opinions on inflatables ease of assembley etc

[Dino89]

what is the best way to go with an inflatable that has to be packed away
was looking at a bombard 380 but rarer than rocking horse sh-t second hand is there any others with inflatable decks or whats the best way to go
looking at 2nd hand as a second boat i can take when towing caravan
want something under 4m with 25hp poss add steering basically for a bit of fun and fishing
thanks

[chunky293]

Hi

That was my original idea to just throw it all in the back of the car and blow it up and put it together once I got to the beach,,, I have a seapro 385hd with alu floor and a 15hp parson 4 stroke, the boat was easy to inflate but the alu floor was a pain aspecially the locking side bars took me 5 hrs until I used a whopping great mallet to knock them in, so I KEEP IT INFLATED ON A TRAILER NOW.
But if you whent for a airdeck floor this would be benificial to you. the whole package would wiegh less and time in assembling would be minimised. there are lots of models and sizes that pack away nicely into packs. just check out e-bay and boats& outboards web sites. some of the guys on here will be along shortly to tell you about which models are best with 25hp engines Im only a novice, I think the aerodeck floors would be best which ever model you whent for , for ease and portability.Solong as you have a good air pump...

Regards
Chunky

[prairie tuber]

If you are setting the boat up on anything other than a completely table flat hard surface, you need to put the oars under the floor fabric (between the fabric and the ground) while fitting the floorboards and stringers. Doing that makes the difference between "Wow, that was easy!" and hours of frustration.

[Dino89]

thanks as i suspect the floors not only weigh quite a bit can be awkward to install as well so airdeck does seem the best way to go. so what options are there in air decks apart from the bombard 380 ,
thanx

[chunky293]

Originally Posted by Dino89

thanks as i suspect the floors not only weigh quite a bit can be awkward to install as well so airdeck does seem the best way to go. so what options are there in air decks apart from the bombard 380 ,
thanx

There are many aerodeck sibs. Seapro.Quicksilver,Avon,Zodiac.just to mention a few, most sibs are sold with a choice of floor types, wooden slats,aluminium or aerdeck.
When your looking for a second hand one just check the persons discription to see what floor type it has, If its not mentioned in the discription then mail the person and ask.
Bill Higham marine in manchester sell Seapros with either floor type new for £849.approx


Chunky