Apartment living, inflatable boats/outboards

[hamburking]

I had a brand new zodiac inflatable when I lived in a smallish apartment with my family. In the off season, I kept the zodiac in the living room, fully inflated. It was a great piece of furniture.

More recently, I had a 4hp yamaha which I stored at home. I found that if stored flat, some fuel would leak out from either the carb or the built in tank. I should have run the carb dry before bringing it home (hindsight is 20/20). However, overall it had no odour or issues once it was on its storage stand (upright). After 4 winters of this, the engine was still as good as new.

So, I suggest you run the carb dry before bringing it home. As for the fuel tank, pour it into your car's gas tank, ventilate it for a few days so that it is totally empty and dry, then bring it home and store it.

My biggest issue was weight. A deflated dinghy is still pretty bulky and heavy. The outboard just heavy and awkward. A dedicated dolly for each would make your life simpler.

[TrentePieds]

Do what I do.

We are condominium dwellers, and flamables and other hazardous materials of every kind are strictly prohibited in the development for insurance reasons. Very sensible, sez I, since I'm the council prexy. Besides, Caesar's wife, and all that.

Bought a twennyfivehunnert buck van that is dedicated to all the boat clobber including the flamables. The van is a "mobile storage unit". No hazardous materials, e.g. bottles of paint thinners and propane tanks, come into the building, but live in the van.

The van is "storage insured" for sixty bux a year, and the clobber is covered by the boat insurance. The "ownership costs" of the van are part of the boating budget. Van is perfectly legally parked in the (open air) stall assigned to my condo.

In you case, since you are talking about a Zodiac, you might keep the van insured for full operations. An air compressor to inflate the Zodiac can be got for a coupla hundred, and it can live in the van

Problem solved!

TrentePieds

[Cheechako]

I would avoid storing a gas engine indoors. You could store the tank in your car trunk and run the engine dry after each use and maybe be ok. For your stated "slow cruising" 4-5 HP is fine.
If you want to plane then the 9.9 is a good choice, although with an air floor, less HP may do it.. 15 hp is usually the same weight.
The Zodiac air floor dingy is an often complained about boat though.

[Helo1]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

I would check the weight of a 9.9 motor. Much more weight and power than needed on a 12' RIB. I suspect a much smaller motor will do you.

Thank you Dave. I'm a total beginner when it comes to boats and the ocean so I have no point of reference as to how ocean and wind conditions would affect going out into open water and getting back into the marina safely.

I'm not interested in going fast, but just want enough power to cruise along the California coast for a couple of miles in either direction of a marina on good weather conditions days. I've read that 9.9hp is overkill inside of marinas, but dealers have told me as you go out into open water unexpected wind and currents could create conditions in which a 12' inflatable (not RIB) with 2 to 4 people might need the extra power to get back in a reasonable amount of time.

I would much rather go with a lighter 6hp (or less). If I weren't totally stupid and avoided bad ocean and weather conditions, would I ever regret not having more power?

Originally Posted by Dave22q

Apartment storage is really not practical, draining/burning off all of the gasoline is a time consuming pain and indoor gasoline storage is a major fire hazard. If you can find an easily portable propane motor, that is more practical. Alternatively, if you do not need to go fast, an electric trolling motor with at least two batteries would cost much less and could work well. Spare batteries are critical. You would need to learn something about battery management to get full use from this set up.
Best of luck.

Seems to be the consensus. I'll look into both options.

[Cheechako]

If are going outside , not just in the marina etc, then yes get the bigger engine. There may be times when you want to get back fast.
I would also second think the air floor if you are doing that, although it might be fine if you are just doing summer excursions. A rigid floor is better in other than flat water.

[Helo1]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

If you want to plane then the 9.9 is a good choice, although with an air floor, less HP may do it.

I'm a total beginner when it comes to boats and the ocean so I have no point of reference as to how ocean and wind conditions would affect going out into open water and getting back into the marina safely.

I'm not interested in going fast, but just want enough power to cruise along the California coast for a couple of miles in either direction of a marina on good weather conditions days. I've read that 9.9hp is overkill inside of marinas, but dealers have told me as you go out into open water unexpected wind and currents could create conditions in which a 12' inflatable (not RIB) with 2 to 4 people might need the extra power to get back in a reasonable amount of time.

I would much rather go with a lighter 6hp (or less). If I weren't totally stupid and avoided bad ocean and weather conditions, would I ever regret not having more power?

Originally Posted by Cheechako

The Zodiac air floor dingy is an often complained about boat though.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep researching. I just want a fairly decent quality 12' inflatable to use 3-4 times per month that is fairly easy to setup, stored in my apartment and transported in my 4 Runner. I hate super cheap stuff that ends up costing me more in the long run. The Cadet Aero series has a five year warranty and decent price, so that seemed like a good option.

[seabreez]

After use, would it be a hazard to store it indoors on a rollable stand? Are there fumes?

There is no problem doing this... If you are worried about fumes or leaks use big plastic bags... transparent and bag the motor and the tank separately and seal the opening or tie wrap the opening... Roger

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Helo1

I'm a total beginner when it comes to boats and the ocean so I have no point of reference as to how ocean and wind conditions would affect going out into open water and getting back into the marina safely.

I'm not interested in going fast, but just want enough power to cruise along the California coast for a couple of miles in either direction of a marina on good weather conditions days. I've read that 9.9hp is overkill inside of marinas, but dealers have told me as you go out into open water unexpected wind and currents could create conditions in which a 12' inflatable (not RIB) with 2 to 4 people might need the extra power to get back in a reasonable amount of time.

I would much rather go with a lighter 6hp (or less). If I weren't totally stupid and avoided bad ocean and weather conditions, would I ever regret not having more power?



Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep researching. I just want a fairly decent quality 12' inflatable to use 3-4 times per month that is fairly easy to setup, stored in my apartment and transported in my 4 Runner. I hate super cheap stuff that ends up costing me more in the long run. The Cadet Aero series has a five year warranty and decent price, so that seemed like a good option.

Maybe someone on here has more recent experience with Zodiac than me. They may be better now.. not sure. The problem with an inflatable floor (I had a 10 ft Zodiac) is it is not rigid once in the water, the floor bubbles up and down as you move over water and the whole boat is less rigid. It gets worse the more people are in the boat. So with 2 people may not be too bad (but not great) but with 4 people the boat feels real bendy and flimsy. Unfortunately, plywood or other rigid floors are a PITA to tear down and set up... and you want to store indoors. The Achilles hard floor are great and long lasting, might be a bit small on the tubes size ... not sure of that on today's models though.

[Stu Jackson]

This might help:

Choosing an Inflatable Dinghy | West Marine

[Kerry1]

What you are attempting should certainly be do-able and a lot of fun, find a friend with a big garage to store your inflatable and outboard, or rent some space for it is probably going to be the best bet. I wouldn't store the fuel or outboard in an apartment. Does the janitor of the building have access to any storage?

[hamburking]

Attempting to bring everything to the water and back each trip makes for a lot of extra work...believe me, I've done it. I built a "hand trailer", and lake Ontario is about a 1km walk from my house. In addition to inflating the boat and setting up the engine, there's also lifejackets, safety gear, oars, bailer, extra clothes (it gets cold on the water), swimsuits and towels, and last but not least...food and drinks (cold drinks in a cooler?)

I'd like to suggest a shortcut I've seen in use. Get a small RIB on a trailer. You store the engine and fuel in the RIB. If you have a secure parking space for it, you are all set. When you want to go on a trip, you simply load up the RIB with all your gear, then haul it down to the water. When its time to go home, just do the reverse. If you had a decent cover, you could even leave some bulky gear in the RIB to make your life even easier. Some ribs have lockers where you can store the oars, pump, fuel, lifejackets, tools, cooler, etc, so you don't have to lug those about every time.

[Scaramanga F25]

Flushing an outboard in the Bahamas is laughable.
My 20 year old Merc was used daily, 6 months at a time for 10 seasons
in the Bahamas and I still use it today.

Lehr 15 hp 110 lbs ugh!
2 stroke Merc only 74 lbs.

Unfortunately the great 4 strokes, I have one, are just to heavy.

[Bluebeard]

I'm impressed.
Surely you guys should be advising the OP to stay at home in bed, that way he won't get hurt.

Sorry guys, but my flat currently has two 3.3hp two strokes and a 4hp four stroke propped up in various corners. I never run the carbs dry ( probably should do cos it fouls up the carb ) and have never noticed petrol fumes. The integral tanks on the smaller engines have air tight screws in the filler caps so I struggle to see the leak path. It is simply not a problem.

A bigger and more relevant issue is setting up every time. I run a 10ft6 inflatable as tender to my boat. It is not man handleable single handed. A 12ft will probably need three of you to carry it into an apartment, or two if it's let down.
A 9.9 is heavy, again not easy to move very far. Then I can't see why you need a 9.9. I use a 3.3 and we hit hull speed first. Also air decks are a pain, yes they are easy to break down and re-inflate but you can't stand up on one.
Then there is all the rest of your gear.
It will be an epic every time you want to go out. Can you find somewhere to store the boat inflated near your launch site? At the Marina you mention? It will cost you but the time/money equation has to point that way.

[a64pilot]

Have you looked to see if there are pontoon boats available for rent? I know I like having my own too as opposed to renting but it may be easier and even less expensive to rent


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[hamburking]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Have you looked to see if there are pontoon boats available for rent? I know I like having my own too as opposed to renting but it may be easier and even less expensive to rent

After many years of ownership, I have come to agree. Renting is a bargain. I sold my boat and intend to rent next summer, and save myself the headaches of all the maintenance, storage, and costs. I'll let you know how it goes.