Cheap inflatable canoe?

Advice
#1

What is the cheapest price a decent inflatable

would sell at? I doubt the $40 one on Amazon is any good.



Thanks,

Andrew

#2

I personally do not consider ANY of the
so-called inflatable canoes to be real canoes. They are more like bulgy barges. This is not to deny that one can paddle them solo or tandem with a canoe paddle, but there the resemblance ends.



If you want a competent inflatable, look at the ones calling themselves kayaks. A few of them are fairly good handlers.

#3

Advanced Elements
sells a 10’ inflatable for 'bout $400.00

Looks half way decent. Nice color too.

S.B.

#4

Re: cheap inflatable canoe
I’d primarily be using it to explore swamps and marshes. Will they float and be reasonably stable, if not handle the same as canoes?



Thanks,

Andrew

#5

pirogue
make ourself one!

#6

SOARS
The SOAR inflatables aren’t too bad.

They are expensive though. I suspect

g2d hasn’t paddled one. I’ve paddled one

loaded in class IV. I can’t say I would even

consider doing that in a hard shell. All these

“special purpose” boats have there uses.

The SOAR’s handle somewhat like a regular canoe,

for ferrying etc, but are considerably slower.

Huge initial stability, is what you get.



314159

#7

And huge technical maneuverability
is what you don’t get. They are rafts or barges, not canoes. With a big load, they may be preferable in heavy whitewater, but it ain’t really canoeing.

#8

You should be able to find a 'hard’
canoe, fairly inexpensive, used. Check with liveries to see what they’re selling at the end of the season. Or keep an eye on the classified ads.



I explored swamps and marshes as a kid in various homemade and/or inflateable craft and I can’t recommend it for your main boat. I used a rubber raft for monitoring mosquito populations in marshes and swamps and it was a hassle. I really liked it when a piroque or john boat was available.



Also, the state parks around N.IL don’t let people on the lakes in the inflateable stuff unless it’s a ‘zodiac’ type boat.


#9

inflatables can also be maneuverable
I paddle both an inflatable Soar-14 and a solo Royalex hard boat (Mad River Outrage) regularly in Class 3/4 water. The differences in the craft are obvious but I will say this emphatically about the Soar: they are NOT barges but highly maneuverable craft cabable of holding lots of gear and still be nimble in C3/C4 whitewater. If g2d would try one on a wilderness trip, perhaps on something like the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, I think he would better appreciate those characteristics.