"Air Floor" Inflatables?

Snowdrggn · Sep 27, 2004

I presently have a 10ft Zodiac with a sectional plywood floor. I have been considering replacing it with an 11ft Fastroller (air floor). Does anyone have any experience with both the wood floor and air floor boats? I like the idea of the ease of assembly/take down of the air floor. The new air floor models have a deeper, narrower keel, which would strike me as giving a slightly better ride, and better tracking at speed. I am concerned about the rigidity of the air floor system and how the performance at speed compares to the wood floor models. Has anyone run both? any input or opinions would be appreciated. Cheers, Snow

Luna Sea · Sep 28, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

Hi Snowdrggn, I've had several inflatables I can give a review on. Had a 12 foot Quicksilver, back when they were problematic, sun would make them all sticky, POS boat! But with wood floors and a 25 horse, it was fast and fun. I tried out several new ones this year, One was 8'6", too small, with wood floors, bought it to go across transom but returned it after one ride. Then tried the Achilles 9'6" and the 10'4" air floors. Got the 10'4", great boat for portability, but the performance of a more solid/rigid floor is lacking. Was told keep it fully inflated for max. performance, but different times of day it's more rigid than others. Feels overinflated in the hot sun, and underinflated at night, don't play with the pump all day so just make do..... Seems like it buckles a little under load, great for rolling up and throwing in my truck, but if you'll be keeping it inflated, save your money. Zodiacs site says about the same thing...... Course if I had the 10 horse it's rated for (max) and not the 8...... but it feels like the prop spins out of the water sometimes, can't run the 8 at full throttle.......... Smartabs or something may be needed?? Here's one review: web page

swist · Sep 28, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

There was a comparative report in Powerboat Reports a few months ago. Might wanna look at that. However, "Luna Sea" seems to have the problem in hand - you don't care, within reason, whether the rest of the boat gets a little harder or softer with temperature, but if the floor goes non-rigid the boat will neither perform nor support you optimally. Also if you use your boat as a real tender like I do it is transporting stuff all the time, kids jump in and out etc. I can't believe an inflated floor will take that much abuse. The wood floors are cheap and solid, but unless you keep them properly painted/encapsulated, they won't last forever either, but at least you're not always fiddling with the inflation. The way to go, unless portability/light weight is you goal, are the kind with the fiberglass bottoms. But now we are talking $$$ which I'd rather spend on my real boat.

Luna Sea · Sep 28, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

Here's Zodiac's page..... web page I believe the Achilles is priced less than Zodiac and is all HYPALON, including the floor (plug). And now that I think about it, the floor may not expand and contract as much as the tubes. It's almost 3 times the psi as well.... But I stiil feel there's an overall lack of rigidity involved, it's a trade-off.

RotaryRacer · Sep 28, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

The air floor is great for portability. The boat is inflated in the water in 20 mins with the supplied foot pump. The whole boat fits in one bag (~2'x2'x4' for 11' model) and relatively light. Basically you just unroll it and pump. There is no assembly required, just add air. I think that the side tubes flucuate a lot more than the floor does with temperature. Once you have the floor hard it will stay hard for a couple of days. The tubes on the other hand will go from hard to not so hard within a day as temp and sun varies. If you will leave the boat together in the water for several weeks at a time I would suggest the plywood floor. If you are after portabilty then air floor all the way. If you question the stiffness of the floor look at this picture.

That is legitimate. The new Zodiacs have the keel attached to the floor. It is also the same material as the floor and can maintain a higher pressure. A great feature. The boat I use is the older style and the keel is somewhat softer than the floor and it is attached to the hull so it is less rigid. They are great boats.

Snowdrggn · Sep 28, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

Aas I mentioned originally, I now own a 10ft, wood floor Zodiac, which I have powered with a 15hp Evinrude (10x11p Pirhana prop) and Smart Tabs. I am fully aware of the quirks of inflatables in general as far as temperature/pressure variance etc. I use the inflatable to run long distances into extremely remote areas. Weight and portability are very important to me as I cannot use a trailer, and have to be able to handle the boat by myself. What I was looking for was input as to the handling of the air floor models as opposed to wood floors, particularily at speeds in excess of 25 mph. Around here most people have small motors (5hp) on theirs and don't really use them that much in a season. Unfortunately test drives aren't a possibility. I'm leaning towards the Zodiac brand as I have had no problems with the one that I own now except for a couple of patch jobs that I can't blame the boat for

I like the Zodiac of recent with the keel attached to the floor instead of the hull as the keel looks to be more effective. They only issue I have with the boat I now own is fighting the floor boards into it by myself when there is a swarm of bugs attacking me in hot weather. If the air floor is going to sacrifice the rigidity of the boat I will get a wood floor again. Here's a picture of the Zodiac that I now use. Not seen in the photo is a 6 gallon triangular shaped fuel tank that is tied down under the spray dodger on the nose. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/Snowdrggn/Zodiac/Dscf0069.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/Snowdrggn/Zodiac/Dscf0051.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/Snowdrggn/Zodiac/Dscf0060.jpg

RotaryRacer · Sep 28, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

Oh, that is what you are asking. I use a 15 hp Mercury. (not sure of the prop) It is very fast. (estimate at about 25 mph) This motor needs to be raised on the transom slightly because it would try to pull the boat down in the rear. It was a strange sensation with you feel the back half of the boat trying to flex. This was not the fault of the boat though. Once the motor was raised it pops up on plane and runs very smooth and tracks very well. The rigidity is not an issue at all. The boat feels as solid to me as an old tinny I used to have when it is properly inflated. I currently use the same motor on a 12' Lund and like the Zodiac a little better. It is more stable yet more tossable for avoidance manuvers or watever. The Lund is obviously more rigid and is also faster but not as stable. This is the Cadet Fastroller 11'. Have you considered the the Furura Fastroller? That will give even better performance for speed and trackability.

swist · Sep 28, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

I agree with everything that's been said but I still question how an air floor would react to a lot of load/abuse. I'm sure it's very thick, but it's still plastic of some kind, and I'm sure a sharp enough object would puncture it.

Luna Sea · Sep 28, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

Well, you shouldn't be hauling "sharp objects" in ANY inflatable. period! For the record though, my dog has fairly long, fairly sharp claws, and jumps in and out frequently. And spazz's out when I pass a boat with another dog. So far so good though... PS Girlfriend bought those stupid dog booties for the mutt but it just doesn't feel right putting shoes on a dog.....

Just read your above response snowdrggn, I'd like to suggest the aluminum rollup floor. You can buy a 2 wheel dolly with pneumatic tires for lugging it around while deflated, just a thought. I don't think you want to deal with floorboards again. Been there, done that, on my knees breaking fingernails off trying to get them side stiffeners out.......

Here's the aluminum floor, but just noticed it's only rated for the 10 horse.....

web page

NOSLEEP · Sep 28, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

I have a zodiac 10'6" with the high pressure inflatable floor. I bought it for the light weight and portability. I use a nissan 6 hp to push it. The wood floor models can use a higher hp motor. I have problems with the inflatable floor when the boat has extra weight in it. It seems to want to buckle a little even when inflated to max pressure approx 11 psi. It is also difficult to get a good patch or repair done after a leak.

Stratocaster · Sep 28, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

I had a 9 foot Bombard wood floor before my current Titan 9 foot air floor. The wood floor boat felt more solid for standing up and hauling in a crab trap, and definitely smoothed out the rough water. But the dang thing was SO heavy! The new boat is light as a feather and the air floor is quite solid, but not like wood. The great thing is how easily it planes compared to a heavier boat. I have a new 5 hp Merc OB on it, and it will plane with two of us aboard! So, having owned both, I prefer the air floor. Mike P

Snowdrggn · Sep 28, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

Thank you for all your input. This is what I am looking for, seat of the pants input as well as actual user likes and dislikes. RotaryRacer, I have considered the Futura, I like the boat, but it is too heavy for me to carry in by myself. I do need a boat that one person can handle easily. NOSLEEP, The 10ft Zodiac that I have now is rated for 10hp and I'm running A 15hp Evinrude on it (light weight for its HP) with no problems what so ever. The 11ft that I am considering (air floor) is rated for 15hp. An Aquaintance of mine that has a Zodiac identical to mine (10ft), has run an older 20hp Merc on his for several years without incident (just about double the motor weight of mine). What I am trying do is find out as much about the joys and gripes with air floors from people that have used both equipped with motors that are more than capable of planing them. NOSLEEP, Is your Zodiac one of the newer ones with the keel attached to the floor? I have noticed that the floor tends to be bowed up over the keel even in the showroom. Does it tend to be worse in operation with loading? You also mentioned that it is difficult to patch the air floor, is this because of the texture of the surface, the pressure used to support the floor, or both? May I ask how the floor got punctured? Could the durability of the floor be a major issue in your opinion? I have had the Zodiac I have now over 10 years, the next one I buy I will probably own the same lenght of time and I'm trying not to buy something that I will be unhappy with in the long term. Cheers Any other input???

swist · Sep 28, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

"Well, you shouldn't be hauling "sharp objects" in ANY inflatable. period!" Well not intentionally but many objects you might normally carry will become sharp objects if you step on them hard enough. As your dog can attest to, casual contact with sharp objects is not a problem - plenty of people fish from inflatables (hooks, knives, etc). It just seems to me you have made the boat many times more vulnerable to puncture when the floor is added into the equation.

Snowdrggn · Sep 28, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

Luna Sea, I have had experience with aluminum floors, I'm still trying to get the black crap off of me and my gear...

I carry a 8" long 1/2" x 1" piece of hardwood in my parts bag for knocking the broken blades loose in my Pirhana prop, it works great for popping the stiffeners loose also

Stratocaster, I'm about 500 miles north of you, but was down there a few weeks ago. While I was there we took a long day and snooped around the harbour, what a blast!! A person sure feels insignificant when we were around a boat that said "Princess" on it that was tied up near the old train station. (but at least we could scurry under the pier if it looked like it was starting to do anything!)

Stratocaster · Sep 30, 2004

Re: "Air Floor" Inflatables?

Yeah, I always take out-of-town guest to the cruise ship terminal by water. It is pretty impressive. And they don't seem to mind if you drive your boat right up to them. One good thing: They always blast their horn 3 times before backing up. This I know ;-) Mike P Bayliner 305 Vancouver BC

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