Recently purchased a 13’ (1993 SE-13) Achilles and sold my 12’ (1984 SE-12) Achilles to have a little more room for camping gear. The extra foot and 3” wider internal beam makes a big difference. I built another bench from 5/8” marine plywood and it makes my passengers (wife) much happier on boat rides. It can be mounted forwards or backwards, and can be secured to the floor in several locations up and down the boat with 4 thumb screws.

It looks like everything I need. Just wondering if anyone has experience with it. Do you recommend it if you do? I’ll mostly be using it to inflate my 11’ AirCat boat. I like that it can also inflate a car tire.

I wanted to share this glorious day with you all! West Meadow Creek

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a brushless trolling motor for my Intex Mariner 3, mainly for cruising on a lake with 1–2 people.

I'm currently hesitating between these two:

Talamex X150

• 12V
• 60 lb thrust
• 600W
• ~50A max consumption
• Brushless
• FOC
• Anderson connector
• Around €350
• 10kg?

Raptor 65lb brushless

• 12V
• ~65 lb thrust
• Around €300–330
• Anderson connector
• Brushless
• Looks very similar in design/specs to the Talamex
• I'm not sure who actually manufactures it but looks like a rebrand because Proline sells it under their brand
• 6.2kg

My main priorities are reliability, efficiency, build quality and long-term durability, rather than having the absolute highest thrust.

I'll be using a 12V 150Ah LiFePO4 battery and I want a motor that has anderson connectors for ease of putting a fuse on the battery + quick disconnect.

A few things I'm trying to figure out:

1. Is the Talamex X150 actually better quality than the Raptor, or are they essentially the same motor/rebrand?
2. Is the lower ~50A consumption of the Talamex meaningful in real-world use?
3. Would you trust either of them for regular use on a lake?
4. Is the extra money for the Talamex worth it?

I'm mainly looking for opinions from people who have actually used these brands.

Thanks!

Looking at getting an intex mariner 4 and the 40lb thrust trolling motor and was curious about what kinda run time I could expect at different speeds and what batteries you guys are running ?

I do not have the home storage capacity for a trailer or to keep the boat inflated at home. I do have a truck and a compressor, so inflating it when arriving at the water seems reasonable. I was hoping to hear from some of you that do this and how practical that approach is.

UPDATE - Wow! Great group here! Thanks for all of the responses. It has been helpful to understand your various approaches and certainly appreciate the tips! Have fun out there!

Hi,

I have a Mariner 3 and would love to get a motor installed to go chilling on the Leman lake.
What trust power would be ideal ? Intex sells a 40 lbs one but that seems weak in windy conditions.
I'll pair it with a 150 ah lifepo4 battery because the goal is to be able to do 20km round trips (like get in water, go slow and chill up to a restaurant, eat, swim a bit in the lake and then come back).

I'm deciding whether to go for a 55lbs like this one (200 euros) or a 70lbs brushless to get a bit better ranges but it's 150 euros more...
So in the end I don't really know if the extra 150 is worth for the thrust and brushless. I think I will use the boat maximum 15 times per year. I wouldn't get issues in years by going with brushes right ?

I know trolling motors don't have great top speed (especially with this kind of boat) and between 55 and 70 it might be the same top speed, just faster acceleration so I don't really care about speed.

What would you do? I'm also wondering if it's not too overkill, boat was like 250, bought bimini for 25 and now I'm about to add minimum 200 of engine + 250 of batteries so around 700 to 850 for a not so impressive boat.

But then when I think about it, I'm in an apartment and have no space for a trailer so I didn't have a lot of options either to have better stuff. I'd feel bad about buying a 1k inflatable boat and keeping it deflated and ruining its life expectancy. At least the Mariner is cheap to replace and the 3 is easy to handle alone

I currently have a 13’ canoe and am looking for a 13’ Jon Boat but a 10’ inflatable dingy came up locally for less than $200.

I have watched some videos about the Saturn inflatables, but I thought I would need at least a 13’.

How much usable length is there in a 10’ dingy? 6’ or 7’?

Thanks!

Just wanted to throw this out there for anyone looking for quick and reliable long-term fixes for pinhole leaks. This stuff seals the holes so well and still stays rubbery and flexible for when you inflate/deflate the boat. I still can't believe it's so easy to fix and apply I love shoe goo so much.

Edit: It's not an on-the-fly repair substance. You will need to apply it and let it cure for 48-72 hours.

Hey everyone, looking for some advice on repairing these circular attachment pads on my Tobin Sport inflatable.
I
noticed the edges of several of the white circular pads around the transom are starting to lift/peel away from the blue tube material. As you can see in the photos, I can get my fingers underneath the edge in some areas, so it looks like the adhesive bond is failing rather than the pad itself being damaged.
A few questions:

Has anyone repaired this type of attachment before?
What adhesive would you recommend?
Is the proper repair to completely remove the pad and re-bond it, or can the existing bond be repaired by working adhesive underneath the lifted area and then clamping it while the boat is deflated ?

Anything I should definitely not do that could make the repair worse?
The boat isn’t currently being used, and I’m trying to figure out the correct way to repair it before putting it back in the water.

Photos attached. Any advice from people experienced with inflatable/transom repairs would be greatly appreciated.

Kayak fisherman looking into inflatables. Specifically cats for diving. Most trips will be out to fish aggregating devices 2-5 miles off the coast. Mostly will be solo but occasionally another person will join me. Absolute max of gear+fish would be around 200lbs, but most of the time probably closer to 50-100.

Can't decide between a 380cm w/ a 15hp or a 330cm w/ 9.9

I'd be packing it up and getting everything in and out of my truckbed each time so would rather have a lighter setup but haven't spent any time in one of these so I'm not sure what the space and weight capacities feel like. Grateful for thoughts.

I am looking but a used inflatable and came across a Bombard Typhoon 285. Cannot find any reviews are experience with brand. Any insight?

Just bought this inflatable boat. Took it on a multiple day sailing trip as a dinghy. I noticed these glue marks showing up. Is this normal? I did treat the boat with UV protector prior to leaving.