Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips
My Application for the fast Track , is simply the best portability and fastest setup time I can get while still having As many options of application as I can.
#1. I found myself needing something that I could pack up and take on a Aircraft for traveling. I can have the 385FT as carry on.
It is Very fast, and Very stable and Very tough and has the best tracking available in a Inflatable Kayak, I would even go as far as to say Only a Long Skinny Fiberglass Kayak can match it.
The New design actually beats hard shell kayaks in a race, even when paddling into 15 mph winds. The 385Ft is 12.6 in length and a 10- 12 hard shell is paddling 2 strokes to my 1 to keep up with me.
It has a Drop stitch high pressure floor that can be inflated to 15 PSI. That lets me stand up and sight fish when I want to and I have been doing a lot of fly fishing and trips involving fly fishing.
#2. I also found myself with Very limited time on some days. I get done and come home ,,eat and then I only have a hour and a half of daylight left.
I found myself saying , I don't have the energy or the time to go and set up the M4,, YET I wanted to go and Troll for a hour. The 385ft let's me do that. It's Simple and super quick and there is no effort to tossing a TM on there and BAM I'm trolling. With a high pressure turbo pump, its a set up time of 2 Mins 31sec and I'm on the water ! when I'm done it's just as quick to pack it away.
#3. I wanted something that would let me get exercise when I wanted to get exercise. Due to a Lot of metal in my left leg, I am limited to what I can do for Cardio exercise. On some of my weekday evenings, I will just go and paddle for a hour and shoot some pictures of the sunset. The 385ft tracks so well that I can paddle and then stop and It will glide as straight as an Arrow for 200-300 ft. It tracks that well ! This lets me cover a lot of ground even when I want to paddle. I grew up in Hard shell kayaks, I Would have never believed a Ik could do what this one does.
#4. WIND ! Wind is the Enemy of a inflatable. There are days when it's to windy to take the M4 out,, and I can take the 385Ft out. The New model for 2013 is that slick and Low to the water. The Drop stitch Keel combined with the 9 inch Skeg, lets me use it in Crazy wind and I Don't get blown in circles. It's Honestly usable in 20mph winds on flatwater. I have never seen any kind of inflatable that can do that.
#5 Small rivers. I have some creeks and small rivers here where I live, and there are parts of them that I can't take the M4 to.
Simply because I can't lug the M4 with everything in it,,over a hill and through the woods to put in spot. With the M4 I would have to put in a LONG way up stream then take the time to try to get to my Honey hole.
The 385FT lets me put in pretty much anywhere. I can hit some Killer Small Mouth Hot spots that couldn't get to with the M4 and if I need to portage over a low spot I can do that alone with ease.
Don't get me wrong,,,,,I still use my M4 for a full day of lake fishing and at the price point it's still tops in my book for a person on a Budget. I'm on my 3rd season with it and it's still like new. You can Mod it and with a custom hard floor it's the Best Pound for Pound Budget fishing boat out there.
I have a couple of friends that have Zodiacs, and they are nice, but they are more of a Sport runabout.
For my application when I started out the M4 beat it by leaps and bounds especially with the price point being 1/10th of the cost of a zodiac.
If I was surrounded by lakes that were rated for more then 10 Hp, I would have considered a Zodiac or Similar sport runabout. It simply was not needed for my application. I have lots of creeks, Small rivers and Sportsman lakes within a 20 minute radius of my house.
I Hope this explains why I mentioned my new 385FT.. It doesn't beat the M4,nor does it make me not use my M4,, it just lets me have more options of application. Frankly these applications are in areas where only a Kayak could fit the bill. Once again though, a Inflatable has beaten the hard shell in EVERY SINGLE ASPECT.
Sincerely Desode
