Inflatable kayaks?

Cute Fuzzy Bunny said:
UPS pulled up while I was carting furniture around the driveway and my wife graciously allowed me to defer further furniture exchanges until I was done "playing with my new toy", providing there were no further butt remarks.
Click to expand...
In the Navy that's referred to as a "suspended butt bust"...

Either you're really really happy with that thing, or you have a lot of furniture left to move!
 
I like that it the opening is so large, ours has a zippered covering that makes it hot when zipped and doesn't open all the way so you can hang your legs out.  But otherwise it is remarkably similar to our old MKII.  Hmm, maybe we need another one....
Sarah
 
Plenty big opening and plenty of leg room.

Still no 'wet test'...spent the day finishing my furniture moving project, which I think will be never ending.

I have however advised my wife that the stuff doesnt get any smaller no matter how many times I move it.

She's w*rking the next two days, so sometime after that I'll be able to huck it in the river and see how it goes. In comparing it by eye with my old crappy kayak, I cant see that it has any shape or features that would render it less capable for tracking, but perhaps the lower weight will be an issue for me as I can be a strong paddler. In fact the little rudder and front 'vane' might actually make this a better tracker than my hard boat, but again, my hard boat isnt much to write home about.

Wind could also play a factor on the lightweight inflatable, as the river does get a nice wind from the south. That'd be a positive for me though, as I always paddly upstream with the wind helping me until I'm pooped and then head back downstream with the current helping me.

More when I have it...
 
So, you get that thing in the water yet?
 
Ok, we have a wet test.

The good, the bad and the ugly...

Good: Fits right in the Rav4 fully inflated, lightweight, launches easily, easy to get in...more lateral stablility than my hard boat, paddles fine, seems no more or less affected by the wind and current than the hard boat, lots of velcro, hooks, tabs and mesh netting to hang stuff on. Soft and comfortable to sit in. Very maneuverable, small tail on the boat helps that.

Bad: It took me a while to get comfortable in it. I tried sitting more upright like I do in my hard boat, which has a hard plastic seat with a backrest in it. The problem with the seat in the dragonfly is that its just held in at the top of the backrest with a strap, and you cant adjust how you're sitting in it as you're sitting ON it. I ended up wiggling it out from under me and flipping it onto the back. Later I got out of the boat in a shallow area and readjusted the seat and the sitting position to where I was more reclined than I am in the hardboat, and I got comfortable with that. There are two big velcro pieces to attach your paddle to the boat, and the rear one is right where my elbow wants to be when paddling, so after scraping on that a while I changed my paddling style a little to accommodate it. Little bit of waggle from the bow when aggressively paddling...maybe 18-20 inches side to side, nearly none when paddling gently. Takes out a little of your paddle stroke energy. Curiously I found by docking the paddle, turning around backwards and backstroking with my hands I could make pretty good time and of course no waggle when using both hands at the same time.

The ugly: The part of the river I tried it out in has plenty of shallows, and I like weaving in and out of stuff. The river also is well littered with cans and bottles. I hit bottom a couple of times, like I do in my hard boat, and when I pulled the boat out to leave I found a 2" slice that went right through the outer skin on the bottom and did not puncture, but left a scratch on the bottom of the inflated floor. I wasnt aware of the cutting and i'm not sure when it happened. Looks like I took a knife and ran the tip along the material, nice clean cut. Probably a piece of glass or a metal shard. Will need a patch before I use it again, and I guess no paddling in the shallow areas with this boat.

Where I went in is a bitchy little area where the yuba and feather rivers confluence, and they're both quite major rivers. Its full of junk, shallow spots, serious currents that change direction and velocity every 5' and bone chilling water. Its a slightly challenging place when you know the boat you're in and are comfortable with it. After three days of moving furniture, I have some sore muscles here and there. In other words, it was for me a worst case test of what I plan to use the boat for under worse physical conditions than I'd usually be boating.

I still had a good time and felt the boat handled aptly, and I felt fairly safe and comfortable in it.

I'm not thrilled about the slice but its a lesson learned and a little behavioral modification will solve the problem.

I wouldnt recommend this boat for any serious whitewater, maybe a class one or class two. No open ocean or great lakes while theres any kind of weather going on. Fine for ponds, slow moving rivers, light duty bay action sort of stuff.

Feels very different from a hard boat...you sit a lot closer to the water. That took a little getting used to.
 
Late to this thread, but Jack's Plastic Welding in Aztec,  New Mexico makes inflatable kayaks for shallow Southwest rivers.  Probably backpack size when deflated.  He uses thin, true raft material to build a canoe shaped inflatable raft.  I've only bought the big pontoon rafts, didn't pay much attention to the little narrow inflatable kayaks.  Probably way over the budget for this use, but the raft material is not as flimsy like some that were mentioned here.
Look in Walmart near the camping matresses for 12V or 120V air pumps, $10 to $20.
 
Thanks for the report!

...a 2" slice that went right through the outer skin on the bottom and did not puncture, but left a scratch on the bottom of the inflated floor. I wasnt aware of the cutting and i'm not sure when it happened.
Click to expand...

It was probably done by the same guy who keyed your Lexus.
 
Yeah no trouble. Its a nice boat, and if I made it sound flimsy its not. Its pretty decent and should serve me well for my purpose, as long as I dont torture test it in 5" of water full of gravel, broken bottles and shredded cans anymore. In the hard boat if I hit a patch of that I just set the paddle up, stuck my fists into it and knuckled my way across it.

I took a piece of the patch material and cut at it and used some scissors on it. It actually takes a bit of abuse. My pocket knife wouldnt easily penetrate it without a good bit of pressure, even at just the point. Theres some fabric sandwiched in the middle, I can see strands.

Used the provided patch kit to slap a piece of new material over the small cut. They provide a tube of glue and a couple of roughly 3" round patches, color keyed to the top of the skin, the bottom, and the interior inflatable piece.

Now I just have to wait to see if they actually sent me the missing dry bag; if so they get an a+ for customer service end to end.


As long as I steer clear of a small patch near the confluence, its all 3-6' deep.
 
These inflatable kayaks are getting very popular even with the big boat sailors. I see where one could have a lot of fun in some smaller waters that would be hard to haul in a rigid boat. I wonder how it woud do as a fishing boat ?

Kitty
 
...And for what its worth, I never received the missing "dry bag" the manufacturer said they'd send out last week. It'd be about a day or two in transit even if they shipped it USPS.

So either they're real slow in getting it out, or customer service is back to "as usual"...shipping products with missing parts and then not following through with fixing the problem.
 
Can't believe this thread is ten years old.

Anyway, today I bought almost the same model of kayak (Advanced Elements Dragonfly) from Craigslist ($150).

advanced_elements_dragonfly.jpg


I got tired of loading and unloading the canoe from the truck, and I hadn't been out in it for a while. I'll report after I take it out in the water. I've ordered a pump--I don't think the previous owner realized that the pump he had only gets it about halfway inflated.
 
Let us know how it works out. It would be nice to carry a couple of those on a cross-country camping trip if they turn out convenient and comfortable. Did you get the dry bag with it from the first owner...the one that CFB got cheated out of? ;)
 
Reminds me that I had my folding kayak with me up in Maine last week and did a bit of sea kayaking. Great fun, and my 20 year old folder is still in perfect condition.
 
scrinch said:
Let us know how it works out. It would be nice to carry a couple of those on a cross-country camping trip if they turn out convenient and comfortable. Did you get the dry bag with it from the first owner...the one that CFB got cheated out of? ;)
Click to expand...

LOL. No, no dry bag. There's a little mold on the seat. Does that count?
 
We have two inflatable kayaks and used them extensible when we had the sailboat. Comfortable and easy to carry. Much slower than regular kayaks, so when we went with others, we lagged pretty far behind.
The later models are a bit more streamlined, and track a bit better.
 
I haven't been able to go out on the water yet, but I've built a shelf that I can throw it on from the bed of the truck. Here's the kayak, half inflated:

KayakShelf1.jpg Kayakshelf2.jpg

Much slower than regular kayaks,
Click to expand...

Right. That's the tradeoff, but I usually won't be going far.
 
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I've been thinking of getting an inflatable to carry in our RV, so it needs to be compact for travel and easy to inflate and lightweight for me to carry on my own. This reminds me to do some serious research.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
 
Had a great shakedown cruise. All good. More later.

CA4K0aC.jpg


Sorry about the hairy legs.

8ox6Syt.jpg


Panorama, thanks, Photoshop:

TciN4bI.jpg
 
It tracked better than I thought it would. Definitely not a speed demon, but it doesn't feel like a toy.

ndotJPl.jpg
9tT5v4h.jpg


This will work for fishing.
 
We have two Folbot folding kayaks, a single and a double. These paddle and sail well. I also have a Pygmy wood kayak I made from a kit. Last year we added an inflatable Hobie for DW. It is pedal powered. So far she loves it. it is faster into the wind than our other kayaks as its pedal system provied a constant 'purchase'. Easy to assemble and carry around, she can even go kayaking carrying it in her Miata.
 
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