Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > RV LIFE STYLES FORUMS > Hobbies, Passions & Pastimes
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 02-07-2014, 03:34 AM   #29
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 4,063
As a life raft or out on big water a heavy duty inflatable will be a better choice over the portaboat. The portaboat will start to buckle and fail once you pass its design speed/stress limit which in heavy water can happen from just the wave action. They have a max 4hp rating and even with a motor that small you can exceed the hulls speed/stress rating.

Personally I would not want to be out in an open boat less than 25 feet long in 6 to 15 foot seas.

The porta is good for its intended purpose and can be great fun for protected water use however it is not an open water boat.
__________________
Neil V
2001 Winnebago Adventurer WFG35U
NeilV is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 02-07-2014, 06:45 AM   #30
Senior Member
 
airbrushguy's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 125
Quote:
Originally Posted by camaraderie View Post
6-15 ft. seas in an inflatable huh. WOW ....never saw anything like that in my 7 years of full time cruising the US & Caribe... nor would I have even thought about it in my own 10'Caribe RIB or 8ft. AVON RIB...but your Nissan must be a helluva dink.

Meanwhile...back at the lake... the Portabote has advantages over inflatables of any type as a fishing and rowing platform. Each to his own.
Lol, not saying I would ever want to get caught in that situation, just choosing my weapon. I used to do S&R drills with the coasties and they would think nothing of taking those 16' inflatables out into 15 footers. Made me want to puke ....
__________________
Network Engineer/Airbrush Artist in Tampa, FL
2006 Pilgrim Open Road 357RL & 1997 Fleetwood Southwind Storm
airbrushguy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-08-2014, 11:09 AM   #31
Senior Member
 
camaraderie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 343
Neil is absolutely correct. It is not an open water boat. Fantastic for its' purpose.
Anyway...people coming on this thread can look at everything and make up their own minds for their own purposes. Except for Kayaks...we haven't mentioned those!
__________________
Cam... Georgetown 280DS 2015
Vespa Lx150 2013 Stella Auto125 2014
camaraderie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2014, 02:11 AM   #32
rtz
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 24
West Marine sells a bunch of these little boats. I've ridden on the SB-275 and it's a lot of fun. It either had a 1.5hp motor or a 2hp. Plenty fast unless you want to set speed records with something bigger. When you're shopping for a motor; pay attention to the weights of the motor. The little ones are lighter and cheaper and they start getting more heavy and expensive in a hurry.

Boat was reminiscent of a Jet Ski or Wave Runner when going fast or on choppy(wavy) lake water. Boat skims over the surface of the water instead of pushing through the water. Boat handled perfectly fine and normal at lower speeds(we were racing around going flat out).

Absolutely handy and indispensable to have on hand so that any body of water that you are at you can explore. Pumps up fast and the motor clamps on to the transom. West Marine also sells a motor that runs on Propane.

Many larger ships use these inflatables to run to shore with.



A few videos of the different models:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF21D50B61BF1E546

This page has a lot of good info. Pay attention to what type of floor it has as that will determine how small the boat will pack up:

The West Advisor: Inflatable Boats

They go on sale often and I think the prices are negotiable too in store.

This place also has a good selection of different brands:

http://www.defender.com/categoryBoat...570&id=1794282

I plan on getting one myself in the near future. Great to be able to get out on the water at any moments notice.
rtz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2019, 08:37 PM   #33
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 1
cavitating prop on 18 ft inflatable boat

Hi folks I'm new here but hoping someone can help me . I just bought a used 18 ft Saturn SD518 inflatable and I'm having a helluva time with the prop sucking air and then the engine won't get boat up on plane . Engine just revs out ! engine is a 2004 Johnson 40 hp and I had a 11 1/2 19 pitch prop on it but that was spinning out so I bought a 12 1/4 15 pitch and its still catching air . boat calls for a 15 inch short shaft and that's what it is and cavitation plate is right in line with bottom of stern I have boat properly inflated to manufactures specs thinking about trying a lower pitch prop like an 11 pitch any suggestions ?? Thanks Maguire
Maguire is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2019, 01:26 AM   #34
rtz
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 24
I'd call this guy up and have a chat about props. I've watched all his videos and he seems to have some experience with such things: https://youtu.be/Sp0MdKzXaSw
rtz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-27-2019, 02:07 PM   #35
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Seattle,WA/HB,CA./Fujieda-Japan
Posts: 849
I own the following...


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B8SS3L5...ing=UTF8&psc=1


Purchased mine from Elkton Outdoors site. Nicely constructed (very durable) and stable enough to stand in.
udid is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-27-2019, 02:28 PM   #36
Member
 
Forest River Owners Club
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Daphne, AL
Posts: 73
I’ve had an 11’ Achellies for the past 12 yrs and offer the following suggestions:
1. Get one with the high pressure inflatable floor - much easier
2. Buy a specialized inflatable pump, it pumps both high volume and high pressure, auto shutoff when pressure reached, inflates mine in about 5-7 minutes, very easy and fast
3. Get the fold up transom wheels as shown in earlier post, you can car tow in campground with them and a hitch adapter
4. I built a 2 wheel plywood cart to store and move it when deflated, their heavy and cart makes it easy.
5. I use 9.9 two stroke, much lighter than 4 stroke easier for me, it also has own cart
I carried mine in a bay compartment of diesel pusher since sold, so now in back of a Honda CR-V behind a Super C
Good luck
Jag73e is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2020, 09:57 AM   #37
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Sarasota, FL
Posts: 148
I bought one of these a couple months ago.

https://scoutinflatables.com/products/scout-boats

I wanted something that I could handle alone, and it seems to be just what I needed. I also bought a 3.5 HP motor to go with it.

heySkippy is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Canoe Question Too Tall Hobbies, Passions & Pastimes 17 11-15-2014 12:55 PM
Inflatable rubber boats & kayaks anyone? charliej Gear and Product Discussions 20 09-29-2013 12:19 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:57 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.