Set up and fold down of Sea Eagle 12.6 SR air floor

[ba_fisher]

I went out fishing on my friend's Sea Eagle 12.6 SR air floor. I took a video of the effort it takes to set up and fold down the boat.

It was pretty rough that day. Swell 5 ft 10 seconds, 15+ wind. It was a very wet ride back (I was drenched through my underwear), but it felt pretty safe. (I left out the shots of the big waves to avoid questions from my family ...).

The only scary part was a commercial boat almost hit us because the captain wasn't looking. We should have brought along a warning flag on a pole. I gave them a middle finger nonetheless to show my appreciation.

We just had a tiny trolling motor because my friend left his 6hp suzuki at home. It was a loooooooong drive, but fun :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V7TQANLc8Q

[Locozodiac]

Very bad idea to leave a fuel powered motor at home, sea water can turn unpredictable at any moment and such motor will return you safely back to terra firme way faster if boating far off from the coast.

Happy Boating

[ba_fisher]

Originally Posted by Locozodiac

Very bad idea to leave a fuel powered motor at home, sea water can turn unpredictable at any moment and such motor will return you safely back to terra firme way faster if boating far off from the coast.

Happy Boating

You're right about this. We had some trouble with the trolling motor. The battery terminals were corroded and the motor refused to run. We had to clean all the terminals for the motor to run again.

[Fenlander]

Motor troubles aside I enjoyed the video. Always good to see the way others get out on the water.

[billows]

I'm impressed with the electric motor for short trips. What was the weight and amperage of the battery?
What is the experiences of fishing from a sib? What is the likelihood of puncturing a tube?Would blunting the hooks be an option? The mouth of a fish is after all softer than the tube material?

[ba_fisher]

Those are lithium batteries. They are relatively light (46lb, 130(?)ah) but very expensive. My friend said they are over $1000 each new, but there are some second hand ones that were previously used in computer data centers.

For fishing, just use circle hooks. Also, if the species you go after have sharp spines, land them with a net and don't let them bounce on the tube -- I let that happen once on my RIB and had 2 small leaks afterwards:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_oF13LKjpM

http://www.rib.net/forum/f8/fishing-...air-69989.html

My friend's SIB is air floor but the floor is very thick. He also had some spine punctures on his tubes, but never on the air floor.