12' Saturn

[ronaldj]

Re: 12' Saturn

Are you asking if there are keel tubes in air floor boats? If so yes there definitely are. Don't know what the problem is. The only problem is the valve being hard to reach on the keel. That only happens if you don't set it up right. I like the air floor but I need something to mount stuff too and I keep my boat in the water for days and I just think hard floors are better if you aren't transporting it. I do hope I can still get on plane. But yeah I'm a very avid fisherman so I need something to mount stuff too. I want to add long pedestal jon boat seats to make it possible to walk around the boat without walking over seats. I also need rod holders and would like to find something to add a bow roller. It's hard to pull the anchor when the boat just goes down instead of the anchor going up. Already cut one off. I also will do quite a few ocean trips in the summer so I need some rigidity.

Depending on your boat those things are not hard to add. Walmart sells a adapter that clamps to the board seat and allows you to use any pedestal seat you want. I will see if I can find the box and show you what it looks like. It works great. You can also use a cooler as a base for a seat, as a place to attach rod holders and as your cutting board.

 

[cpenrose]

Re: 12' Saturn

I really do want the hard floor though. It makes the boat seem more like a boat then a toy. And the airfloor already loses air. What would be the best way to put a big fishbox in? We don't fish for small fish too often so it needs to be like 4 feet atleast. Lengthwise in the middle? That could be the a seat. I guess I will also throw some rod holders on the cooler for the front and on the transom for the back.

 

[Guest]

Re: 12' Saturn

Some of you are lucky. Here on the east coast 4 more months before I can bring out the zodiac

 

[ronaldj]

Re: 12' Saturn

Depending on your boat those things are not hard to add. Walmart sells a adapter that clamps to the board seat and allows you to use any pedestal seat you want. I will see if I can find the box and show you what it looks like. It works great. You can also use a cooler as a base for a seat, as a place to attach rod holders and as your cutting board.

You could also use it as a console and mount your fish finder/gps to it.
WM sells cusions for them

 

[mrdrh99]

Re: 12' Saturn

Some of you are lucky. Here on the east coast 4 more months before I can bring out the zodiac

Yes sir.....here in western (not west) va it'll be at least late March maybe April....my favorite water actually has ice in my favorite coves for fishing right now.

 

[cpenrose]

Re: 12' Saturn

I'm working on getting credits so i can buy the floor. But me too. I won't need it till late march. Think I could rig a console with pulleys?

 

[ronaldj]

Re: 12' Saturn

I'm working on getting credits so i can buy the floor. But me too. I won't need it till late march. Think I could rig a console with pulleys?

What are the pullies for

 

[cpenrose]

Re: 12' Saturn

Steering.

 

[ronaldj]

Re: 12' Saturn

Steering.

There are portable steering consoles available

 

[ReelSlow72]

Re: 12' Saturn

I really do want the hard floor though. It makes the boat seem more like a boat then a toy. And the airfloor already loses air. What would be the best way to put a big fishbox in? We don't fish for small fish too often so it needs to be like 4 feet atleast. Lengthwise in the middle? That could be the a seat. I guess I will also throw some rod holders on the cooler for the front and on the transom for the back.

I am in the market for a Saturn Kaboat myself - well, I am leaning towards the Kaboat cause I like the versatility but I too was unsure about the air floor. They say you can stand on it just like with plywood but man, I dunno...

 

[Guest]

Re: 12' Saturn

I am in the market for a Saturn Kaboat myself - well, I am leaning towards the Kaboat cause I like the versatility but I too was unsure about the air floor. They say you can stand on it just like with plywood but man, I dunno...

You can stand on it. It makes a nice cushion to sit on while riding waves. No way near as solid as wood floor. Air floor sucks when the material expands and feels like a walk on a water balloon until you top it off.

 

[ronaldj]

Re: 12' Saturn

I am in the market for a Saturn Kaboat myself - well, I am leaning towards the Kaboat cause I like the versatility but I too was unsure about the air floor. They say you can stand on it just like with plywood but man, I dunno...

The problem that people have with air floors is that unless you have a high pressure electric pump you can't inflate them properly.
They have to be inflated to 12psi

Once you do that. They are great.
Just factor in another $100 to $ 175 for the high pressure electric air pump

Btw
Having the air floor will reduce the weight of the boat by at least 50%.
That means you can use a smaller engine.

 

[sharkbass]

Re: 12' Saturn

You can stand on it. It makes a nice cushion to sit on while riding waves. No way near as solid as wood floor. Air floor sucks when the material expands and feels like a walk on a water balloon until you top it off.

I have two kaboats (SK470 and SK396) and SD365, all with inflatable floors. I put carpets over the floors and inflate them with a hand pump (I use Kwik-Tek AHP-1 Airhead Hand Pump), and I never had any problems with the floors. They are rigid enough for two people to stand on them, but much lighter than the aluminum or wood floors. The inflatable floor can also be rolled up with the boat, so you don't need to remove it when you deflate your boat for storage/transportation. The only downside of an inflatable floor is that you cannot drill holes in it to attach your rod holders

 

[gotmehooked]

Re: 12' Saturn


The storage trunk makes a great way to haul life jackets, anchor, and whatever else to keep it out of the boat and it functions as a seat. In the back I made rod holders out of PVC and used the mount to attach my white light. I replaced the 2x4 in the middle with a treated deck board and attached rod holders to each side. I sit on a cooler by the engine and then switch to the long seat when I need to paddle. I'll post better pics when I have the boat together more. BTW it's a SD365.

 

[ronaldj]

Re: 12' Saturn

Nice setup
I really like the way you did the NAV light
I never thought about using a storage tub as a console, how is it working out for you?
What size motor do you use?

 

[gotmehooked]

Re: 12' Saturn

Nice setup
I really like the way you did the NAV light
I never thought about using a storage tub as a console, how is it working out for you?
What size motor do you use?

The trunk works out very nice. I had to hunt a while to find one that fit snug between the tubes. Believe it is 35'' and I got it at Lowes. I also have a red/green light I need to put on the front and carry a little 12v battery to run the lights. I use a 1980 2 stroke johnson 9.9 with a 15 carb. Pushes the boat nice, but was thinking of down grading to maybe a four stroke 6hp if I can find one. Not sure if it will push the boat enough though.