SilleeSpyder
Cadet
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2011
- Messages
- 7
Hello everyone,
Since this is my first post, I will start by telling you all a little about my semi-colorful inflatable boat history. In 2004 I was at Costco with some buddies and saw this great big raft for $80.00 -I couldn't believe it and bought it on the spot. I always enjoyed the outdoors -usually off-roading in my 78 CJ-5 or just camping. At this point in time I was living in Arizona and would often camp by Apache lake so this raft was perfect. I took it out with my wife (who was then my girlfriend) for the first time and took quite well to paddling. I had so much fun, I thought it was one of the best purchases I ever made. I took it out a number of other times with my friends -one of which had bought a used Mariner 4 without the floor. At that point in time, we didn't know it was supposed to have a floor and we were puzzled by the sagging floor and how impractical it was. Either way we took them both out one time when the lake was drained 50 ft for dam maintenance. This exposed a lot of extra space on an island in the middle of the lake which we decided to camp on. Another area of the lake that was exposed looked like the moon, and we found all sorts of interesting things there such as an old wallet, boat motors, sunglasses etc. If we had had a metal detector we would have hit jackpot for sure. When we left, my friends blazer broke down and we were towed by drunks out of the canyon -which was the scariest experience of my life... and its own story.
Another time I took it to Yuma where friends and I were going to find a spot on Squaw Lake to camp. I bought a Seahawk 2 (different model) for my other friend to use. And if anyone ever wanted to know the difference, then this is the story for you. I thought I remembered good camping spots on this secret part of the lake when I was a kid -so we paddled our way there. It was a neat path -like a small river through the thick reeds that led to a huge open lake. However that was all surrounded by either cliffs and reeds so we were out of luck for a camping spot. It was getting late and the wind was really picking up. It was tough rowing getting out of the open part of the lake, but once we got into the narrow river-like section in the reeds, the wind was blocked and paddling was easier. Once we got out of that area we decided we would camp on an island kind of near the launching point. This area drained out into the Colorado river near the Imperial dam and had a slight current as well as strong winds going in the wrong direction. Since the paddles on the Seahawk 2 were useless compared to the oar locked versions on my raft -not to mention I was the strongest rower, we tied our rafts together and went for it. We paddled our hardest through the wind and very choppy water but found we were only going backwards toward the Colorado and toward the dam. Imagining getting trapped behind the gates of the dam, I paddled toward the reeds of the narrow area of the lake. We grabbed onto them and pulled ourselves into the opening of the narrow channel where we tied our rafts to the reeds and waited. After about a half hour the winds were not letting up and my friend in the Seahawk 2 was getting antsy. He said "Lets see if we can pull ourselves along the reeds and get to the shore." I said we should wait and that the wind would probably die down once the temperature outside settled -since it was evening. He said "It might not change" And I thought -heh, might as well give it a shot even if it is about a mile to the shore. So I woke up my friend who was napping on the other side of my raft and we started pulling ourselves along the reeds. About 50 feet in, a reed poked through both chambers of the Seahawk 2 and my friend was also poked in the eye by another. He started sinking, My friend in my raft desperately tried to glue a patch onto the sinking raft but the choppy water made him drop the kit. He said in more colorful language "lets just throw this raft into the reeds right now!" So we did and they sat on top of the reeds with the wind blowing and the water splashing everywhere trying to figure out what to do now. This moment for some reason felt a lot more dangerous and desperate than it really was. I tried shining an S.O.S. with my flashlight toward the shore where others were camping, but there was no response. I also had to continuously keep re-inflating my raft because it had small leaks from me over-inflating it in the past :/ -an easier thing to do in Arizona since the sun can really bake onto things directly in it. So we called home wondering if someone had a boat or something to get us out. My poor friend in my raft called his wife and got yelled at by her -it wasn't his fault at all! Mine just sighed and seemed annoyed. My friend who was in the Seahawk 2 called his folks who told him to call 911... When I found out that he was calling 911 -I thought "Oh God, helicopters are going to be flying over with their spotlights and we are going to look like the biggest idiots in the world." Luckily, we got out of that one somehow -either he didnt really call or they figured it wasn't a big deal -I think they said we should swim out -which would actually be a dangerous thing to do with how wild the water was at the time and how close we were to the Colorado and a dam. Sigh... we had no life vests. I thought the best thing to do would be to once again wait for the wind to die down and then leave on my raft, which even though leaking was in tact. They finally got a hold of some guy with a boat who drove out to us and towed us back. We waited a couple of hours for him -and guess what- by the time he arrived, the wind had died down... He came and got us anyway and we were all a bunch of very embarrassed 30 year olds... that's right we were not teenagers -we were 30. So then why would I post this story on a forum for anyone to read? Because it really is a stupid story and I do have the ability to laugh at my own stupidity from time to time -plus it really demonstrated how superior the material of the Seahawk II is to the Seahawk 2 for those who were wondering. The reed did pierce my friend's cornea -he couldn't see well out of that eye for a couple days. And my other friend spent the night complaining about his wife after she grilled him for no reason.
So at this point the Seahawk II was barely usable and I repaired the Seahawk 2 with a patch kit. When I moved to Washington, I left the Seahawk 2 at my parents house and brought the Seahawk II with me. I repaired the Seahawk II the most I could by cementing around the boston valves, which is where I discovered the leak was coming from on both sides. I was successfully able to fix those leaks, however I could never locate the leak on the floor. At this point I bought a Mariner 4 which of course, included the roll up floor. I told my friend who bought the used Mariner 4 without the floor about this and gave him the dimensions of my floor. He then built his own roll up floor from wood and a waterproof clear rubbery material which he sewed around the wood planks, somewhat mimicking the floor that comes with the Mariner 4. We went on a camping trip with our rafts and brought the dead floored Seahawk II with us for carrying our excess gear (there were 4 of us). It did great for this and even though the floor was flat, no water was getting in.
***********************************BUILDING THE FLOOR***************************************
After buying a trolling motor for my Mariner 4 and looking at a bunch of mods on the internet from Youtube and sites such as this one -I decided to break out my new tools and build a floor to revive my old Seahawk II. After looking everywhere and seeing no trace of measurements, I flipped the raft over and made a cardboard cutout of the bottom part of the raft. I then flipped it over and put it inside -adding extra cardboard strips to the excess areas ensuring a tight fit. The total length and width measurement I got was: 93" x 28 3/4". I then cut some 1/2" plywood into 3 pieces which the lengths were: 46.5" and 2x 23.25" so I could fold the floor. I lost the paperwork for the angled cuts but I suppose I can measure my floor and photoshop a diagram in case anyone wants to know. I sanded the edges, used sealer/primer, indoor outdoor carpet and bolted hinges on. Unfortunately the 2003 model does not have the mounts for a trolling motor, so I'd have to build something that attaches to the floor if I wanted to use one with it. Also, I've already busted 2 of the plastic oar couplings so I bought 1" EMT couplings (used for electrical pipe) that seem to fit pretty snug so far -but they have yet to take the pepsi challenge -hopefully they hold up.
This floor is supported by fitting tight around the sides of the raft like the Mariner floor. Since the floor no longer inflates, it holds all the weight. From the out of water tests I've done it seems plenty strong enough and weighs about as much -maybe a little more than the stock Mariner floor.
For my first garage project at my new house, I don't think it turned out half bad -what do you think?
Since this is my first post, I will start by telling you all a little about my semi-colorful inflatable boat history. In 2004 I was at Costco with some buddies and saw this great big raft for $80.00 -I couldn't believe it and bought it on the spot. I always enjoyed the outdoors -usually off-roading in my 78 CJ-5 or just camping. At this point in time I was living in Arizona and would often camp by Apache lake so this raft was perfect. I took it out with my wife (who was then my girlfriend) for the first time and took quite well to paddling. I had so much fun, I thought it was one of the best purchases I ever made. I took it out a number of other times with my friends -one of which had bought a used Mariner 4 without the floor. At that point in time, we didn't know it was supposed to have a floor and we were puzzled by the sagging floor and how impractical it was. Either way we took them both out one time when the lake was drained 50 ft for dam maintenance. This exposed a lot of extra space on an island in the middle of the lake which we decided to camp on. Another area of the lake that was exposed looked like the moon, and we found all sorts of interesting things there such as an old wallet, boat motors, sunglasses etc. If we had had a metal detector we would have hit jackpot for sure. When we left, my friends blazer broke down and we were towed by drunks out of the canyon -which was the scariest experience of my life... and its own story.
Another time I took it to Yuma where friends and I were going to find a spot on Squaw Lake to camp. I bought a Seahawk 2 (different model) for my other friend to use. And if anyone ever wanted to know the difference, then this is the story for you. I thought I remembered good camping spots on this secret part of the lake when I was a kid -so we paddled our way there. It was a neat path -like a small river through the thick reeds that led to a huge open lake. However that was all surrounded by either cliffs and reeds so we were out of luck for a camping spot. It was getting late and the wind was really picking up. It was tough rowing getting out of the open part of the lake, but once we got into the narrow river-like section in the reeds, the wind was blocked and paddling was easier. Once we got out of that area we decided we would camp on an island kind of near the launching point. This area drained out into the Colorado river near the Imperial dam and had a slight current as well as strong winds going in the wrong direction. Since the paddles on the Seahawk 2 were useless compared to the oar locked versions on my raft -not to mention I was the strongest rower, we tied our rafts together and went for it. We paddled our hardest through the wind and very choppy water but found we were only going backwards toward the Colorado and toward the dam. Imagining getting trapped behind the gates of the dam, I paddled toward the reeds of the narrow area of the lake. We grabbed onto them and pulled ourselves into the opening of the narrow channel where we tied our rafts to the reeds and waited. After about a half hour the winds were not letting up and my friend in the Seahawk 2 was getting antsy. He said "Lets see if we can pull ourselves along the reeds and get to the shore." I said we should wait and that the wind would probably die down once the temperature outside settled -since it was evening. He said "It might not change" And I thought -heh, might as well give it a shot even if it is about a mile to the shore. So I woke up my friend who was napping on the other side of my raft and we started pulling ourselves along the reeds. About 50 feet in, a reed poked through both chambers of the Seahawk 2 and my friend was also poked in the eye by another. He started sinking, My friend in my raft desperately tried to glue a patch onto the sinking raft but the choppy water made him drop the kit. He said in more colorful language "lets just throw this raft into the reeds right now!" So we did and they sat on top of the reeds with the wind blowing and the water splashing everywhere trying to figure out what to do now. This moment for some reason felt a lot more dangerous and desperate than it really was. I tried shining an S.O.S. with my flashlight toward the shore where others were camping, but there was no response. I also had to continuously keep re-inflating my raft because it had small leaks from me over-inflating it in the past :/ -an easier thing to do in Arizona since the sun can really bake onto things directly in it. So we called home wondering if someone had a boat or something to get us out. My poor friend in my raft called his wife and got yelled at by her -it wasn't his fault at all! Mine just sighed and seemed annoyed. My friend who was in the Seahawk 2 called his folks who told him to call 911... When I found out that he was calling 911 -I thought "Oh God, helicopters are going to be flying over with their spotlights and we are going to look like the biggest idiots in the world." Luckily, we got out of that one somehow -either he didnt really call or they figured it wasn't a big deal -I think they said we should swim out -which would actually be a dangerous thing to do with how wild the water was at the time and how close we were to the Colorado and a dam. Sigh... we had no life vests. I thought the best thing to do would be to once again wait for the wind to die down and then leave on my raft, which even though leaking was in tact. They finally got a hold of some guy with a boat who drove out to us and towed us back. We waited a couple of hours for him -and guess what- by the time he arrived, the wind had died down... He came and got us anyway and we were all a bunch of very embarrassed 30 year olds... that's right we were not teenagers -we were 30. So then why would I post this story on a forum for anyone to read? Because it really is a stupid story and I do have the ability to laugh at my own stupidity from time to time -plus it really demonstrated how superior the material of the Seahawk II is to the Seahawk 2 for those who were wondering. The reed did pierce my friend's cornea -he couldn't see well out of that eye for a couple days. And my other friend spent the night complaining about his wife after she grilled him for no reason.
So at this point the Seahawk II was barely usable and I repaired the Seahawk 2 with a patch kit. When I moved to Washington, I left the Seahawk 2 at my parents house and brought the Seahawk II with me. I repaired the Seahawk II the most I could by cementing around the boston valves, which is where I discovered the leak was coming from on both sides. I was successfully able to fix those leaks, however I could never locate the leak on the floor. At this point I bought a Mariner 4 which of course, included the roll up floor. I told my friend who bought the used Mariner 4 without the floor about this and gave him the dimensions of my floor. He then built his own roll up floor from wood and a waterproof clear rubbery material which he sewed around the wood planks, somewhat mimicking the floor that comes with the Mariner 4. We went on a camping trip with our rafts and brought the dead floored Seahawk II with us for carrying our excess gear (there were 4 of us). It did great for this and even though the floor was flat, no water was getting in.
***********************************BUILDING THE FLOOR***************************************
After buying a trolling motor for my Mariner 4 and looking at a bunch of mods on the internet from Youtube and sites such as this one -I decided to break out my new tools and build a floor to revive my old Seahawk II. After looking everywhere and seeing no trace of measurements, I flipped the raft over and made a cardboard cutout of the bottom part of the raft. I then flipped it over and put it inside -adding extra cardboard strips to the excess areas ensuring a tight fit. The total length and width measurement I got was: 93" x 28 3/4". I then cut some 1/2" plywood into 3 pieces which the lengths were: 46.5" and 2x 23.25" so I could fold the floor. I lost the paperwork for the angled cuts but I suppose I can measure my floor and photoshop a diagram in case anyone wants to know. I sanded the edges, used sealer/primer, indoor outdoor carpet and bolted hinges on. Unfortunately the 2003 model does not have the mounts for a trolling motor, so I'd have to build something that attaches to the floor if I wanted to use one with it. Also, I've already busted 2 of the plastic oar couplings so I bought 1" EMT couplings (used for electrical pipe) that seem to fit pretty snug so far -but they have yet to take the pepsi challenge -hopefully they hold up.
This floor is supported by fitting tight around the sides of the raft like the Mariner floor. Since the floor no longer inflates, it holds all the weight. From the out of water tests I've done it seems plenty strong enough and weighs about as much -maybe a little more than the stock Mariner floor.
For my first garage project at my new house, I don't think it turned out half bad -what do you think?
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). From what I hear, there seems to be a speed threshold on these rafts, due to how they flex from the power, or due to the shape of them or something and after a certain amount of power you won't really notice a difference in power. From what I read on motor reviews, people did seem to notice a bit of difference between the 30 and 40 lb motor. I don't have personal experience on that matter so I don't know how true the whole speed threshold thing is. Now I will say this, If you get a 50 lb trolling motor and your speed 3 is like a speed 4 on my 38, then you can happily troll around at a comfortable speed using the same battery power -the difference would be you could maybe go much faster if you wanted. But if speeds 1-4 are somehow standard, which the speed difference between 4 and 5 on my motor make me think it could be possible, then your faster speed will use a bit more battery than mine would if you wanted to use it. I'm sure someone with more experience on trolling motors will chime in and sort this out for us... 
