We owned an Achilles 2.4M inflatable which we powered with a 2HP O/board. The dinghy had timber slat floor, a plywood transom, was quite stable and could be rolled up and almost fitted into its bag which one reasonably fit man could carry for about 100m. That bag would fit in a car boot. We never used it for fishing but in flat water it has carried 5 men and a full esky (or should that be 5 full men and an esky?).
The material used was called hypalon. Some makers used a different material but I was persuaded that hypalon was better. Ours was used in salt water and care was needed beaching it if there were rocks with shellfish attached. Bt the time we sold it there were several pin-prick leaks that had been repaired (an easy job).
We used a 12V pump for most of the inflation and a hand pump for a bit of extra pressure.
Security did not seem to be a problem for the dinghy but I have heard of some motors walking away. There are usually a few places where you can thread a chain or SSteel wire through and padlock it to a tree, vehicle or whatever. Assembly for us was inflation and mounting of motor and yes it was done at waters edge.
hope this is some help
Barry
__________________
BJC
"A year from now you'll wish you had started today."
Thanks Barry,
Good info. I think one can purchase wheels that attach to the rear portion of the dinghy for transporting to and from the waters edge.
Jay&DEe
We have a 2.9M Island inflatable with 3.6HP outboard. We chose this outfit because in our travels around Oz we'd most frequently be away from bodies of water hence could see no sense in the extra wind drag posed by a rooftop tinny. She has 5 air chambers of pretty thick PVC type material, these being one each side, the front, the inflatable keel & the air floor. Highly recommend the air floor, far more rigid than the wooden slat type or even that of the Portaboat. We've fitted foldaway wheels to the transom to facilitate transport to & from the water when inflated. She came with a push-pull high volume air pump with which I could completely inflate her in around 15 minutes but being a (re)tired old fart have now purchased a 12V high volume double acting pump. She weighs 35kg & folds into about a 1.2 x 0.5M bundle which we carry on top of our dog box. The outboard weighs 15kg. As for security we place a padlock between the two outboard screw toggles & utilise a standard bicycle locking cable to lock the boat itself to a tree, our van or other handy object. Generally this would be near our van. Great little boat that when all is said & done takes virtually no more time to get into the water or packed away than a rooftop tinnie. The pic should give a reasonable idea of her packed size.
Darrell & Sandra.
thanks for such [positive feed back].
I certainly would not be taking it into a surfing area, mainly in dams/lakes and rivers.
I think I would have room in my Cruiser for the package going on the size on the unassembled unit in your photo.
Great info, thanks again
jay&Dee
