Thursday 27 May 2010

Inflatable Boat - boating, cheap


I went camping recently up in Priest Lake Idaho. I was looking for something to do so I bought this boat, not really realizing that it was a children's toy. I'm 6'3" so it looks pretty funny when I get in this thing. Everyone thought it was hilarious, it was worth the price just to see my mother laugh so hard. Anyway, I ended up paddling this toy roughly 3 miles through rough water and against the wind and this little boat hung in there. I thought the rubber oar loops were going to rip out from the intense rowing but they never did. I went on to beat it up the next day rowing from one ilsand to the shore and it still held up. I got pulled over by the water sheriff too, he thought it was funny as well.Bottom line, this is a strong little rubber raft. I rowed this thing around until I couldn't life my arms. Intex Explorer 200 Boat Set

Great product. We had a smaller one that last over a year of the kids jumping and playing on it - which is great for our house. This model is larger and even comes with paddles and a pump. I didn't expect that - I was just replacing another one. ...you can't beat it.

I bought 2 of these boats for my kids (3 and 6) to take to the lake. They were a hit!!! The pump was a little slow for impatient young ones, but other than that they were fantastic. They fit 2 people - 10 and under, or 1 adult. I know this because I spent the morning laying in one and had a great time! I loved the fact that the oars couldn't slip out and get lost. The rope at the front made it super easy to pull onto the beach, or tie to the back of the boat. One piece of advice: DON'T pull these behind a motorized boat... the eye for the rope pulled right out, leaving a huge hole, a flat boat and a completely devastated child :( I will be buying 4 or 5 more since all the kids, and adults at the lake LOVED them!!!

This inflatable boat is a perfect toy for pools and shallow, calm lakes. It may also serve as a rescue boat for kids stranded too far out on a lake or pond.



The warnings on the boat will tell you not to use it as a flotation device, and rightly so. There are two good reasons for that.



First, the boat can slowly leak air. It won't sink with you in it, but the boat's structure is compromised with the loss of air, and this makes rowing difficult. If you're drifting away from shore and you need to row back, tough luck. You can do it, but it might take a while.



Second, it is very hard to keep the boat pointed straight. Think of it as a closed bottom inner tube. It has no rudder or stabilizing components. I can imagine the guy who rowed three miles in this thing must have come back pretty exhausted, because to row in a straight line you have to use a lot of hand strength and be willing to make quick corrections. He might have even had to blow a little extra air into the single chamber along the way to keep the structure intact. The only advantage I can think of is that it's wider than a kayak, so it's stable in boat wake.



Add this together and it's really more of a toy than a recreational boat.

I purchased this raft to have some fun in the pool and take it the Ocean in So cal. Its very nice for the price. Its held up great so far, ive done flips and jumps into it in the pool and no pop yet :) . I brought it with to the beach yesterday and we had three of us crammed in it, held us fine and we had lots of fun flipping and riding the waves.

My husband (200 pounds--about the limit of weight) used this boat to maneuver under his sailboat so that he could paint the bottom of the boat while it was on the lift. Worked wonderfully. Couldn't ask for a better boat for the price. - Boating - Inflatable Boat - Cheap - Boats'


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