Sea Eagle Boats

Hello all, and first let me thank you for any help or insight you may be able to give.

I am looking at purchasing a Sea Eagle 9 inflatable boat for doing some mild lake fishing. Most of my trips may be with my 11 year old daughter. The reasons I am looking at this type of boat is due to the fact that living in an apartment I need something that can be deflated and collapsed easily.

The thing is, I am not to familiar with anything other than the Zodiac type of inflatable boats. Working for the military I don't have the money to buy anything that expensive. I need to keep the investment under $750 (with a small elec motor and battery), thus another reason for looking at the Sea Eagle 9.

My fishing will be mostly for bass and bluegill, and fishing will be for me with the fly rod, and with the 11 year old using spinning gear. I am just trying to find something that is safe and gets us off the bank. Not planning on doing and windy or rough water trips, just nice casual days when I can get time away.

Here is a link to Sea Eagle's website and the particular boat I am looking at (Fisherman's Dream Package.)
[url=http://www.seaeagle.com/motormount/SE9.asp:0635d]http://www.seaeagle.com/motormount/SE9.asp[/url:0635d]

If anyone has any info on this boat, advise on it or another like it, or has had any experiences (good and bad) with this boat or something like it, please help me. I don't have the kind of money to throw away if the product isn't made well, or isn't safe.

Thanks in advance!!

Reg

[This message has been edited by RCaillouet3 (edited 04 February 2005).]

Just be more careful than this when inflating it!!

[url=http://media2.big-boys.com/headblow.wmv:5adef]Boat Inflation Problems[/url:5adef]

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/biggrin.gif

Don

Maybe it is just me (as the parent of an 11 year old), but I figure that you can only have a maximum of 2 of this set of 3:

inflatable boat
hooks
11 year-old

I bought a Sea Eagle 9 last year and only used it a couple of times but was very impressed. With a 28lb. thrust electric on it I had the wife and two kids getting around in some pretty decent wind and chop. I would definitely recommend getting the package with the floorboards. Seems like a well made and stable craft for your needs. Get a 12 volt pump and it inflates in no time.

Mr. Castwell, thanks for the info on Porta boat. I had already received info from them but they are a littl emore expensive than I can afford.


Don, OMG!!!!! LMAO!!!!!!!


Brumat007, thanks for the help!!! If you don't mind answering a few questions for me about it would be greatly appreciated!!! How much room do you have inside the sidewalls when inflated (about?) How tall are the walls of the boat and do you think fly fishing out of it will be possible??

Thanks all so far, but please keep the info coming!!!

Sincerely,

Reg

Dear RC,

I know this isn't the answer you want, but have you consider purchasing a used jon boat?

For $ 500.00 you should be able to find a 10 or 12 foot john boat and a trailer in good condition, especially in your neck of the woods. A boat of this size won't weigh more than 400 pounds including the trailer and it can be easily pulled by even the smallest of vehicles.

Spend $ 100.00 on a trolling motor, and $ 75.00 on a battery and you have $ 75.00 left over for two boat cushions and a pair of life vests.

I realize that you can't store this in an apartment, but I recall from my Air Force days that the base had secure outdoor storage available for a very modest monthly rental fee.

I began my boating career with an inflatable. It was fine for a first boat, but after about 2 trips I saw that it was not the best craft for fishing.

Another plus of a jon boat is that if you change duty stations and can't take the boat with you it will be easy to sell the boat for close to what you paid for it. A used inflatable, unless it is a high quality model has absolutely zero resale value. You'll be lucky to give it away!

Lastly, and I don't say this to scare you, you will be much more secure and safe in a jon boat. You will also have the ability to stand up and move around which is important with a youngster on board, and you will have some dry storage under the bow.

I'm not a fan of inflatables, can you tell?

Sorry for the contrary opinion, but I'd like to see you get something that you can enjoy.

Regards,
Tim Murphy

Reg,
I'd guestimate about 3ft. between the walls and the walls to be about 12" high. The weight capacity is 1250lbs and is said to handle up to class 3 whitewater. The boat is very stable and you can certainly stand and flyfish from it. It can handle up to a 4 hp. motor. As I said, I only used an electric on mine and the reason I didn't use it more was that I got a 16ft. tri-hull that sorta became my son and I's project and we spent most of our boating time on it. I'm a stream fisherman so this was all kind of new to me. There are certainly some cheap inflatables out there that aren't worth a crap but I think sea eagle makes a quality product. If you look at their website you'll see inflatables that handle 40 horse motors and do some pretty impressive jumps over waves. Just MHO and hope it helps. Bruce

I owned a Sea Eagle 9 about 20 years ago when I lived in Brooklyn. Due to the limitations in storage space it was the only way I could have a boat of any kind. It did the job but it was kind of annoying to set it up and everything. I used the foot operated pump because I was told the electric pumps were not very good and would actually take longer to fill the boat up. I used an electric trolling motor with it.

Once I moved out of the city I got a canoe and never used the Sea Eagle again. For someone with limited space, the Sea Eagle is a good way to go. Don't even think about getting it without the wooden floorboards.

[This message has been edited by gadabout (edited 06 February 2005).]

Thanks all!!!

A couple "last" questions though, when you stand in the boat, does it feel "light" as though it wants to scoot out from underneath you?? Would a light breeze,under 5 mph, push it around alot??? And finally, any advise on weight anchor to use with the boat???

Sincerely,

Reg

I don't recall having any problems standing in it. The wind doesn't blow it around as much as it would a canoe. I don't think its really an issue. I probably used about a 10 pound mushroom anchor with mine.

For what it's worth, someone once travelled the entire length of the Mississippi River in a Sea Eagle 9. It is probably the ideal choice for your situation. Just be aware that it will take a half hour or so to set it up and take it down each time.

[This message has been edited by gadabout (edited 07 February 2005).]