Zodiac Inflatable Boat-are they any good?

[elferoz777]

Hi guys

just exploring the alternatives to steel hulls and kayaks.

Saw some good and bad reviews for zodiacs and other inflatables...

Was wondering what everyone else was thinking about them?

when I do get nobile on the water I am planning to go beyonf the breakers and not too far out.

Is a large boat necesary to travek out far (by far I mean 3-7 kms of shore?)

Thanks

steve El Feroz

[Jew Stalker]

I had a mate who went out to the shelf hunting fin on his front steer tinny with a 50hp on the back. The swell wasn't the best either. He came back with a cracker of a yellowfin but nearly died in the process by not watching what was happening around him with the fin on and almost got ran over by an oil rig. Not something I would recommend but it can be done. As for a few km's offshore the same boat had no issues and was quite able to handle the sea but was not as stable as a decent glassy with a deep V hull.

I have a little inflatable which I take up to the lakes over the mountain and it does quite well however they do not go faster than walking speed but they get you out on the water. I would not take it anywhere near the ocean though.

[herdsman]

Thats all we used in our dive club in england,we had 2 zodiacs about 4mtrs in length and we went offshore about 15-20 miles, no problems.

[Testlab]

Inflatable means lots of things these days. There are kayaks, RIBs, tenders, toys, you name it. Some of the RIBs are awesome sea going machines and some small inflatable tenders are toys. I think you need to give us some idea of what type you mean.

[onearmedfisho]

Nothing wrong with inflatables. The most stable boat out there. Full Stop!

[Brewy85]

The Navy use them for a variety of roles with sizes ranging from around 4 - 7.2mtrs. Like anything they have their pros and cons but overall not a bad platform - stable and with good buoyancy. Downside is that they are often a wet boat in anything other than calm waters