefer the current seat design, but don't think anything substantial has changed in boat design over this period.

 

[Rakumi]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Illi13,
just throwing it out there but if you will be on just small lakes, the intex excursion 5 is their largest boat. Not as sturdy as the M4 but larger and maybe what you need since you said you want to take the family out. :joyous:

 

[illi13]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

I appreciate all the suggestions here. You guys are great!! I looked at the excursion at one point, but is is even thinner than M4, so I decided against it. I would like to get a bigger than 30lb motor, because I know that I will most likely will want to upgrade it once I get used to a boat . I also started reading the mods thread and amazed what people have done with this thing! I will probably try it as is for a season and then decide what to do. I like the fact that with current floor it is very compact. Wooden floor and swivel seats are nice, but definitely add bulk.

 

[illi13]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Just ordered one from Amazon for $230 with free shipping. Now I just have to pray for good Oregon summer...

 

[Rakumi]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Hey illi13, just like you, i do not like the idea of bulk. So my winter mods have been wood floor, 30lb MK and a cooler as my bench seat with seat cushion. Keeping things simple and spacious. With the carpeting on my wood floor, i truly dont even mind sitting on it from time to time. But i like the empty space for ease of setup and because it is fun to have standing room. My floor is a bit heavy and thick (3/4 inch) so i will see how it goes. Have not had a chance to test out yet because of weather.

 

[Sinistre1]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

Weimed, Actually Smashed's boat is closer to 14ft. He has the 430!!! LOL. I have the 365 which is smaller than his and mine is 12ft!!

2 add my 2 cents to the OP's thread. I wouldn't take my family on ANY substantial body of water (read bigger than a small pond) in anything less substantial than a roll up dinghy style inflatable (ie. Saturn, Mercury, etc.) unless it had multiple chambers AND they were all strong swimmers. That class of boat reminds me of the nice camping toy boats from coleman and the like. Not looking my nose down at them. They have their place. But on a body of water with my loved ones in it, is not it. :grumpy:

 

[Guest]

Re: Mariner 4 vs Sea Eagle 124

My mistake. I now remeber he took his queen marry across from jersey in harse conditions.