Inflatable Boat

I carry a Quicksilver 2.7 Metre Airdeck and a 5hp Mercury outboard. The advantage of the airdeck is it is able to be rolled up complete once deflated, only takes about 15 to 20 mins to fully inflate ready to use.
The 5hp pushes the boat onto the plane with 2 people of average size with our gear.
It is all carried in the back of the L/C 100 series, no worries. The engine is a 2 stroke as it is light and outperforms any 4 stroke. Hardly uses any fuel if run in the mid to 3/4 throttle range.
Regards
KEN

We have a sevlor fish hunter, which we use to use to fish water holes that were to hard toi fish from the bank. While it served its purpose we now use a large plastic canadian to do the same thing. One problem with the inflatable because ours did not have a hard floor I never liked the idea of a fish rolling around in the bottom of the boat with a lure in its mouth . We have not used the inflatable scince buying the canoe.
Cheers Pete

Hi bill13,
We had a 3.6mt Zodiac with the inflatable floor. Weighed about 35 kg, could carry 4 adults easy but used it mostly with just the two of us. Had a 15hp Mercury which again weighed about 40 kg so manageble, but the thing would fly, such fun. The boat when folded up was approx. 1.0mtrx500mmx450mm. Stuck it in the back of the Pajero with the seats folded out of the way and then stuck the motor on top of it. Still plenty of room for heaps of other stuff.
Regards Col.

G'day Bill,

I have a Quicksilver 3.8 with a 15hp Yamaha. It has a hard floor ply floor that separates into about 5 pieces. When folded up, both the boat & motor fit in the back of my 100 series Landcruiser behind the rear seats and on top of my drawer system. I use it for fishing and accessing surf in remote locations. You do have to be careful with lures etc. when fishing but it is way less bulky than putting a tinny on the roof.

I have been looking for the same and initially had thought the 270 Quicksilver would suffice with a 5hp. In the end bought a 340 Quicksilver with 15hp, the roll up size is not significantly different to the 270 and for a lot of trips we can take it on the trailer.

Looking forward to lots of fun!

I have been in the inflatable boat industry for over 25 years.
Tips you should know.
Make shore you by a boat made of Hypalon fabric.
Inflatable floors a lot easier.
Dont look at boats with outboard brackets.transom models only
Look at motors with integral fuel tanks.
Dont over horse power.
Small low preasure/high volume 12 volt air pump makes inflation easy.
Enjoy.
ERIC D

As I have been in the industry for 30 years all I will say is this
All good small & large & commercial inflatable boats are made from a Fabric called Hypalon & will have glued seams, all the big names, made there reputation using it & still do on there commercial craft but sadly most have moved to a cheaper fabric on smaller craft, Not all, Organizations like Surf life saving & the Australian defence demand that it is made of hypalon fabric. the secret to getting a good one is finding one made of it & with all the fittings being computable (Most are Not) & I would suggest a craft with a drop stitched inflatable floor

Hypalon craft are easily repaired (most other fabrics have to have a controlled environment temp approx 18-25 & humidity below 72%) try that in Aust & travelling
they will not tell you this but ask to look at the instructions on the glue

buy a good one & you will get 20 years out of it without a problem

I hope this helps, I personaly will not say a brand as this is not the forum for it, but will say i would not financaly gain if i did as i only build larger commercial craft

good luck