Seamax 380 HD w/25HP leisurely pull a tube?

[fish&fry04]

Appreciate any feedback, trying to please the whole family. Question before we buy a boat. Family of 4 (2 adults, 2 pre-teen boys). We need portability of inflatable. I have read lots of inflatable feeds.

Leaning strong towards Seamax 380 HD, to use with both 55lb trolling and/or 25hp motor.
Will be using it for fishing Bow river, other smaller rivers, Lake Kookanusa and any other lake we come across.

First, is this an ok size for family of 4 fishing?
Aluminum or air floor? Is the aluminum a pain in the butt if deflating boat often? website says so.

Could this boat pull a tube with a 25hp motor? I am not talking about wake-boarding, skiing, or fast tubing, just leisure tubing for the kids <100lb, if they get tired of fishing. (I cant find anywhere to rent a boat near kikomun).

Appreciate any help for me the newbie. FISH&FRY04

How new? Fish laugh at me, but it's fun anyway.

[Tyangelo]

Would be working pretty hard, especially with a full boat. Unless you prop it really easy, which is a possibility. I would suggest a 50 hp at least.

[fish&fry04]

Thanks! I figured we would head back to shore and dump everything except one adult in the boat and the one kid on the tube, that being said we might need the weight in the front. Owner of the boat shop thought pulling slow that a 25hp could pull a tube about 20 miles per hour. Boat rating is max'd out at 25hp, I worry the boat would flip with higher HP. If this does not make sense, please let me know, like I said I am new to all this, just not sure what engines and boats are capable of, and we don't want to be unsafe or kill a motor.

[niwrek]

I could pull a tube very aggressively, with 3 people on it with a 38 horse jet ski

[fish&fry04]

Yeah my brother pulled my whole family with the seadoo, not sure what the HP was, but is it the fact that it is a jet, not a prop that made that possible to pull a tube with less than 50hp?

[npauls]

Go check out iboats.com. There is guys that have said they learned to water ski behind a 14 foot tinner with a 25hp motor. I can't see why the set up you mentioned couldn't pull a tube.

[fish&fry04]

Thanks for the info, i did go to iboats.com and in a quick search, this is what I found one guy, and I quote:
"I connect a bridle up to the lifting/tie down rings on the transom. I can tow a 2 person tube with some larger people on it with 2-3 people in my 16' RIB on 40Hp with no problems. The only thing is that this setup causes the tow rope to ride very close to the water. Going straight is fine, but in turns the rope can get "caught" in the water as the tube swings out. This can interfere with those fast swings of the tube to the outside of the turn that people find exciting. A higher tow point would help with this.".

Granted he has a 40hp, but he is also pulling an adult, with adult boat passengers too.

[Kingfisher]

I have used an inflateable for many years. You will have ample room in it. But certainly if you have only 2 people in the boat for tubing it will make for much more fun. Have one person right at the front to look back and spot. You at the back to watch where the heck your going.

You will have a blast with that boat. The kids won't need to do 50 mph to have fun behind the boat. You will be surprised at how fast you can go with that 25. Inflateables don't have any displacement in the water. They sit right on top. So once your on plane you will be skipping along the water.

Have fun.
Rob

[bloopbloob]

When I was younger(10-15ish), my dad would tow me or my brother, while one of us spotted in his 16' aluminum with only a 15hp on it. Quite slow to get out of the hole, and certainly not a speed demon, but once the tube got on plane, it wasn't fast, but still lots of fun. Pulls the transom down quite a bit when you start off though!

[Woody_16]

Originally Posted by fish&fry04

I figured we would head back to shore and dump everything except one adult in the boat and the one kid on the tube

Make sure you double check the rules, you will need a spotter to watch the person on the tube if I'm not mistaken.

[JohnnyD]

My family has had a zebec 320 for years. It has served a great purpose for all its life! Last summer I pulled my sisters boyfriend behind on water skis. I was alone (I know illegal) and the boat has a 15 hp honda. I weigh in around 220 and he is 160, so tubing behind 25 hp should be fun!

One thing you will find is that these boats are more luggable than portable. I highly recommend purchasing launching wheels as they make the setup very simple to move around once inflated. Also before you buy your motor go to the dealership and see how heavy a 25 hp motor is.

On the plus side these boats have amazing stability in ruff water when compared to similar sized aluminum boats. You will have many years of enjoyment!

-John

[fish&fry04]

Thanks, I wonder if a detachable planing system would help get it up on the plane, I understand they improve towing and general performance dramatically.

Thanks JohnnyD for the reply, glad to hear you have had good experiences with the inflatable and they are sturdy. I am surprised to hear you got a man up on skis on 15hp!

I just have to talk the spouse into dropping more $ on a motor, almost more than on the boat. Starts to make the cheap trip to kookanusa pretty pricey.

But what is the point going to a lake without a boat??!!
Ah yes, and i meant having a spotter in the boat, we do follow the rules, they are there for a reason.

I will look around for a used 20-25hp maybe one out there for cheap enough.

Kids want to get out on the lake, I JUST WANNA GO FISHING! (even if the fish do laugh at me)

Really appreciate the input.

[Tyangelo]

I stand corrected. I assumed the boat was a bigger model. Derrrrr.... Yep. You should be ok with your setup.