Let's talk inflatables
 

Hi everyone:

Well, the old Metzler inflatable is nearing the end of it's life after 30 years and about a dozen or so patches.

What does everyone like for inflatables; here is my criteria:

1. Must be comfortable to fish out of for 4 adults. Looking at 14 feet in length.

2. Must have a built in bracket to mount the electric trolling motor.

3. Must be equally versatile for Edmonton area trout pothole lakes as well as floating and rowing rivers. To be sure, I have zero interest in whitewater, it's not necessary for me to run class IV to VI rapids, not trying to run this through Hell's gate on the Fraser. Just using the boat as a vessel to go from A to B on the river from fishing spot to fishing spot. Class 3 water at most. Think Athabasca, Berland, NSR, and the Bow.

I've looked at Zebec, Zodiac, Saturn, Sea Eagle, SeaMax, Aquamarine.

Thoughts?

Cheers in advance,
Mike

I grew up with a Sevylor with transom.

You could check out the 360:

http://www.coleman.com/fish-hunter-3...-boats#start=7

Lots of videos on YouTube to customize it and modify it to how you want to use it.

I hope this helps.

I was in the exact same boat as you this year. Much loved Metzler just couldn't hold air anymore regardless of number of patches. Didn't want to spend the dollars on a Hypalon boat and when I started reading on the PVC boats it seemed that most are made at the same factories in Korea and just branded differently. Supposedly zodiac's PVC seams are better than something like Saturn's but then again when I priced it out they were significantly more expensive also (like $2000 Vs $3500). Went with a Saturn myself and I'm happy so far but that doesn't mean much with only a season under my belt. It'll be that 5-10 year mark that will tell the tale. When reading a cross section of reviews I didn't really find anything glaring bad in any of the main PVC boat brands like sea eagle, seamax etc.

Some general info

http://inflatableboatworks.com/?p=1796

Good luck

They're expensive but my vote goes to Zodiac

I've got two friends with Zebec boats and they are quite happy with their investments.

I just purchased a nice Zebec 320S from my neighbor. He bought it new and barely used it. The inflatable floor has a leak so I wanted to purchase a wood or aluminum floor. Apparently the company that was bringing them to Canada is no longer in business.
Does anyone know where to get a floor or at least have some contact info?
I also need to know how much air pressure to put in the tubes , the floor, keel, and inflatable floor. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

You could try inflatableboatwarehouse

I bought my salter 360 from them and they do sell the floor separately.. maybe they have something for you. They're out of BC but ship where ever

Thanks. I'll check them out.

Buddy has a zodiac and a zebec boat. Zebec was quite a bit cheaper but quality seems as good or better. It is a fair bit heavier than the zodiac, but it's 2' longer and wider as well. He runs both with a 20 hp short leg Yamaha 4 stroke.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2d0d21e109.jpg




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Check into Stryker Inflatables. Suppose to be built in same plant as Zodiac and seem to be cheaper and as good if not better built! They looked really good when I saw them at the boat show.


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Basically for your application you can get any inflatable boat. For the most part they are all made in Asia somewhere using PVC and glued together. There are countless brands out there all selling similar boats with different badges. The brands specify to the manufacture which colors they want, boat dimensions, how thick they want the PVC etc. At the end of the day they will all work and you will be happy with any of them.

Many people mentioned boat X being better than Zodiacs and for the most part its not true. It depends entirely on which Zodiac model they compare it to. Since the 2000s zodiac started outsourcing their low end models to be built in Asia to compete against all these brands so really the low end Zodiacs are no different than the ones i described above. If you are interested in the higher quality Zodiacs look at the Futura, Classic or even a milpro models. As far as I know all these models are still produced in the Zodiac factory in France (where no other brands are produced).

As for the brands you mentioned they have been around for awhile now so you can expect them to honor warranties if something were to happen. A lot of these generic inflatable boat companies pop up for a bit then close down so do your homework on the company.

Inflateables
 

I've owned a Stryker for 2 years now and it looks like it just came from the factory. They are extremely well built and have features that come standard that would cost hundreds extra with other companies. I always get compliments from people on the lake about its style and maneuverability. Solid transom alum flooring rod holders Bimini top make it a fisherman ng machine. Love it

I got my aquamarine off eBay (from aquamarine itself). for a great price. Regularly used for 10 years and no issues. Only annoyance was paint flaking off the floor boards.

I have both an inflatable (zodiac) and a 12 foot porta-bote and I like the porta-bote a lot better. But for me its more the portability and set up.

Europa Marine Seamax Dealer
 

Buy local. Seamax dealer is Europa Marine.