New to inflatables ?

[AEW]

Wife and I are thinking of buying a inflatable to fish the local city lakes here in Minneapolis.
We have a 20' Larson for fishing larger lakes so the inflatable would only be used for one day fishing at couple local city lakes.
Lakes are restricted non motorized and we will use a electric trolling motor on it, speed is not a issue as lakes are fairly small.

Not a lot of inflatables here it seems so that probably explains why dealers are few and far between.
Online seems to be the way we'll have to go.
So far we think something like the Saturn 14' SD430 with a wood floor looks like it'd be roomy enough and work well for fishing.
The Saturn 13' SD 385 would probably be a better boat for just the two of us, but the 14' has the wood floor.
Not sure if that makes much difference or not?

At $1300 the SD430 is close to the max we'd like to spend.

Doing a search here it appears the Saturn is a decent boat for the money.
Just wondering what some of your thoughts on this boat and if it's as good as any in the price range??

TIA

Al

 

[mrdrh99]

I would like to offer the biggest single piece of advice to a new inflatable owner that I can. Think through your set up and tear down time for each trip! I am on my 3rd inflatable (Sea Eagle Foldcat). That was always the biggest thing for me, easily adds an entire hour to your day to set up and break down. Unless you're trailering your boat... Then it doesn't matter!

 

[Sea Rider]

(*) You plan on inflating/deflating everytime it will be used ? tow it with a trailer ? A 365 is comfy enough for 2 along fishing gear. A 430 is a carrier, will need a walky talky to communicate between you 2 LOL!!. (*) is key...

Can order a alum floor set for each model, better than wooden sets.

Happy Boating

 

[StarTed]

I've had a couple of inflatables. The last one was a 16' Saturn that I converted a boat trailer to carry. To properly use an inflatable you need to let out some air when put on the trailer to allow for expansion when out of the water. Then you need to top it off again before launching. That's no problem since it doesn't take very long. Mine had an aluminum floor. The 25HP Mercury got to be a little too heavy for me to keep lugging around.

I think that the Saturn is a good inflatable for rowing around. Just stay away from barbed wire fences.:grumpy:

Good luck and enjoy whatever you buy.

 

[AEW]

Thanks all, we finally found a Kodiak dealer here in town and think maybe the Cadet 350 (aluminium floor) might be the way to go.
I usually prefer to buy stuff like this where I can actually see them.
A bit smaller and the dealer suggested leaving it inflated and covered during the summer and we can transport it with the ATV trailer I have.

We'll add a 45 or 55# trolling motor and it seems to fit what we want to do.
Can't find anything bad about the Kodiak, and with the dealer only 25 mins away, any service it needs will work out better than dealing with an online source.
A little bit more, but that might be worth it in the long run.

Once again, thanks all.

al

 

[Neuner]

Glad to hear it worked out for you. Please come back and report your experiences and trips. Always makes for a good read and possibly learning experience for everyone.