Inflatable noob; Sea eagle gt20?

[bandit86]

Sold my 27 ft aftcabin last year, been feeling the nautical itch. I have never even been in ainflatable but would love something to head out in once in a while. How compact are these boats, how much do they weigh? Biggest engine I can put on one, or is there an inflatable that was made for rough service? Does it need a trailer or just a utility trailer will do?

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: Inflatable noob; Sea eagle gt20?

A complex inquiry.
What's the use of the future boat ?
For how many pasengers as size matters
Space available, garage ?
You have inflatables with wooden, alum and air mat floors, and semi rigid ones, hard hull with inflatable on top.
Can buy standar and heavy duty fabrics.
Ideal engine size must match sib's lenght

If you are degrading from a 27" hard full boat, better buy a 12" rib. Probably won't like the water performance that hard keel gives compared to inflatable keels, ribs rides much better than sibs and can handle larger HP engines. If still going for a sib, better check Saturn, Mercury Quicksilver, better build and lasting than Sea Eagle.

Happy Boating

 

[EarleW]

Re: Inflatable noob; Sea eagle gt20?

Mine can fit into a small closet, depending on size, I have an 11 footer, HP up to 15. As Sea Rider said depending on what kind of inflatable you get. I have a Saturn 330. Go to Saturn website, just google Saturn and you can find a boat that fits your needs.

 

[CopperFox]

Re: Inflatable noob; Sea eagle gt20?

I strongly recommend you try to get onboard an inflatable of any type to see if an inflatable is something that might fit the bill. If you had not had a boat previously, I think this would have been less of an issue because, 'Hey! I'm out on the water!'. But this will be quite a step down from what you're used to, I would think.

That said, I have one of the less expensive 12 foot inflatables and think it's great. Hey! I'm out on the water! And there a lot of benefits to something that needn't require a trailer, can be carried with all gear in the back of a small SUV, and can get onto smaller (<1000 acre) lakes.

A website that I found extremely useful for side by side comparison of all the basics of the most common inflatables is:

http://www.allinflatableboats.net/index.html

I have no affiliation with the website whatsoever. At the bottom right, there are links to Inflatable Boat Comparison Charts. One for boats in the $85-$999 price range and another for boats $1000+. The prices are a little low now, but give you a good relative idea. Once you've narrowed down your choices, you can read-up on specific ones. And then of course you can come here and ask questions about the nitty gritty stuff.

I hope this helps. Good luck!