Anyone Have an Inflatable Kayak ?

[brianontheroad]

We have an advanced elements and love it...firm, made of hypalon, surprisingly comfy -- used it a lot in the bahamas when we didn't feel like putting the motor on the dink or burning the gas

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by capcook

Following some good advice, I am looked into renting a couple of kayaks for my charter on Chesapeake Bay in July, turns out it is quite expensive to rent one for a week... I could buy this SEAEAGLE inflatable for less money and have it for next time...

Sea Eagle 330 Inflatable Kayak/Canoe

Has anyone had any experience with Inflatable Kayaks, can you get them to go in a straight line

Are the SEAEAGLEs about as good as any for the money ?

Thanks

I have the Sea Eagle 370 and love it. However they have their good and bad points.

On the plus side, tons of bouyancy, easy to get in and out of, stable, very comfortable especially if you go for the premium inflatable seats, quality is very good. They have a great safety margin compared to a normal kayak, being essentially unsinkable. Packs in a compact but rather heavy bag.

I have a bad back and any normal kayak has me in agony in half a minute. I can paddle the Sea Eagle all day.

The down side? They're a bit slow. If you had to do 20 miles in one you'd get a bit impatient. There's also a lot of windage so they can be hard to steer in a blow. Helps a lot if you have 2 people in it.

I take mine on camping trips for just messing about in lakes and it's fantastic for that. For the money I think they're pretty awesome.

[jim_thomsen]

Thanks.....some more options to look at.

[lomalaurie]

I just researched Kayaks & ended up buying the Bic Sport YakkAir. Have not used it yet, but it has great reviews, folds up quite compactly in its own case & has 3 seating options. Check out Kayaking & Canoeing | Kayak, Canoe, and Paddle Resource: Paddling.net for lots of good info!

[colo.sail]

not really a Kayak
12' inflatable Kayak & inflatable Boat crossover - KaBoat SK396.
but has anyone tried one of these. I'm intrigued with the design and price

[MarkSF]

That is kind of interesting. With less width but longer waterline, might go faster in non-planing mode. It should also row/paddle better. Plus $500 is a good price.

[hellosailor]

I see nothing Kayak about it. You put on a Kayak like a pair of pants, add a spray collar, and you can roll it without any problem. As opposed to a sit-yak, paddleboard, or canoe, all of which you sit on or in and the water is not prevented from joining you.

This KaBoat is just a skinny PVC inflateable boat. A skinny version of a standard SeaEagle or other PVC tubby boat. Maybe it is a better design, maybe not, but it has nothing to do with Kayak or "new", it is just a skinnier version of an inflateable, which might make it point better and be easier to paddle (as opposed to row).

Looks heavy and with "lots of stuff" as compared to simpler lighter alternatives.

[Geoduck]

Last year I bought a 17' Sevelor from Coleman on line. They bought out Sevelor and discontinued the 17' Ocean Kayak. Retails @ $1200. I got it for $400. I should have bought all they had!
The boat holds 850lbs of gear. 4 people. Inflatable floor, etc.
I put a sail on it and have a bawl with it. Best $400 I ever spent!

[Canibul]

We've extensively used and beat a Hobie i14t for several years down here. A tandem inflatable with two Mirage Drives, two paddles, and a sail kit. This is in a tropical, sharp object environment. We would take on any of the above in a ten mile ocean race, and we'll win it. Guaranteed. The others would win in a shallow river. But for open water, Two semi-geezers in the Hobie and you can put olympic champs in the other inflatable if you like.

Using your legs, two people and a fair bit of gear can cruise at 4 kts for hour after hour. About as long as you can comfortably cruise on a bicycle. The Mirage Drives are like magic. You don't have to be synchronized, like with paddles. You don't have the wind resistance. Your hands are free for other things. The sail kit helps a lot under very limited circumstances, but it's easy to take along and weighs next to nothing. We've cruised along for hours with it.

Lots of images and some videos on the blog if anyone is interested. We moved on to the Hobie Tandem Island but still use the i14t when people visit. Like last week.

Might be a bit out of budget, though, at around $ 2500. Good news is that it's industrial strength and will last for years.

[CaptainTurtles]

Great information in this thread, I was about to make a thread asking some questions about inflatable kayaks but didn't see the need with this here.

So I've been considering buy some inflatable kayaks, mainly for a bit of fun when we go sailing around the islands and for when we eventually go offshore. I'm not looking for anything serious, nothing top of the line, overly expensive and super fast. Just simple, safe and fun.

I haven't done too much research yet, but I saw this in West Marine the other day and I think this is the kind of thing we would go for - WEST MARINE Scamper I Inflatable Sit Inside Kayak at West Marine

Anyway, I just have a couple of questions I was hoping someone with experience could answer for me.

1. Is it going to be one of those things that we'll use a couple of times then it will just gather dust? Have any of you experienced that?

2. The hull doesn't seem very sturdy at all, especially the one in the link I showed it has a "viewing window" which seems it could be so easily pierced. Just PVC I think, is this something to worry about? If we do get some I'm sure out puppy will be coming alon with us and it looks like his nails could just tear the thing..

3. With good care, how long do these things last?

I'm sure there's more questions swimming around up there somewhere.. that's all I've got for now though. Thanks!

[delmarrey]

If you don't run them on shore they seem to be OK. It's the sun and ground contact that seems to be the biggest downfall. Or if you carry any gear you have to be careful of sharp corners.

I'm looking at a more expensive units b/c I want to store it away while sailing and then be able to take it ashore just like the regular inflatable.

Here are the one's I like so far.>> Aire Sea Tiger Inflatable Kayak Review | Inflatable Kayak World
Aire Super Lynx Inflatable Kayak Review | Inflatable Kayak World
the explorer >> Explorer Inflatable Kayaks

These also come in one man versions.