Dinghys & Inflatable 'Boats'
Discussion
My brother & i recently bought a couple of crab pots, to do some amateur potting with (all legit).
We live about a 2 min drive from a beach, where you have to go down a huge flight of steps, (probably a couple hundred round a cliff).
Then to get to the cove where we go spearfishing & potting it's about a 30min walk round the rocks, now i could swim, with fins & it'd probably take about 20-25minutes.
I'm looking at a cheaper alternative to be able to get round to this little cove with.
I've conisdered a Kayak, but it's too expensive & it's too heavy to be taking down all the steps & i've also considered a sea scooter which is still a possibility.
I've also seen this which i'm considering:
http://www.outdoorleisuredirect.co.uk/product.php?...
Is it going to be any good?
It does'nt look like proper Dinghy territory (maybe photo's dont do it justice).
But it looks a bit more ample than a PVC boat from the local beach shop!
Apparently it's 3 ply heavy duty PVC but that does'nt really mean much to me, a chap on Ebay reckons it's good for 3 people & he's been out in the sea in it with an outboard & his son/friend.
Any PH'ers experienced these?
EFA
We live about a 2 min drive from a beach, where you have to go down a huge flight of steps, (probably a couple hundred round a cliff).
Then to get to the cove where we go spearfishing & potting it's about a 30min walk round the rocks, now i could swim, with fins & it'd probably take about 20-25minutes.
I'm looking at a cheaper alternative to be able to get round to this little cove with.
I've conisdered a Kayak, but it's too expensive & it's too heavy to be taking down all the steps & i've also considered a sea scooter which is still a possibility.
I've also seen this which i'm considering:
http://www.outdoorleisuredirect.co.uk/product.php?...
Is it going to be any good?
It does'nt look like proper Dinghy territory (maybe photo's dont do it justice).
But it looks a bit more ample than a PVC boat from the local beach shop!
Apparently it's 3 ply heavy duty PVC but that does'nt really mean much to me, a chap on Ebay reckons it's good for 3 people & he's been out in the sea in it with an outboard & his son/friend.
Any PH'ers experienced these?
EFA
Edited by lawrence567 on Friday 3rd June 09:47
cabbron said:
not for me,i wouldn't fancy that at sea,flat bottom too i should imagine.mind you i just sold a 3m tohatsu tender with a 9.8hp,was an arse to lug about.
It is literally for going round to a cover about 5-600m away i'm not actually going out to sea in it & it's not going to be used in winds / waves.lawrence567 said:
I've conisdered a Kayak, but it's too expensive & it's too heavy to be taking down all the steps & i've also considered a sea scooter which is still a possibility.
A "sea scooter" (I assume you mean DPV?) thats worth having will cost much more than even a very nice kayak and weigh a similar amount.My Apollo AV-1 "scooter" weighs about 18kg, Kayaks weight 19-28kilos (that I've used) so not alot in it. A nice sit-on-top kayak is a very good diving, spearfishing platform as well.
The boat in your URL looks reasonable, don't fancy it much if there is any chop though! But surely with oars and pump etc it'll weigh just as much as a kayak (you can get inflatable kayaks too BTW)
FWIW- We have spearfisherman down here who often swim in excess of 2km offshore to dive so despite the time taken its a viable way of spearfishing, might make hauling up pots abit of a pain though :-)
Edited by scubadude on Friday 3rd June 12:02
scubadude said:
A "sea scooter" (I assume you mean DPV?) thats worth having will cost much more than even a very nice kayak and weigh a similar amount.
My Apollo AV-1 "scooter" weighs about 18kg, Kayaks weight 19-28kilos (that I've used) so not alot in it. A nice sit-on-top kayak is a very good diving, spearfishing platform as well.
The boat in your URL looks reasonable, don't fancy it much if there is any chop though! But surely with oars and pump etc it'll weigh just as much as a kayak (you can get inflatable kayaks too BTW)
FWIW- We have spearfisherman down here who often swim in excess of 2km offshore to dive so despite the time taken its a viable way of spearfishing, might make hauling up pots abit of a pain though :-)
I must tell you in advance i'm a pretty useless spear fisherman!My Apollo AV-1 "scooter" weighs about 18kg, Kayaks weight 19-28kilos (that I've used) so not alot in it. A nice sit-on-top kayak is a very good diving, spearfishing platform as well.
The boat in your URL looks reasonable, don't fancy it much if there is any chop though! But surely with oars and pump etc it'll weigh just as much as a kayak (you can get inflatable kayaks too BTW)
FWIW- We have spearfisherman down here who often swim in excess of 2km offshore to dive so despite the time taken its a viable way of spearfishing, might make hauling up pots abit of a pain though :-)
Edited by scubadude on Friday 3rd June 12:02
I can get to where i want to go via walking round the rocks but it's a bit sketchy.
I just thought the summers here & it might be nice as my gf's boys could come out in it and paddle just off shore with it with life jackets on.
For the money i'll just have a crack, if it's useless i'll just chuck it back on Ebay again!
lawrence567 said:
Lefty said:
2nd hand zodiac or the like?
Ebay has them at going for nearer £200, is this normal or am i looking in the wrong place?For God's sake don't go out in an offshore wind either. I know a chap doing a very similar thing to you, who went out to play with his lobster pots about 500m from the beach. Outboard failed, offshore wind, and it took him 2 hours of frantic rowing to get back to land. He was absolute wreck for a couple of weeks after, literally rowing to save his life, not much fun at all.
Just remember a boat with no keel is like a big kite bobbing on top of the water. Wind will just scoot it across the surface, much more than anything with a decent, heavy-ish hull. Inflatable dinghies with a flat hull can be a bugger to row too as there's a lot of surface resistance compared to a kayak or proper hulled dinghy.
At the very least, get yourself a waterproof VHF to go in your pocket, just in case.
maser_spyder said:
Maybe, but money well spent.
For God's sake don't go out in an offshore wind either. I know a chap doing a very similar thing to you, who went out to play with his lobster pots about 500m from the beach. Outboard failed, offshore wind, and it took him 2 hours of frantic rowing to get back to land. He was absolute wreck for a couple of weeks after, literally rowing to save his life, not much fun at all.
Just remember a boat with no keel is like a big kite bobbing on top of the water. Wind will just scoot it across the surface, much more than anything with a decent, heavy-ish hull. Inflatable dinghies with a flat hull can be a bugger to row too as there's a lot of surface resistance compared to a kayak or proper hulled dinghy.
At the very least, get yourself a waterproof VHF to go in your pocket, just in case.
Quick update.For God's sake don't go out in an offshore wind either. I know a chap doing a very similar thing to you, who went out to play with his lobster pots about 500m from the beach. Outboard failed, offshore wind, and it took him 2 hours of frantic rowing to get back to land. He was absolute wreck for a couple of weeks after, literally rowing to save his life, not much fun at all.
Just remember a boat with no keel is like a big kite bobbing on top of the water. Wind will just scoot it across the surface, much more than anything with a decent, heavy-ish hull. Inflatable dinghies with a flat hull can be a bugger to row too as there's a lot of surface resistance compared to a kayak or proper hulled dinghy.
At the very least, get yourself a waterproof VHF to go in your pocket, just in case.
I bid on the boat being a bit of a skeptic about them ( the Intex Seahawk II ).
I figured i'd get what i paid for it on Ebay anyway so took a punt.
Picked it up on Saturday, the chap chucked in the outboard mount & 2 x life jackets.
It's actually for the money a really sturdy piece of kit.
It does'nt feel anything like the ones you'd buy from a beach shop.
I'd say it feel's like bouncy castle material.
Hopfully the next purchase will be a small outboard if i can get one for the right sort of money.
I'm not paddling out to see in it so i should'nt have a problem with it & i would;nt be using it if it was choppy or if there was an offshore!
It all folds down into a bag about the size of a car boot (small hatch size) & weighs about 20KG, it took me about 5 mins with a high output hand pump to pump it up.
Once i've had it out on the water i'll let you know what it's like.
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