inflatable fishing boat experience? - California Fishing

Djadun · 01-26-2006, 01:18 AM

Im thinking about getting either a sevylor fish hunter, or the bigger tougher more expensive fish fish master/ranger. I dont have space for a john boat or a rowboat and was hopeing that I could get some info/advice on the topic. Im torn between thinking that one of these coudl do a good job and thinking that theyll pop or just not perform well. Any experience with these or any inflatable fishing boat? Do the trolling motors actually move you around all right? Id like something a little faster than a float tube, but do to money and space I cant get a "real" boat. any advice stories or info would be GREATLY appriciated, sinking a 400 dollar investment with all of my tackle in the middle of a lake would make me very sad. Thanks in advance.

Djadun

sonics7 · 01-26-2006, 01:36 AM

I've had alot of experience with inflatable rafts, over 5 yrs. A good qualityone should suffice. I've also had some mishaps, like hooking the raft. Usually leaks so slow I've never had to stop fishing. The best thing about an inflatable is that they are so comfortable. they move really well with oars. Very stable. If you get a trolling motor you'll cruise, but you'll also need a mount. The are also very stealth. For those spawning bass. You can actually stand up in one. One major down fall is they drift alot if the wind is strong. You ever think about a canoe? Awsome! But if you set on an inflatable they're great.

FishSlayer · 01-26-2006, 01:45 AM

Have you looked into the "pontoon" style inflatables? there are several styles and some of them can have a motor attached.
http://www.seaeagle.com/
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...A4125%3A111667

Djadun · 01-26-2006, 02:15 AM

heres what im really looking into. http://www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/SEV/SEVHF360PKG.html
Ill be building my own wooden floor so ill be able to stand up and cast. Ill be useing the small 10 pound trolling motor it comes with, and it doesnt even need a mount for this motor. If i go to a small minnkota 30 pound motor I need to buy or build a mount for that. If this motor is too small Ill just upgrade. Im really curious if these things hold up. Ill be useing it on a calm snag free lake, a lot of the time ill just be still fishing for trout/cats/perch/gills so I wont even need the trolling motor much, and hell if the battery dies I can row right? Im just worried that Ill be horribly dissapointed for some reason and that Ive wasted about 300 dollars. Im really not looking at any other type of boat, this is the size/portability/cost that I can do. Theres lots of struff i want, but I cant have it. Thanks for your impressions, please let me know if anyone else has any experience with something like this, thanks for the replies so far!

Djadun

Wahoo! · 01-26-2006, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Djadun

heres what im really looking into. http://www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/SEV/SEVHF360PKG.html
Ill be building my own wooden floor so ill be able to stand up and cast. Ill be useing the small 10 pound trolling motor it comes with, and it doesnt even need a mount for this motor. If i go to a small minnkota 30 pound motor I need to buy or build a mount for that. If this motor is too small Ill just upgrade. Im really curious if these things hold up. Ill be useing it on a calm snag free lake, a lot of the time ill just be still fishing for trout/cats/perch/gills so I wont even need the trolling motor much, and hell if the battery dies I can row right? Im just worried that Ill be horribly dissapointed for some reason and that Ive wasted about 300 dollars. Im really not looking at any other type of boat, this is the size/portability/cost that I can do. Theres lots of struff i want, but I cant have it. Thanks for your impressions, please let me know if anyone else has any experience with something like this, thanks for the replies so far!

Djadun

I have one very similar to that. In fact, I thinnk it's pretty much the same thing just in a different color. I also have a transom mount and the small Minn Kota trolling motor - I think it has 30 or 32 pounds of thrust. The main issue I had was that the raft would buckle when using the trolling motor. I think your wooden floor would help in that respect a lot although there would need to be a way to secure it to the floor of the raft so it doesn't allow the boat to buckle when under stress. I would not recommend using anything over the 10 pound motor it comes with until you build the floor. Another thing I don't like is the location of the battery. If you have a decent sized one, it can be inconvenient.

I've used mine in freshwater only. In the kings river once and then in lakes the rest of the time. It was fun using it to troll for trout in the sierras. I bought mine so that my girlfriend at the time could join me out on the water and be comfortable. I've found that I prefer my float tube or kayak when I'm by myself due to the long setup and take down time associated with the raft. You may want to also consider a personal pontoon boat like fishslayer has.

Hope this helped.

jstcrzyengh · 01-26-2006, 01:34 PM

I had a sevylor, built a wood floor for it with a hinge in the middle and I lined the outside of it with plastic tubing that I split so no splinters would get into plastic. Its a good little combo. I could even run a little 3hp gas on it and be able to move around pretty good.

Djadun · 01-26-2006, 02:13 PM

jstcrzyengh- did you by any chance use it with the 10 hp trolling motor they sell with it? Ill be puttering around on a small 5 acre lake, so Im not too worried about being underpowered, but if its completly useless then thats just a waste of money. So you recomend the boat? Im worried its cheap plastic but it seems like at least a few people on this board have given it fairly good reviews. Of course I dont expect to take it over rapids or in the ocean, really Ill just be useing it on small ponds or a 5 acre lake nearby. It seems like a good boat and for the money nothing really compares. Looks like Ill try one out and see for myself. thanks for everyones help. If I get one Ill post a ful review after I catch some fish, or sink trying!

Djadun · 01-26-2006, 07:02 PM

I read a few articles that had me worried. A few people said the the floor gets full of water when you step in a boat like this, sea eagle / sevylor etc. I guess there are some drain plugs that let water in? Any experience with this? Will this problem go away with the adition of the wooden floor? I read a few different things about this so Im a bit concerned. Also does anyone know where I could buy something liek this? I would like to touch and see the product before i buy one off of the internet, and maybe I can save on shipping costs too. Thanks.

Djadun

jstcrzyengh · 01-26-2006, 07:14 PM

I had my sevylor MANY years ago and it was a completely sealed four chamber unit. No leakage... I had purchased a cheaper model boat from a catalog and it popped! But I was in a man made lake in Arizona and it rammed against the side of a very jagged edge I went down with the ship needless to say. Have you ever thought about getting a porta bote? Much more stabile and I believe even lighter than an inflatable...

They have a cool picture on their home page of someone sinking in an inflatable... pretty funny actually.

Tanyahh1 · 02-01-2006, 03:06 AM

Hey that Porta bote looks cool! how can it be as stable as they say it is? Does anyone own one?