I think you will find FIN power very helpful. Even the slightest breeze is going to move you. The two tubes is a great idea.
As for two person boats, there is the Voyager 2 or the Assault XX that are frameless. And you would really have to try to put a hole in them. They fold up small enough to fit in a trunk and they inflate quick and easy.
As for the Kayak idea, one again I am throwing out the SUP (Stand Up Paddle Board) Many are inflatable, but look and feel solid. They can be used with a box seat like a canoe, or mount a seat to the deck and you have a Kayak.
And a new kid on the block. The Stingray. Totally inflatable, the floor is the same drop stitch as the SUP’s.
Having a floor that you can stand up on in an inflatable raft is a BIG plus. Look at NFO’s Dragonfly line.
You would have to save a little longer for these, but they are worth it.
It’s great that you want to get your fiancee out on the water with you. Don’t put down the idea that your signficant other won’t like the idea of the tube. Just after I got married I bought my wife her first tube. It was a donut style by Caddis. I put her in it and she just bobbed around while I fished from my pontoon. She has been hooked since and we got both our kids involved as well. Here is a pic of her and her ride. I found it is quited simple to attach two tubes or toons or either combination to each other. There is a strap in the camping section at walmart that had a quick clip on it. I find this is real easy to attach and when it is time to separate easier done than said while on the water. I purchased a raft years ago while the kids were young and it got used once. If you want it I will be happy to sell it. I will attempt to find it this weekend and send some pics your way if you like.
They other factor with two tubes is if your fiance decides she doesn’t want to go on some of your trips, you can still take your tube solo and not mess with the bigger item.
Albino that is a great tube set up to keep dry.
Is it still stable sitting that high? I put a few extra pads on my seat during the cold months to stay somewhat out of the water but with more than two, I start to feel “tippy”.
The only thing colder than sitting in 37 degree water is falling into 37 degree water.
I have two of the inflatable boats that are one step down from this one and they are great. They pump up in about 3-5 minutes (depends on whether it is my son or me doing the inflating) and get you right out on the lake to some sweet fishing without much trouble at all.
My wife enjoys being out on the lake with me and if she doesn’t feel like fishing, she sits in one end and reads while I do. They are easy to handle alone too. Of course with any inflatable, you don’t break any speed records on the water but there is no need to right?
They deflate and fold up as quickly as they inflate. With a limited budget and no need for frills, I would say go for it. We have loved ours.
This fc4 already has a foam seat. All I did was take a plastic lawn chair and cut the legs off. It is very stable. Also made it more comfortable for my wife.
My wife and I also enjoyed our poor-man’s boat for a few years, and it got us where I needed to go - not quickly, but that was fine. It also worked good enough when I fished from it alone. At the time, there weren’t a bunch of other guys floating around in all of the fancy stuff that is available today, so we were plenty happy.
I would love to get one of those, but I don’t have any way to getting it down from Idaho, and I don’t have any room to store it Maybe after I buy a house… haha. Get back to me after I finish my PhD
I know this is an old thread but would like to chime in and might help other members. I currently use an inflatable for fishing. I started of with the Intex excursion 5 which I bought from KSL used for about $80 then found a great deal on another Intex boat this time for a Mariner 4 $50 used. Couldn’t pass that up. I like the Mariner 4 better since it was easier to handle fishing solo. I have a 2.5hp Suzuki motor i used for both boats and it chugs a long fine with them. Its not even close to a speed boat but its a lot better than rowing. Compiled a list of pros and cons with inflatables.
Pros
-Beats shore fishing IMO. I like to troll so it allows me to bring my bait where the fish are.
-Little storage space.
-no trailer needed.(although i do want one now so i cant just launch when i get to the lake)
-Can fit in any car(i personally drive a 99 honda accord)
-Cheap way to get on the water.
Cons
-Setup time. I inflate and deflate the boat every time. Typically it takes me about 15-20 mins to set everything up and be on the water. This is not blowing the boat up that usually takes only 10 mins to do but also putting on the motor mount, getting my fishing gear ready, putting oars on and such. Putting it away is much easier only takes me about 10 mins to do that since deflating is a lot faster.
-Easily blown by the wind. Sometimes when i’m not trolling i like to drift fish but the wind blows you a lot faster since the boat is so light.
-Higher chance of leaks/holes. This can happen to any boat but since its an inflatable of course its not as tough as a aluminium or fiberglass boats.
All in all i’m happy fishing out of it and it actually made fishing for me much funner than shore fishing! I couldn’t catch squat shore fishing! Having a boat also made me love troll fishing which i’m not really able to do on shore. I’m currently modding my boat over the winter to install downriggers on it so I can take it to Strawberry for some kokannee fishing. Also looking into taking it out to Puget Sound to do some salt water salmon trolling as well!
