Inflatable Boat (zodiac Type)

[craneguy]

i got a good deal on a new 12'6 zebec inflatable, wood floor, rated for a 25 hp. i picked it up in December so i have not used it yet nor have i ever fished out of one and i dont have a motor yet. i primarily fly fish for pike, this boat will see big lakes in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario and maybe even in bc. i will mostly be alone in this boat, i want to be organized in it, and i dont want stuff bouncing all around the boat.

i have a dave scadden northwest express, i would like to install brackets to make use of the lean bar with stripping basket, and the boat bags. i was thinking of some how mounting the bags on the side of the boat and having the lean bar towards the back of the boat., id like rod holders for transport and one for trolling, fish finder, small cooler bag, rain gear, patch kit, foot pump and the necessary safety gear, quick anchor rope lock (scotty). keep in mind this boat will always get deflated

 

 

 

 

what have you guys done to make your boat more fishing friendly?

what have you done to add more durability to your inflatable?

where do you mount your rod holders?

what size motors do you use?

 

thanks for the help

[Guest 420FLYFISHIN]

for bags you should try the water proof bags from MEC or whole sale, i have seen some with 4 strap points for back pack harness but you could use that to clamp down onto the pontoons

[Tungsten]

I had a Metzler boat,it had plastic tubs that went from pontoon to pontoon (across) had a seat on it and made for some dry storage.You could easily make something out of wood.

I also had some rubber mounts glued to the toons,this made it easier to attach things too like rod holders and fish finders.

Theres a shop in town here that deals with inflatables check them out, very friendly people.I can't remember their name.

[craneguy]

the scadden boat bags are water resistant, i want to use those bags so i can keep them geared up ready to go and use them with either boat. however they might be not be water proof enough to mounted on top of the pontoon of the zebec,i will keep that in mind if my bags dont work out.

Tungsten do you have a pic of that metzelr bag ? or pics of your boat how it was set up ?

 

ugh just now there was a force 15 hp on kijiji for 350$ it looked good buddy said it ran good. he had his address in the add and no phone number i found his number from another add of his. so i figured i would call him, i said i am leaving now, be there soon. i got my boots on and my phone rings its buddy he says its sold a guy showed up iat his door with cash in hand. ugh that sucked but oh well

[murray]

I've had an 11 ft Zodiac for a couple of years now. I haven't done anything special in the way of rigging it up for fishing so no help there. Just after I got it, I picked up a 50 lb. thrust electric motor and thought that would do. If your just going to be trolling and putting around smaller lakes, that works fine but I wanted something a little bigger in case I needede to get off the lake in a storm situation. It didn't take too long before I found a used Honda 7'5 horse motor. I haven't used it very much but I did give it a good test last fall at Whiteswan lake in BC. I clocked my speed with a GPS and found that my top speed was in that 17/18/19 km range. It took quite a while to get up to that speed simply because all of the weight was at the back of the boat and it wouldn't plane right away. By that I mean the bow was riding up in the air, once the bow came down, you could actually feel the speed pick up. With my wife in the boat, to even out the weight a little better, it would reach similar speed much quicker. I also compared the speed with a friend of mine who has a 15 horse Honda. His is faster as you might expect but not that much. He gets about 22 or 23 KM/H.

One thing I would highly reccomend is a 12 volt pump to inflate the boat. I got mine at Auto Marine here in town and it is great. It pumps a high volume at low pressure for the first while, to fill the tubes and then automatically switches over to high pressure/low volume to bring the pressure up to full pressure. To power it I use one of those battery boosters from Canadian tire.

 

The only thing extra I use is a portable fish finder off the transom. The boat works great on the Bow. Two people can very comfortably fly fish at the same time. When I get to the far end I simply deflate it, roll it up and put it in my car or truck.

 

Murray

[Tungsten]

Sorry no pics.Auto Marine is the place i was thinking they'll have a lot of ideas for you.

[wingshooter]

There are bow bags available which are out of the way and will hold most of all your gear. As for seats you can get a seat that attaches to the pontoon on the side and will not take up much room. The more clutter the harder it is to fish out of. I have a 15 footer with a 40 jet and find even that boat can get cluttered. I have a big cooler 150 L that I have a padded top for which is great for gear storage and a seat for a passenger which works great. I have a rowing frame and I tie most stuff to it to keep things in place. PM me if you want more details.

[LynnF]

Rowing frame with 2 seats, custom rear seat that can be removed or added easily, rod tubes made out of plumber's pipe, plastic bins to hold everything that can't see water and mandatory coffee holders on the rowing frame.

[Garlicmarshmellow]

Wing shooters setup is super nice. Boat goes well in shallow water with the jet. Rowing frame works great, but I want coffee holders like Lynn has next time we head out.