Inflatable Kayaks

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@ C

New member
Hi Folks:
Thanks for all the useful info on winterizing my TC 255.
Now, my wife just sold her Hobie Mirage kayak and is looking for an
inflatable kayak which we can take on the TC. What should we look for
and do you have any preferred brands, materials, and so on.
Thanks,
 
We have an Innova 2 person inflatable kayak. It weighs 25 pounds, fits into a drybag backpack and has been good to us for several years. It is the HeliosII model and they go for about $1,000.
 
Did you like the Mirage drive? Hobie makes 3 inflatables; There is a 9 foot single and a 12 foot inflatable, then a 14 tandem. They are not light, nor cheap. But for me, they are much better than paddling (with a bad back)! That is my first choice.

We also have the Advanced Elements advanced frame tandem, with the open cockpit--I like the Advanced Elements single, Air Fusion better. There are many options with the Advanced elements boats, and that can make them fair to good. Adding the advanced frame, and air floor made the basic boat far better. The advantage of this boat is that you can make it a single, tandem, or even put two children and one adult in the boat, and it works equally well in each role.

Sevylor has been making some better products in the last several years, but for the most part I have not been impressed with their products.

There are a number of two tube, plus inflatables--several I have seen have excellent characteristics. I don't know all of the brands.
 
Bob:
Thanks for the reply, Bob. Yes. My wife liked the Mirage drive.
I can't seem to find
an inflatable on Hobie's website. Do they exist or were you
speaking of another manufacturer?

Also, the water tank and water heater on my 2006 TC are on the
starboard side as you indicated.
Bill
 
Bill, Hobie makes 3 inflatable models. Two of them are singles (9' & 12' in length), while the other is a tandem at 14'. All use the Mirage drive. When you look at the Hobie web site each of these models seems to have an "i" proceeding the number. They look very intriguing, but are certainly costly when compared to the alternative brands mentioned.

http://www.hobiecat.com/kayaks/mirage/i14t/

Rob
 
I just bought a Sea Eagle 385.

http://www.seaeagle.com/FastTrack.aspx

We blew it up in the house and it seems like a pretty stout little boat. We haven't had it in the water yet so I can't say too much more about it. A friend has an inflatable Hobie and it seemed like quite a load. This boat only wieghs 35 lbs. and inflates and deflates quickly. It should find a spot on the roof of my 22. It cost about $800

Bruce Cassal
Carpy
 
Thanks for all the info. Will check it out.
Cat walking in front of screen makes it difficult
to type right now.
 
I have an Advanced Elements Advanced Frame, like this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Elements ... B000J2Q0C6

It paddles well, is amazingly stable (easy to get in and out of), and lightweight enough for me to pull at aboard easily by myself. I used it extensively last summer when I took the C-Dory to Alaska and loved the kayak. Next trip, I'll carry two of the kayaks and leave the dinghy at home.

I expected to pop the kayak several times, but it is surprisingly durable.
 
It would be great if there is some place which would allow you to look at boats inflated--and then see how they paddle. Because of our backs, we use the Hobie Mirage drive--but it is heavier. We will have both in the Keys this winter (Revolution Mirage and i9 inflatable. The Mirage drive alone is $850--that is worth a lot to use because the leg muscles are powerful, and can propel the boat at much higher speeds than we can paddle. Also the Hobie's have a sail kit (small sail, unless you get the Adventure Island)

Most of the kayaks mentioned are "consumer" grade. That is the bottoms are not real thick or tough. For use in salt water, around docks, beaches etc, you want the most durable boat you can find. If it going to be in quiet back waters, small lakes and gentle rivers---then the cheaper boats are OK>

You want a durable fabric, which is then coated--not a pure vinyl fabric, as some of the less expensive boats use. However, price is not always an indicator of quality.

The Advanced frame, use vinyl bladders inside of fabric tubes, and I like this because of the protection. The aluminum frame and air floor give the kayak better form.
 
Thanks all. Leo, that site is great for comparison purposes.
The jury is still out on Kathy's preference of the Hobie Mirage drive over a regular paddler.
We'll see which wins out.
Thanks again.
 
I need to relate my experience with my Hobie nine foot inflatable Mirage drive Kayak. There are 3 ports in the aft part of the boat for inflation, and one port forward. I had not inflated mine for several years, and to demonstrate the boat to a C Brat, I inflated it--putting air into the front port (which looks similar to the inflation port on many boats).....Big mistake--this is a bilge drain. The boat didn't seem stable, so we put more air into this port--and then all of a sudden a lot of air came out of the bottom. The scupper drains, thru the hull had blown off.

I related my problem on the Hobie forum, and their technician said take the boat back to your dealer, and have him submit a warrantee claim. I bought the boat 4 years ago! About 7 weeks later, the boat came back to my dealer, not only repaired, but with a label warning about putting air in this port, and with new control lines and other upgrades.

Total cost--$50 shipping~

Kudos to Hobie for standing behind their product even out of warrantee!

Certainly a company I would continue to do business with--and I also saw their new "pro Angler Kayak 14" at the dealer. That is one impressive boat!
 
Thanks everyone for their comments

I am buying a Sea Eagle for exploring the Charlotte Harbor canals and estauries along with using on the boat and storing it in the vehicle to explore other areas. It is a decent starter kayak according to the reviews plus the price was lowered last night and includes free shipping.

Happy Holidays
 
We have owned a pair of Airis inflatable kayaks for three years and have had mixed results. They are manufactured by Walker Bay, the company that makes those plastic hard dinghies, and are available in Annapolis at Inflatable Xperts, or MSI. They are very light, extremely stable and have some useful features and accessories like rod holders. Unfortunately, Walker Bay seems to have discontinued most models due to slow sales. We have had a number of issues with air leaks due to small holes and cuts in the fabric, possibly caused by dragging them up on sandy beaches. We had one scary incident where my wife had paddled out to an uninhabited island on Lake Champlain with our dog, and on her way back her kayak started losing air. She went back to the island, found a small twig, stuck it in the hole and paddled like crazy to our anchored TomCat. Recently, the skeg on her kayak fell off, and it took two months to get a replacement part. While we really like their design, we're not happy with their durability or customer support.
 
One advantage of both the Hobie Mirae and the Advanced Elements is that they have double hulls. That is the inflation tubes are inside of the outer "skin". In the Hobie, it appears to be a material similar to the tubes (Coated PVC fabric). The Advanced Element has a heavy fabric outer layer, coated on the bottom, uncoated on sides and top. Both of these tend to avoid the pinpoint holes from dragging over sand etc. Barnacles, sharp rocks etc are a different story, and can damage any "double hull" so best to pick up the boat in those circumstances. The same principle is in air floor inflatable boats, where there is an outer fabric. I believe that the Airis, which are good and durable boats, only have the floor directly in contact with the water, and outside of the boat. Same as the inflatable paddle boards.
 
Like inflatable dinghies, the bottom of the "tubes" on the Airis comes in contact with the land when beached. The separate, bottom floor cannot protect the inflatable tubes from sand or pebbles, so extreme caution must be used when beaching these kayaks. Also, we have had two failures in the kayak's separate interior inflatable floor piece which has no contact with the exterior seabed or beach. We really like the functionality of these kayaks (we have a 12-foot Angler and a 10-foot Sport), but we're disappointed that we've had so many repairs. Between the two kayaks we now have 8 patches and have had to replace one skeg that fell off. According to the dealer, all models except an 11-foot and the tandem have been discontinued. Based on my research and from what I've read here, I may try an Advanced Element model next summer.
 
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