hutch9900 wrote:
Paul I. wrote:
The Fishing guys generally have a bank of batteries and an outboard motor. So it not there main source to get around. When I first starting boating, I had used a trolling motor. As soon as I could I bought a 3.5 gas motor. YES, gas & battery motors have there places.
My buddy is going to give me a 3.5 hp sea king. I guess it is an antique but its free and it works! He said it even looks nice for its age. Still thinking about going cheaper on the boat itself. I am with Rich A. on the idea of the per year cost. I am not even sure how much use i will end up getting out of it or if I will end up just selling it because we dont use it enough. Either way, if it is a piece of junk, it comes with a two year warranty. It may be worth it, and might not. The Baltik looks nice as does the Zodiac. The Zodiac says it is glued seams (thank you for that information, babbot1!!). I will keep looking for the right one.
Is the best price for mounting hardware going to be in the $400 range?? Does anyone have experience with mounting the hardware to the swim platform? I am nervous about doing that and might want to have a shop take care of it unless someone says it is worth the shot.
I would suggest if you do buy a inflatable that you don't worry about spending the money on hardware for mounting the inflatable until you determine you will use the inflatable enough to justify the mounting hardware expense. You can pull the inflatable up onto your swim platform and use boat fenders or pool noodles along with dock lines to secure your inflatable for travelling for one season and then determine if you like it enough for hardware. Google inflatable davits, there are many types and price ranges of hardware available. I have used the weaver davits on two different boats and now the Burke davits on our 328. I like the Burke davits better, but probably not so on a smaller inflatable.
I'm not suggesting this, but if you think the $600.00 inflatable linked above would work for you, offer him $550.00. You could probably sell the engine that comes with it for $300.00 or so (provided the engine is decent) and then use your buddies engine, then you really have an inexpensive inflatable with a bunch of accessories to boot.
Mike.
_________________
Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable
Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation