Inflatable Kayak advice

Hello all,

I'm new to NCKA.  I'm looking to get an inflatable kayak.  It's not my first choice, but I have a small car and not a lot of room to store it.  Plus, not too keen in lifting it up and down from the car carrier.

I'm thinking of a Sea Eagle 385fta, which has a sort of keel.  There is double material on the sides, which I hope will help reduce punctures.  I also like that it has a 1or 2 person set up.

I'm mostly interested in fishing the SF Bay, or maybe Tomales Bay.  Not really up for going way off shore.

Any advice would be helpful.

thanks,
              Andy

My first boat was an inflatable Tahiti (Sevylor) 2 person kayak. I paddled htat think across Tomales several times and took it on lakes and local rivers.  Because it was vinyl, it was not very resistant to tiny punctures. A blackbery vine could puncture it... and the big problem was that the structure of hte boat was compromised a lot if the tubes weren't super hard. aka. "Taco" The boat folds front to back and takes water over the sides.  Same occurs with a heavy payload.  So fish hooks and cheap inflatables... uh-uh. 
There are heavy duty rubber or thick vinyl kayaks (Sotar) made primarily for running the river. Great for that purpose and resistant to punctures, but generally have a large tube under your seat and no "cockpit" space.. more like an SOT.
And there are vinyl bags covered with a heavy canvas cover (Adventure Elements).  THey might be more resistant to external punctures and easy to store, but they suffer from teh structure problem above and are not pleasant to paddle.
All of these are really hard on your back as there is no back support to lean on...
You might rethink how bad it is to lift on top of your car, or look into an 8' zodiac style raft.  They are easy to roll and store, seaworthy and resistant to hooks. Maybe go paddle a couple before you buy.
Good luck!

Welcome Andy!

I heard great things about the SeaEagle and they're definitely sea-worthy. I have a Hobie i12s and love it (my primary yak is a Revo 13). I can say this about inflatables though...

Compared to a hard-shell yak, they don't track or perform in wind-chop as well. As you already know, you also have to be extra careful about not getting anything sharp (hooks, fish teeth, gaff, etc) near your yak. Storage space/hatches/places to mount rod holders and stuff? Forget about it. Being creative is a must on inflatables. But...you never have to worry about water getting inside your hull. Make sure you spray a UV protectant like 303 to keep it lasting long.

That said, the more you get into this sport...you'll quickly learn that a hard-shell might be good investment.   

I used to have a Sea Eagle inflatable, but only used it on local lakes. It was extremely well-made and fun to take out. It would not have been fun to try to cover a lot of distance, though, and salty water almost always involves a lot of distance. Having said that, their RazorLite kayaks look like they might be competitive with hard-sided boats:

https://www.seaeagle.com/inflatable-kayaks

I'd look into folding kayaks. Old Folbot folding kayaks are available at reasonable prices (a friend is selling one) and track as well as a plastic kayak. Also, there are several new types of folding kayaks I've seen people out in the bay with, usually on a maiden voyage. Most are made with large sheets of the plastic cardboard stuff like political signs. Some will be OK but some may be a death trap in rough conditions so you'd need to try them out. Here's one: https://foldupkayaks.com/

For the ocean, my suggestion is to skip the inflatable and go with a hard hull.  An inflatable is more prone to puncture (i.e. hooks, fish spine, lures, dropped knife, a very long list of hazards ...) and even in calm condition, an inflatable is affected by wind a lot.  I would say an inflatable is ok for very very near shore fresh water with survivable water condition.

CliffH got it right.

I love my I11S Hobies but they were NOT cheap.

The Cuda for sale for 5 hills was/is a great deal...prolly gone by now...

If I had someone call me for a guided trip offshore on anything but a top of line zodiac type boat I wouldn't take them out.  (even then - no zodiacs, bros!  )

Get a car with a rack or whatever you have to do.  A hard, SOT kayak is the way to go if you are at all serious about getting into this sport. 

My first was an inflatable in the mid 90's.  First SOT by 1999. 

It's the way, bro.

Eric! Why are you down on zodiacs? I've had mine out in all kinds of stuff and have a high level of trust in it.  I have a hardshell kayak too, but its not what I would choose for carrying crab traps or a fishing buddy....

Eric! Why are you down on zodiacs?

I'm not down on them - just wouldn't want to take someone out if they're on a zode and I'm on a yak.

Keep you swim fins tied around your waist.  Inflatables are good for getting from your boat to shore or lakes IMO

Hi All,

Good advice.  I got one specifically made for anglers, so it has double thickness on the sides to resist puncture.  Has rod holder attachments as well.  There is a 120 day trial period.  If it doesn't work out, I'll send it back.

If I ever go with a hard side, I'd have to put it on an old honda civic.  That and a bad back are what tipped me to the inflatable.

I figure I'll start with lakes, then try inner harbor at Half Moon Bay and go from there.  Per an earlier post about safety, sounds like a wet or dry suit is important.

Thanks,
              Andy