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Hey there TubeDude,
Couldn't noticing a whole slew of inflatables coming out of the woodwork at the Fred Hall show this year.
The things were like a Zodiac or Apollo but featured a hard moulded vinyl bottom. The bladders or pontoon diameters BIG and there was a place for a motor. Every one was only about 7 feet long. Cheapest I saw was $889.
Looks like all these little niches are being filled when it comes to floaties. The weight of one I remember well came in at 72 pounds. Not too portable but........... what is the combined weight of ALL our gear on a float tube!?? ha ha ha
JapanRon
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[cool][blue][size 1]You are right, JR, there are a whole lotta new goodies coming out every year. Good for us. More choices in how we want to spend too much money on our wild and crazy hobby...fishing.[/size][/blue]
[#0000ff][size 1]There was a time when the Zodiac type boats were very popular. They still are with some folks that want to carry in a boat to remote areas without having to trailer one. TubeBabe and I had lusted after one while we were still spending a lot of time down on the Sea of Cortez. We could fish a lot of the inshore waters with float tubes, but there were offshore reefs we couldn't reach, and lots of trolling potential for species not available from tubes.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I also looked over some of the smaller size craft at the recent sports show in Phoenix. I can see a lot of potential for folks that fish either by themselves, or with maybe one VERY CLOSE fishing companion. They have the capacity to handle a decent sized motor and quite a bit of extra gear...all while keeping the fisherman out of the water. In many situations, the dry approach would definitely be better. Having good power would also be a boon when you have to contend with long distances, wind or currents.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I wouldn't be surprised to see more of those on the waters in the coming months. I suspect they fall just outside the float tubing department, but I know some tubers that would like to have them as a "second craft". I'm one of them.[/size][/#0000ff]
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With all the new styles coming out it should drop the prices of the older toons. I enjoy the control on my tube but a toon has its advantages.
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