Inflatable Canoes

[bushcrafty1]

i am just looking into getting one aswell and like the look of the sevylor rio a good quality 1 man canoe that has great reviews by everyone who has one. looks just the job for some river fun and a day or two on a loch. look on sotp a great sourse of info...

 

[Footman]

see www.advancedelements.com for other options

 

[FerlasDave]

I got me one, but its no where near as good as others, I bought it down by the seaside in some old shop selling inflatables. It was meant to be £50 but I got it for a tenner since it was the last one and a display model. Only seats one but when its pumped up its enough for me and a pack.

 

[DanDan The man called Dan]

HAs anyone had any experience with any? Looking at buying one.......what do you think?

What type of canoing do you want to do. Sea? whitewater? flatwater?

Why an inflatable is storage the issue or transport or both?

 

[rickyc]

I bought a sevylor voyager in the summer and had a good 3days in it down the river severn.. had a great laugh, some pic's here.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=142292&id=655279988&l=72410b66b5

Only problem i found with it was leg space.. bought a Sevylor Canyon not long after which is a copy of the Sterns Backcountry, i also had problems with leaking seams but resolved this with seam sealant.

Really cant fault them, easy to pack away in your boot and light enough to carry when needed!

..Hello by the way only recently stumbled on this forum! :You_Rock_

 

[FerlasDave]

I bought a sevylor voyager in the summer and had a good 3days in it down the river severn.. had a great laugh, some pic's here.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=142292&id=655279988&l=72410b66b5

Only problem i found with it was leg space.. bought a Sevylor Canyon not long after which is a copy of the Sterns Backcountry, i also had problems with leaking seams but resolved this with seam sealant.

Really cant fault them, easy to pack away in your boot and light enough to carry when needed!

..Hello by the way only recently stumbled on this forum! :You_Rock_

Hi Ricky! Welcome to the forums.

Some awesome pictures there mate, What was your route? And where did you camp? Id love to do that one!

 

[rickyc]

Hi Ricky! Welcome to the forums.

Some awesome pictures there mate, What was your route? And where did you camp? Id love to do that one!

Cheers!

We set off from Jackfield rapids just down river from Ironbridge and headed towards stourport, the river wasnt quite quick enough to do the full 30 miles as it was quite low, we ended up getting out at hampton load a good 15 miles or so short.

As for the camping we planned it on google maps prining off a full plan of the river and identified some isolated spots to check out.. as it happened we couldnt use either of these cause the banks where too high to get out!

..just give yourself plenty of day light and you'll soon find a spot

 

[FerlasDave]

Cheers!

We set off from Jackfield rapids just down river from Ironbridge and headed towards stourport, the river wasnt quite quick enough to do the full 30 miles as it was quite low, we ended up getting out at hampton load a good 15 miles or so short.

As for the camping we planned it on google maps prining off a full plan of the river and identified some isolated spots to check out.. as it happened we couldnt use either of these cause the banks where too high to get out!

..just give yourself plenty of day light and you'll soon find a spot

Nice one mate, I think Ill try that route in the summer.

 

[redandshane]

I have a K2 challenger which is a slightly bigger version of the K1
I did ;as I suspect most people do after a season with an inflatable I bought a proper boat; in my case a 2 man Perception Kiwi http://www.swansea-canoes.co.uk/touring-kayaks/perception-kiwi-2.htm

However as some have stated the great thing about an inflateable is you can chuck it in the boot in summer and have some fun without any hassles so i have both now

 

[Cnoodler]

I got a Sterns Pivot last year and it is brilliant fun, bit pricey and hard to get now, check em out here

http://www.bluewatersports.eu/stearns-pivot--self-bailing--white-water--kayak-1336-p.asp

 

[drobson67]

Hi,

My friend and I bought a Sevylor Tahiti 2 Person Kayak each a couple of years ago, his only lasted 1 year, it split really bad so could not be mended and I believe it was because he used to fold it up really small to fit in a travel suitcase, (too many creases) its best to store them blown up but underflated, I dont have much storage space so totally deflate it and only fold it once, but will still fit in the back of the car for outings. Have used mine about 15 times and is still going strong, its cheaper to buy the kayak as a kit with pump, paddle and skeg, as sooner or later you will need a skeg as the kayak fish tails without one, and you get up to 30% more performance.

 

[Marcel Fargeot]

I recently purchased a Zpro Tango TA300 Kayak and initially was very impressed with it, but even after only one month of ownership and only 5 uses, I am already having second thoughts. I have limited space for storing a rigid canoe and an inflatable kayak seemed to offer the best compromise. However already the kayak seems to have developed serious problems.

Already I have had a floor chamber burst, which to be fair was promptly replaced by Zpro under warranty. However, the replacement chamber losers air and I find that after an hour or so of use I have to re-inflate the chamber to the correct pressure of 0.1bar. The presure drop is only about 20 milibar an hour, but enough to make the base really soft and difficult to paddle. I have tested the new chamber in a bath of water and it doesn't seem to have any signs of a leak or puncture, so I am a little perplexed by this.

I used the kayak again yesterday to travel the river from Chelmsford to Heybridge Basin - a journey of only 14 miles, but it took me 6 hours to paddle this distance, whereas in the past, I have travelled equal distances in a rigid Canadian kayak and have completed the journey in about 3 hours with ease. The Zpro is quite heavy and is a real pig to paddle but nonetheless is still a lot of fun, so I could accept this compromise if this were the only disadvantage, as it certainly has the advantage of easy storage and transportation in the boot of a car.

In cleaning the kayak today though I have noticed that the seams on the underside are already starting to split open as if I had heavily overloaded it, but in fact there was only my son and I paddling to Heybridge, having a total combined weight of less than 140kg, which is 110kg less than the stated maximum capacity of the Zpro TA300 of 250kg, so it rather appears as if I might have purchased a defective kayak. I have written to the manufacturer about this and I still await their response, which I'm sure will be positive as they have been very good so far.

These issues though, have planted seeds of doubt in my mind and I am now considering selling my Zpro TA300, once it has been sorted out and buying a rigid canoe of some sort after all and simply cutting my financial losses.

Has anybody else had similar problems or am I just very unlucky.

Marcel

 

[Shewie]

That does seem to be the way the inflatables go in the end Marcel, hope you get it sorted

Have you thought about an Ally ? ...
http://www.allycanoes.com/canoemodels.htm

Pricey but nice

 

[mountainm]

Some possible alternatives to an inflatable:
http://www.instaboat.com/
http://www.seahopper.co.uk/
http://www.porta-bote.com/

Anyone had any experience of these?

 

[oldtimer]

I like the Sevelor Colorado I got as an advance present for my 70th birthday.I never expected it to be as good as a rigid but it suits my purposes in being easy to transport. I've used it in the Mediterranean and on the local river. I read with interest the warnings about salt water use and storage and realise I've left it unrinsed and still packed in the back of the campervan. Thanks for the nudge!