This past weekend, I visited an estate sale in my neighborhood. I was given an inflatable Kayak and am wondering if anyone can give some insight for this as far as maintenance or use?
It is a Stearns B5010-lk140. It was a bit dirty but I have cleaned it up and it is holding air. it has the inflatable lower bottom and the “seats” and paddles. It does not have the pump but I can deal with that.
I am going to put it into my pool and try it out; any tips?
Stearns was sold to Walmart, so this is not a quality boat. These are more like rafts than kayaks, so it will be rather slow and reports have been they track poorly. Most such models need a skeg (shark fin like addition under the stern hull) for teacking.
If it is older than 5 years the material may be vulnerable to tears and punctures. You will likely need a pump (they are cheap at sporting goods stores) to get it firm enough for decent support, but be aware with inflatable to never leave them out of the water on warm days without relieving some air or the pressure can expand and rupture a seam. Always keep a patch kit with you — also available at sprts shops or camping departments.
This will not be a boat for white water. You are wise to pool test it.
By the way, you can “search” this site both for reviews of Stearns boats and for forum threads that gave feedback on them.