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Questions & AnswersIn the fall of 2003 I was asked to present a seminar on how our Sea Eagle inflatable boats fit into the RV'ers lifestyle at this small RV club rally. I agreed to share my knowledge and experience with present and potential RVers and attendance and interest was high. There have been many seminars since this first seminar and many attendees neither have a RV or intend to buy one, they just want to know if one of those inflatable boats will fit into their recreational lifestyle. If you're visiting this page that must mean you have questions too. I'll bet you're wondering about some of the same issues we attempt to cover in the emails below. If YOU HAVE A QUESTION?Call Toll-Free...877-253-3947...and we'll talk...Or just drop me a email and I'll get right back to you. Who knows...maybe you'll find your question listed here.Let's go...
Here are some interesting email's that I received with good questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Fishing BoatsQ:Deat Tim, Will I have to register my Sea Eagle inflatable? Bob A:Bob, Great timing! This a a question that's been asked often over the years and just yesterday I was reading my friend Howard's website where he had a pretty good answer on his Journal entry. Hopefully Howard won't care if I reprint his reply to this question here for my readers. If you're a RV'er Howard's RV Dreams website is the bible for wanna-be full-time RV'ers and a good read for anyone who wants to know more about us crazy full timers. So Bob here you go courtesy of Howard: Howard's Answer. We had a couple of comments from yesterday's entry regarding boat registration. Though I didn't research every state, here are the general guidelines. Typically, all boats with any kind of motor must be registered to be used on public waters. In some states, registration is required for use on both public and private waters (Arizona for example). Also, in some states, boats over a certain length with a sail have to be registered (Texas for example). Usually, but not always, non-motorized boats such as canoes and kayaks don't have to be registered. But be sure to check - they do have to be registered in Minnesota for example. Here is the good news for full-timers. All the states I researched have "out-of-state" rules. As long as you have a boat properly registered in one state, you can operate a boat in pretty much any other state for at least 60 consecutive days (90 days in Texas, Arizona, Minnesota, etc.) without having to register it in that state. But, again, check the rules as you go to be sure about each state. In Kentucky, our current state of residence, it costs $5 a year to register a boat with an electric motor. In Colorado, you can operate a boat with a motor for 60 consecutive days with a current out-of-state registration. It's not clear from the regulations if the 60 days starts the day you enter the state or the day you first use the boat. Either way, I'm not sweating it. :) The TakeMeFishing.Org site has links to all the state rules on their Register Your Boat page or their State Info page. It takes some digging to get to the "out-of-state" rules, but you can find them. Just wanted to clarify and provide a little additional info. :) ***
Q:Dear Tim; I have been visiting and revisiting your website for several days until I think I have it memorized---I appreciate your honesty and straight forward comments about the Sea Eagle product. I have made what I think is the correct decision and I would like your input as to whether you think I have missed anything---Let me give you some quick background---I am 64 and a coronary bypass patient who has some physical limits to lifting and toting---I live in the suburbs of Denver and want to fish small lakes and ponds throughout Colorado both on the plains as well as the mountains---I probably will not go on the rivers too much if at all. My only fishing companion will be my wife and so there will not be normally more than 2 of us in the craft----most times I will go out alone as she still works full time and I am luckily retired. I expect that a normal weight load for us and gear along with motor, batteries etc will be about 600 lbs. Lastly, my budget is very limited this year and therefore puts me at a slight disadvantage. I have pretty much decided to purchase an SE9 motormount boat----I think it will give us a decent amount of room and seems to be light enough to be handled by me alone if need be. I do have a couple of questions--- 1. I want to know if there are an appreciable difference in the frequency of punctures, leaks etc in the 38 mil skin----I realize it is much less strong than the other boats but one of those has to wait until next year. 2. What about fish hooks on the 38 mil skin?---- 3. Can rod holders be added in any way? I wanted to check out one of these boats so today I drove 200 miles each way from Denver to Cabela's in Sidney Nebraska----I should have called first as they have none in stock and only order----of course they don't tell you that in their catalog or their website......oh well I wasn't going to but the thing from them anyway. I look forward to your comments----and I look forward to making a purchase this week Thanks for your assistance Bill A:Bill, I hope our website was some help to you. Thanks for contacting us...! How about these similarities. I'm a 64 year old coronary bypass patient, although without any physical limits. I got involved with Sea Eagle boats just after my bypass in 1998 as a form of therapy. A couple of years later we became Sea Eagle dealers and I've been slinging these boats around constanly for the last five years. You seem excited about the SE9. Excited to the point of a 400 mile roundtrip to see what they look like...! Sorry Cabela's wasn't the answer...! Most of the Sea Eagle dealers are not stocking dealers which you unfortunately discovered. Most also don't have a clue what Sea Eagle boats are all about. They are just another commodity to them. As our website points out, we eat, sleep, and breath Sea Eagle boats. The Sea Eagle SE9 will do all that you are looking for in a boat and do it very, very well. There are many manufacturers of inflatable boats in the same price range but none has the durability and longevity of the Sea Eagle SE9. Without getting into detail or naming names, we do hear horror stories of seam failure and poor quality in all of the other name brands available that compete with Sea Eagle in this price range. On the other hand, we are constanly amazed by the praise sung by Sea Eagle SE9 owners. The 38 mill fabric will handle everything you can throw at it. The SE9 shrugs off Rocky bottoms, tree snags,fish hooks, and all the other abuses you can think during your time in the water, and off the water.With good care and seasonal cleaning along with common sense storage, a SE9 will out last both of us...! Now to your questions: 1. I want to know if there are an appreciable difference in the frequency of punctures, leaks etc in the 38 mil skin----I realize it is much less strong than the other boats but one of those has to wait until next year. I talked a little about the durability of the fabric above. My guess is that you will seldom have any hull punctures in normal operation especially from fish-hooks. Most of the fishing punctures reported are caused by spiny pan-fish that were laid on the inflated boat fabric during hook removal leaving behind small pin-holes. If you put a piece of canvas on the boat while handling fish this will be prevented. When next year comes we can help you with the sale of your SE9 or take it in trade. 2. What about fish hooks on the 38 mil skin?---- This is covered in #1 3. Can rod holders be added in any way? Yes they can. Most rod holders have flush mount adapters that can be installed on the front and rear bench seats after drilling. Looking forward to your purchase. Hurry before the SE9's go on backorder. There 53 SE9's in stock as of Friday noon. Regards, *** Q:Subject: Sea Eagle 8 motor pkg. A:Wow...! Great questions. First I'll tell you what I use. I buy a type 24 RV/Marine Deep Charge battery from Costco (@40#) , put it in a battery box and slide it in the back under the rear seat. The boat can handle a football team and not sink so the battery weight is no problem. Then buy the cheapest 10 amp charger available with auto cycle(turns off after full charge). In my opinion, the AGM batteries have not reached the stage where they will handle the number of charges and recharges that a flooded cell battery can handle. And they are expensive and have a smaller capacity and shorter running life before recharge is necessary! Tim *** Next question ...? Q:Tim, I'm looking to buy a inflatable fishing boat for rivers and lakes. Last year, I bought the Sevylor fish ranger FT280. I thought I was getting a strong boat. I took only 4 trips. I never over inflated, and only used the pump that was made for the boat. The 5th trip, as I inflated, a seam ripped and luckily it happened before I went in the water. From the 2nd trip on, there was always a slow leak that made the boat get soft after a few hours...Believe me, it wasn't because the boston valves were on wrong either..Im looking for a new boat, I cant trust the fish ranger. Is the Sea Eagle 8 much stronger than the Sevylor fish ranger. What boat from your site would be a good pick...500 dollar range? ED from PA This is how I responded. A:ED, Sorry to hear that the Sevylor fishing boat didn't work out. It's hard for me to compare Sevylor products to Sea Eagle. While Sea Eagle lists full specs on their products on their web page (and mine), it's hard to find any information on the Sevylor products.. The important information that informed buyers need to know, like specs telling you how thick the material is, or how the seams are welded are just not available from the sites I Googled.I haven't even found the length of the factory warranty. I do know that the Sevylor and the Sea Eagle SE8 are low-pressure vinyl boats which are the entry-level product for each of the companies. I also know that there are lots of Sea Eagle SE8 fans, many who have owned their SE8's for more than 20 years. Bottom line, in answer to your question asking if the SE8 is stronger then the Sevylor, not really,Sea Eagle boats are just built better. I've never heard of a seam failure on any Sea Eagle boat including the SE8. My recommendation? Look for the higher quality found in the high-pressure PVC boats that are offered by Sea Eagle in it's Sport Boat line or the Zodiak ( Sevylor's parent company) high-pressure multi-layered PVC boats.This boat material can be inflated to over 3 lbs per sq. inch (seven times firmer then vinyl boats) which result in a boat that is almost rigid and darn near bullet-proof! This is the same boat material that is used by most Fire Departments and Search and Rescue units for emergency work . Unfortunately this line of boats comes in at nearly double your $500 budget and double the weight.Take a look at the Sea Eagle 8.6 "Blem" found in my Boathouse Bargains listed at $699 for a boat that's close to your budget. Tim *** ED's not done yet Q:Tim, thanx for letter, very helpful. Its a hard choice on buying a boat when all you can see are just pictures of it. I found 3 boats that I like(i think). The SE8, the SE9 and the SE 9.6...Now the SE9.6 is a llot more money, But I need a good inflatable boat since I have a small car and some of the places I fish have a 10 minute walk(but I built a cart for pushing the raft and gear) and a reg. boat would be to hard to get to those spots. The SE8 and SE9 look great and roomy, but the specs on the SE9.6 points to a stronger made boat. How do these 3 boats compare to you? I'm looking for a good strong boat, that can fit 2 guys, and can be set up pretty easy. Hey, no hurry, when you get time please send me an email. Thanx for the help, ED from PA This is how I responded. A:ED, The SE8 & SE9 are good boats with many fans however the material they're made with is inferior to the fabric that the 9.6 is made from. If you had a 9.6 and a SE8 sitting in front off you the differences would be obvious. If you knelt on the side tube of the SE8 you would sink into the side quite far while it would be actually possible to stand on the rigid side-tube of the 9.6. You would also notice that the 9.6 has a permanently mounted sturdy transom(will hold a 8HP) while the SE8 has aluminum tubes that hang from the back on which to hang a small motor(3 HP). You would also notice the lifeline around the top deck of the 9.6 is thicker and more substantial as are all the plastic pieces. The 9.6 has real oarlocks and quality oars while the SE8 has flimsy oars that don't lock to the hull. Tim *** ED again. Q:Tim, Hey, Sorry about all the questions..I just wanna get this right (these boats cost alot of $$-- but are worth it!) . Is there a big difference in interior space 9.6 vs 10.6(mainly between the 2 seats with two people fishing). Its hard to tell from all the pictures.. Also, lets say I buy or borrow a bigger engine, can the 9.6 plane (even though it has no keel)? ED Thanx Tim....Merry Christmas!! A:Ed, There is a noticeable difference in interior space between the two boats. It's a little tight for two fishermen and their gear in the 9.6...the 10.6 is better in this respect. All the additional interior room of the 10.6 is found between the seats. This is true in each successively bigger boat model all the way up to the 14SR. The 9.6 is not designed to go fast so planing is not built into the design however with a 8 HP and a light load you can plane and go pretty fast. I heard from a customer recently who has the 9.6 with a Nissan 8HP 4 stroke who gets up on plane with he and his wife aboard. I think I'm going to publish these email questions and their answers in a book. Seriously, I don't mind your questions a bit....keep 'em coming. Tim *** ED saved his money and purchased a Sea Eagle 9.6 and I'm still working on the book. Note: Sea Eagle discontinued the 9.6 recently and filled this important small boat niche with the brand new Sea Eagle 8.10yt RV Dingy. Everything I've said about the 9.6 on this page is also true of the airfloor 8.10. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On the PaddleSki 395
A:Greg, Thank you for your interest in a Sea Eagle Inflatable Boat. Our favorite kayak is the 395 Paddleski because of it's stability and versatility. It is an easy boat to get on and get off. Crystal often times will just walk on to the boat, so she doesn't get her feet muddy or wet and then gets situated and I pull the boat out to deeper water. We both like the ability to move around on the boat, kick our feet over the edge and never worry about tipping the boat over. One of our favorite options for the 395 Paddleski is the Motor Mount and a Trolling Motor. It allows you to get into some great wildlife viewing areas like a stealth machine. The 380 Explorer Kayak is a great white water boat. If most of your paddling will be white water...this is the best bet. Most people think it looks more comfortable to sit IN the boat rather than on top like the 395. However, we think the 395 is more comfortable for flat water and up to class 2 white water. Our schedule for the next few weeks is still a little sketchy. We do plan to travel to Rocky Point to visit some friends, probably leaving on Friday returning next week. Then we will head to the Prescott area for a few days to a week or so. Not sure yet where in Prescott we'll be staying. And we haven't gone much further than that yet. We will be meeting a vendor friend in Camp Verde as they travel back from Rayne, La and then we head to Memphis. We do have a 395 with us, because it is our personal favorite and we do take it to shows. Unfortunately, we do not have a 380 in our stock inventory. You can watch our location on DataStorm#3061 and contact us if you are nearby and want to see the 395 Paddleski. Thanks for your questions! Regards, Greg has more... Q:Tim, Thanks for the quick response and additional information. We don't do a lot of white water so if the Paddleski is good for up to class 2 then it should workout fine.... we can always rent if we want to do anything more. I do like the idea of being able to attach an electric motor to the Paddleski. I don't know much about electric motors but would be curious to know if it would be possible to kayak down stream and motor back...? Any experience with that? A:Greg, Sea Eagle delivery time is 1 to 5 business days coming from New York. (AZ is five days..East Coast one day). Add two days for order processing and the Sea Eagle shipping department to get your boat to the UPS shipping dock. We can arrange to have UPS customer will-call order delivered to a UPS staffed location along your route. Tracking is included so you can watch your order come to you. This is Spring and Sea Eagle boat biz is booming. Spring is also the time for Sea Eagle backorders. Timing deliveries to mobile buyers is really what we do. Working around Sea Eagle backorders is just an added challenge. There are just 2 PaddleSki 395's in the Sea Eagle warehouse at this time. They'll probably be gone today.Stay open to a PaddleSki 435 to make both our lives easier. We bought our Sea Eagle 395 online...sight unseen...many years ago. Most customers do the same. I wasn't disappointed...I got the hard boat performance I was looking for along with inflatable portability. The motor mount, sail rig were added bonuses I came to enjoy. Eventually all this happiness led to becoming a Sea Eagle dealer. Not much time to kayak anymore. As to the motor-up...drift-down question. If the river you're drifting is deep enough and slow moving enough no problem. The Colorado River near Parker (think Emerald Cove CRA ) runs around 6 mph and the MinmKota Endura 30# thrust will go upstream if you stay where the current is the slowest. We'll be in Rocky Point this Friday afternoon and return to Casa Grande Sunday afternoon. We then pack-up to head north to Prescott for a few days and then Camp Verde for a few days and then we head to Memphis leaving AZ around the 12th not to return to AZ for 8 months. We'll be packing a 395 all the way. Tim *** Greg arranged his schedule to meet us the folowing week to see, touch and sit on the PaddleSki395. He left a short time later with the PaddleSki 395 in his trunk. The folks below had questions on the Sea Eagle 330 kayak but seemed open to sugestions so read on. Q: Tim--we raft and canoe in the Rockies and are excited about an inflatable A:Great questions...! These are the same questions that my wife and I had back *** A short timelater we recieved a order for a PaddleSki 395 and a PaddleSki side motor mount.Jay has a couple of questions.... Q:Can you tell us more about the center mount for an outboard motor for the 395PS? First time we have heard about that. What HP will the Sea Eagle accommodate? Appreciate any info you can tell us about that. Thanks. Jay A:Jay, The center motor-mount is a new option that will accommodate up to a 3 HP outboard.This option will replace the rear aluminum strut in a simple one-minute operation. One of the features I enjoy is once installed the motor mount can be left installed. A great option...I approve! Tim Q:Hi Tim; We are on the verge of ordering. Just a couple more questions about the 395PS if you please. Can the front seat be reversed to face the rear? How is the center section constructed? What is the material that the seats sit on and what gives it its strength and structural support. Obviously there is something I don't see there. Even with the aluminum yokes, what keeps the pontoons from rolling out to the sides. How many "D" rings are their on each side for tie-downs? How deep is the center section and how much water does it retain? Is a bailer recommended? Thanks for your assistance. Will be getting our order to you very soon. Jay A:Jay, You can arrange seats in an infinite number of positions including facing the seats to the rear. There are 6 pairs of D-Rings mounted along the top deck of the PaddleSki. More D-Rings can be purchased($6 ea.) to personalize your PaddleSki. The passengers sit on a durable, very thick, almost rigid vinyl material that is sewn and glued between and on top of the two side pontoons. Three aluminum struts on top are bolted thru to three aluminum struts below the vinyl seating area to make a rigid platform for the passengers to sit on and to keep the hulls equidistant. The passenger seating area is just below the top most level of the pontoons. Water pooling in the seating area is mitigated by a number of small holes in the passengers seating area and the fact that water will run out of the open back if you should take on heavy water in white water conditions.No bailer is necessary. Just a sponge. Tim *** Jay ordered a Sea Eagle PaddleSkli 395 John just had to tell us how much he likes his new PaddleSki 435 Pro kayak. " I just wanted to let you know that I received the Paddleski 435 on May 31st 2007 as scheduled and had the opportunity to use it this weekend. I am very happy with it, especially the way it really moves well in the water and at the same time is extremely stable in both smooth and choppy conditions. I was also very impressed with how easily the boat was to set up and put away, and how light it was to carry given its size and capacity. My girlfried and I spent the day fishing from the boat on one of the local lakes and both of us were very pleased with the fact that the boat was far far more stable than we imagined it would be and had more than enough room to easily hold all of our equipment with tons of room to spare, which will be great when we take it on an extended camping trip later this summer. The boat also drew a lot of attention at the lake, especially from a number of kayakers, because of its unique design. I recommended to several people that they look at your website to learn more about the boat and the accessories available for it. I also told them that I got a great deal with you and would recommend purchasing from you, if they decided to get an inflatable boat or kayak, because of the excellent price and service you’ve provided me. My friend is still thinking about which type of boat would best fit his needs, and hopefully will make a decision within the next couple of weeks. He says his only problem with Sea Eagle is that there are too many different styles to choose from (which is certainly a good problem to have for anyone shopping for a boat!), so now he’s not sure exactly what he wants. Thanks again for the everything!" John We're betting that you'll like the Sea eagle PaddleSki just as much as John...! Thanks John...! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On the top-selling SE330
Sometimes things don't work out as planned. Read on to see if this story has ahappy ending. We include this email just in case you have the same problem. Q: Hi there, we received our boat and have inflated it, unfortunately one of the sides seems to have a slow leak. First we thought it was the valve, and I will try again to ensure that it is correctly closed. Will let u know the outcome and then maybe you can let me know what will happen if this is indeed a defective item. Heike A:Sorry to hear about your leak. We occasionly hear about leaks in 330 kayaks when they are inflated for the first time. Here are the common causes. 1. Most common problem. The innner white valve that screws to the threaded white valve mounted into the hull fabric is not screwed tightly or it is cross threaded. Simply remove the innner valve and screw back on taking care that it is correctly seated and then tighten tightly. Fill with air and watch for 24 hours.We always spray the suspect valve with household cleaner (or soapy water) to look for telltale bubbles. 2. The next problem occurs rarely but check the threaded white valve mounted into the hull fabric for a ridge or notch across the threads. If you see this apply heat from a hair dryer and the notch will dissappear. 3.Very, very rare problem. The hull material has a crack along the tight folds in the boat fabric caused by cold weather(freezing). This happens because the boat is tightly packed in the shipping container and/or too many are stacked during shipping during winter months(ie:UPS screw-up).If this happens we replace your hull. This is a painless solution. We send you a new hull (only) and issue a electronic call tag to have UPS pick up the defective hull. Please don't stress or worry...we don't have many problems...but when they occur we handle them to your complete satisfaction..! Please call toll free 877-253-3947 if you can't resolve this problem or if my instructions are confusing. We won't rest until this resolved so please keep us in the loop. TIM *** Happy Ending: Hi there, thanks sooooooo much for your quick and wonderful response. We have successfully inflated the boat and it now holds the air. I guess it was that one valve that was giving me a hard time. Thank you so much for your GREAT customer service - it is appreciated. 2nd Happy Ending:
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What is the real difference between the 330 and the 380? Besides the $500? What would make it worth spending the extra money? | |
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Wow...! Great question. The roomy Explorer 380 is a supported fabric boat that is almost rigid when inflated and darn near bulletproof. The snug fitting 330 is an unsupported fabric that can't be inflated as tightly making it a soft boat and more vunerable to puncture. The 380 has four large self drain valves and stainless d-rings while the 330 has just one rear drain and no d-rings. The 330 comes with a inexpesive laundry-bag type of storage bag while the storage bag for the 380 is a high quality storage syatem with carry straps and 6 tightening straps. The 380 is a serious expedition quality kayak you could stake your life on. The 330 is a recreation quality kayak.The 380 tracks much, much better and paddles much easier. Bottom line...? It is very definately worth the extra $500! TIM |
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Tim, I am interested in buying the sea eagle 8 raft from your site,
However, I am a little concerned about signing up for a paypal account,
giving out my bank account numbers and all.Is there another way to make a
purchase with you...?
PayPal is our Credit Card processor chosen because they offer the highest
level of protection to buyer and seller but having a PayPal account is NOT
NECESSARY! When checking out scroll past the payPal logon to the box
labeled "Don't have a PayPal Account?"..and then choose the credit card of
your choice.
I can also take orders by phone toll free 877-253-3947.
Thanks.,,Tim
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Or just drop me a email and I'll get right back to you.
My seminar, entitled “How owning a inflatable kayak can improve your sex life” or “How does a inflatable boat fit into a RVers lifestyle” covers the top ten most asked questions I’ve heard over the last four years.
FOR THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS AND MANY MORE JOIN US AT A SEMINAR
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