shore dinghy

[AlanH]

Ever since I saw Chris Humann tooling around the fleet in 2008, I've thought that an inflatable kayak was the ticket for a shore dinghy in Hanalei, particularly on a smaller boat. I had an uber-cheap used vinyl "glorified pool toy" bathtub-style dinghy in 2008 and it got me back and forth to the boat while I was there. I can't say that I was sorry when it "went away" with Ankle Biter. Anyway, I can't find room for the usual type of inflatable dinghy, so an inflatable kayak seems like the ticket.

There are a bunch of them on the market, now. some of the bigger manufacturers are Sevylor, Sea Eagle, Advanced Elements, Aquaglide and Intex. There's also a very pricey but super cool "origami" series of kayaks from Oru. VERY cool....for $1,000+. You can spend from about $60 to over a thousand on an inflatable kayak. I'm not keen on spending too much.

If you really get into it, there's a lot to learn. Some kayaks are made with a composite "rubber"-and -fabric -bonded-together material sort of like the hypalon inflatable dinghies we all know. Some are made from tubes formed from a non-composite, but then have a super-tough, high denier polyester cover. Each has their pluses and minuses, in terms of drying out the kayak after you're done using it, longevity and so on.

In my price point, with an eye to durability, I found three possibilities. The Advanced Elements "Island Voyage" @ $399, the Chinook 100 ($479 or $499 depending on where you find it), and the Intex Excursion Pro $371 at Amazon.com and other retailers. The Intex boat seems to be available at a wide variety of prices, depending on availability and the time of year. One nice thing about Advanced Elements is that they are local, the company headquarters and design shop is in San Francisco. There's a retail shop in Petaluma that carries Aquaglide...Clavey Paddlesports
707-766-8070--- Thurs-Mon 10 -4, closed every Tues-Weds. REI carries some of the Advanced Elements boats.

I wanted a kayak that would hold me, at 300 pounds, plus 50 pounds of kit. "longer" would be good for the ability to pack "stuff" in there besides myself, but then "shorter" packs down smaller on the boat. If you're someone who weighs <200 pounds there are a lot of options for inflatable kayaks which have a payload of 250 pounds. I thought it also might be nice to have a yak that...if I lost some weight (which is the plan) that in theory Joan and I could paddle together, so a 400 or 450 pound payload rating would be handy. A ten foot kayak for two people is pretty darned tight, though it's totally fine for one person (the Aquaglide Chinook 10).

Anyway, I'd narrowed it down to the Intex Excursion Pro and the Advanced Elements Island Voyage, both of which seem to be in the same ballpark, weight-wise and both of which are well-built. I happened to go to the Intex website last night and as of last night, it looks like Intex is dumping stock, because they are practically giving away their kayaks.

URL REMOVED- PRETTY SURE IT'S A SCAM

Either of these...the Challenger K2 or the Explorer K2 will get you back and forth from a SHTP boat and the beach, but I'd probably go for the Explorer K2, it'll keep you drier. It's normally a $140 yak, now $53 and very much NOT a "pool floaty". It's substantial vinyl, and comes with the pump and seats and paddles. Look at reviews on YouTube.

If you go to their "Pro" boats site -- URL REMOVED, PRETTY SURE IT"S A SCAM

You'll both the Mariner 3..and the Mariner 4, which are doughnut boats, and the Excursion Pro Kayak.

The Mariner 3 would absolutely do the job, getting back and forth from the boat to the beach, but it weighs about 70 pounds. That's a lot to load around by yourself, but if you want something that will ferry passengers back and forth, that'll do it.

I bought the Excursion Pro kayak. 39 pounds, 400 pound payload, comes with the pump, two seats and two paddles. $67. Sixty seven bucks.






Here's a review of the Intex Excursion Pro..

These boats are not the quality of an Avon, OK? But they are MILES beyond any pool floaty thingy, or the cheap vinyl Sevylor inflatables you see in the surplus stores.

 

[JimQuanci]

Thinking along similar lines... and wanting to keep the weight down... I went with the Sea Eagle inflatable kayak. 26 lbs. Large enough to take me and two, three and maybe four 5 gal jugs of diesel (or the delivery sails or a second person). $300... not as inexpensive as your Excursion.

 

[AlanH]

Thinking along similar lines... and wanting to keep the weight down... I went with the Sea Eagle inflatable kayak. 26 lbs. Large enough to take me and two, three and maybe four 5 gal jugs of diesel (or the delivery sails or a second person). $300... not as inexpensive as your Excursion.

The Excursion would normally be priced up there with comparable Sea Eagle models. I notice that nobody is selling the Intex boats at these prices, I'd never have found them if I hadn't visited the company website, directly.

Anyway, I have no idea how long these prices will last. If you want to grab a doughnut boat or a kayak that's way beyond the quality of the typical surplus store Sevylor "Tahiti"...and not bust your budget, there ya go.

 

[Lanikai]

I wanted a kayak that would hold me, at 300 pounds, plus 50 pounds of kit.

Not that ~$150 was overpriced, but at ~$50 there's really no excuse not to have one as a marina toy for visitors at the very least.
I've never used an inflatable kayak before, though; as a fellow 300 lber, I wonder about the ease of getting in/out of it from the boat, and most importantly, the "taco" factor. Is longer actually better, in this case?

 

[AlanH]

Not that ~$150 was overpriced, but at ~$50 there's really no excuse not to have one as a marina toy for visitors at the very least.
I've never used an inflatable kayak before, though; as a fellow 300 lber, I wonder about the ease of getting in/out of it from the boat, and most importantly, the "taco" factor. Is longer actually better, in this case?

Entry-Exit boatside is a valid concern, I think. For someone with an Express 27, SC 27, Cal 20 other other low-freeboard boat, I think...no problem. Chris Humann had a Pacfic Seacraft Dana 24, which for it's size, had a lot of freeboard, and he used one. I remember a couple in the SSS....sadly I am forgetting their names... but they had an Olson 911-S. I remember them carrying two hard shell, recreational kayaks to Half Moon Bay on a race and getting in 'n out there in the harbor with no problems. An inflatable kayak is more stable than pretty much any hard-shell 'yak.

If a boat has a molded swim-step on the stern, I can't imagine it being a problem. On your Niagara 35, I might think that one of those aluminum slung-over-the-side boarding ladders might be pretty useful in this case.

Cruising World published this somewhat-informative article recently...

https://www.cruisingworld.com/how/how-cruise-kayaks/

That couple uses two 9-foot hard-shell kayaks on their Passport 37. I don't much like how they store their kayaks when underway, but they're cruisers, right? Anyway, the point is that they manage to get into and out of their kayaks from a Passport 37, which has plenty of freeboard, so it must be doable.

 

[AlanH]

Not that ~$150 was overpriced, but at ~$50 there's really no excuse not to have one as a marina toy for visitors at the very least.
I've never used an inflatable kayak before, though; as a fellow 300 lber, I wonder about the ease of getting in/out of it from the boat, and most importantly, the "taco" factor. Is longer actually better, in this case?

Entry-Exit boatside is a valid concern, I think. For someone with an Express 27, SC 27, Cal 20 other other low-freeboard boat, I think...no problem. Chris Humann had a Pacfic Seacraft Dana 24, which for it's size, had a lot of freeboard, and he used one. I remember a couple in the SSS....sadly I am forgetting their names... but they had an Olson 911-S. I remember them carrying two hard shell kayaks to Half Moon Bay on a race and getting in 'n out there in the harbor with no problems. An inflatable kayak is more stable than pretty much any hard-shell 'yak.

If a boat has a molded swim-step on the stern, I can't imagine it being a problem. On your Niagara 35, I might think that one of those aluminum slung-over-the-side boarding ladders might be pretty useful in this case.

Cruising World published this somewhat-informative article recently...

https://www.cruisingworld.com/how/how-cruise-kayaks/

 

[AlanH]

ever since i saw chris humann tooling around the fleet in 2008, i've thought that an inflatable kayak was the ticket for a shore dinghy in hanalei, particularly on a smaller boat. I had an uber-cheap used vinyl "glorified pool toy" bathtub-style dinghy in 2008 and it got me back and forth to the boat while i was there. I can't say that i was sorry when it "went away" with ankle biter. Anyway, i can't find room for the usual type of inflatable dinghy, so an inflatable kayak seems like the ticket.

There are a bunch of them on the market, now. Some of the bigger manufacturers are sevylor, sea eagle, advanced elements, aquaglide and intex. There's also a very pricey but super cool "origami" series of kayaks from oru. Very cool....for $1,000+. You can spend from about $60 to over a thousand on an inflatable kayak. I'm not keen on spending too much.

If you really get into it, there's a lot to learn. Some kayaks are made with a composite "rubber"-and -fabric -bonded-together material sort of like the hypalon inflatable dinghies we all know. Some are made from tubes formed from a non-composite, but then have a super-tough, high denier polyester cover. Each has their pluses and minuses, in terms of drying out the kayak after you're done using it, longevity and so on.

In my price point, with an eye to durability, i found three possibilities. The advanced elements "island voyage" @ $399, the chinook 100 ($479 or $499 depending on where you find it), and the intex excursion pro $371 at amazon.com and other retailers. The intex boat seems to be available at a wide variety of prices, depending on availability and the time of year. One nice thing about advanced elements is that they are local, the company headquarters and design shop is in san francisco. There's a retail shop in petaluma that carries aquaglide...clavey paddlesports
707-766-8070--- thurs-mon 10 -4, closed every tues-weds. Rei carries some of the advanced elements boats.

I wanted a kayak that would hold me, at 300 pounds, plus 50 pounds of kit. "longer" would be good for the ability to pack "stuff" in there besides myself, but then "shorter" packs down smaller on the boat. If you're someone who weighs <200 pounds there are a lot of options for inflatable kayaks which have a payload of 250 pounds. I thought it also might be nice to have a yak that...if i lost some weight (which is the plan) that in theory joan and i could paddle together, so a 400 or 450 pound payload rating would be handy. A ten foot kayak for two people is pretty darned tight, though it's totally fine for one person (the aquaglide chinook 10).

Anyway, i'd narrowed it down to the intex excursion pro and the advanced elements island voyage, both of which seem to be in the same ballpark, weight-wise and both of which are well-built. I happened to go to the intex website last night and as of last night, it looks like intex is dumping stock, because they are practically giving away their kayaks.

don't use this site...pretty sure it's a scam!

https://us.intexcs.com/sport-series-boats-c-18_19/

either of these...the challenger k2 or the explorer k2 will get you back and forth from a shtp boat and the beach, but i'd probably go for the explorer k2, it'll keep you drier. It's normally a $140 yak, now $53 and very much not a "pool floaty". It's substantial vinyl, and comes with the pump and seats and paddles. Look at reviews on youtube.

If you go to their "pro" boats site -- https://us.intexcs.com/professional-series-boats-c-18_20/
edit: Don't use this site...i'm pretty sure its a scam

you'll both the mariner 3..and the mariner 4, which are doughnut boats, and the excursion pro kayak.

The mariner 3 would absolutely do the job, getting back and forth from the boat to the beach, but it weighs about 70 pounds. That's a lot to load around by yourself, but if you want something that will ferry passengers back and forth, that'll do it.

I bought the excursion pro kayak. 39 pounds, 400 pound payload, comes with the pump, two seats and two paddles. $67. Sixty seven bucks.

View attachment 6285

View attachment 6286


here's a review of the intex excursion pro..

these boats are not the quality of an avon, ok? But they are miles beyond any pool floaty thingy, or the cheap vinyl sevylor inflatables you see in the surplus stores.

scam alert!!!

 

[AlanH]

Confirmed....Yes, it's a scam.

 

[AlanH]

Wow, Just wow. I went to the REAL Intex company website to try to report the scam, you know...being a nice guy. Their customer contact form is programmed to remove your phone number, which you just typed in, after you complete filling in all the other "required" field. I tried this on three different web browsers, same result on all three. Of course you can't submit a comment without all the "required" fields being filled in. That's quite deliberate on their part. I called their customer contact number twice, sat on hold for Half an hour once, ten minutes the second time, and nobody ever picked up the phone.

This isn't the scammers, this is the REAL Intex company, in Southern California.

Be aware that if you purchase an Index product, the company is actively doing everything it can to take your money and then never give you a way to contact them ever again.