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It started in Key West, Florida when our friends Stan and Betty Bober took us to the dock. There were large boats anchored off shore and inflatable boats moved the people between their boats and the dock. As we studied the inflatables we thought of the many times we have camped near water and how handy it would be to own a boat. Remember, we travel fulltime so a boat, motor and accessories would have to be lightweight and store in our motorhome. The next week we had a phone line in Port St. Lucie, Florida so we surfed the internet for boats and motors. We looked at the 8' 6" Sea Eagle inflatable boat with a roll-up floor. It seemed to be all we need and the price was right - $849. At 69 pounds we could hand carry it to the water and a 3.3 hp outboard would be all the power we would need. It would hold up to 880 pounds and was rated for three adults or two adults and two children. Then we looked at the 9' 6" boat and realized we could take an extra passenger or extra "stuff" with us. Yes, it weighed about 40 pounds more and we would need a dolly and it would take more storage space. But we could put up to an 8 hp motor on it. Still surfing the internet I found the Avon inflatable boats with inflatable floors. Very nice boats, quality made and light weight. I could get the size we wanted for $2,096 and it could take a 9.9 hp motor. I found a Mercury 9.9 hp for $1,932. OK, lets see. An Avon boat, 9.9 hp motor, oars, extra seat, storage bag, carry bag, life vests, tow dolly, repair kit, electric pump, etc. - it came to $5,000 with shipping. Wow, we started out looking at $2,000 max. With our heads spinning we drove up to a boat store in Fort Pierce to look at inflatables. The owner was packing up everything in his shop and was moving to a location he had not found yet. He had one inflatable and it happened to be the first one we looked at on the internet - the Sea Eagle 8' 6" Sports Boat model. OK, "How much?" We knew it was $849 on the internet, plus shipping of $95. The owner replied "I had it on sale for $799, but I will take $699 for it." We asked if that price included oars, a carry bag, wood seat, foot pump and repair kit. He said it did. We said "SOLD." We needed life vests and we looked at his cheap ones - $16.97 each. Then Linda found some for $26.97 and told him "we want the nicer vests but want them for the price of the cheap ones." He said "OK." She picked up a nice sun visor and asked him to throw it in and again he said "OK." The good Lord was surely looking over us. We had gone out of our senses going from a cheap boating setup to almost spending five grand. It's a good thing the store only had the inexpensive boat. The total of everything we got including tax was $780.20 and the owner even carried it to our car. Now we needed an outboard motor and we decided to get a Mercury 3.3 horsepower outboard. Linda made several phone calls and located one at a marine in Port St. Lucie. Yes, they had it in stock and quoted her a price. When we arrived to pick it up we were told they "did not" have one in stock, but could get one the next week. We finally located one at Nobles Marine in Leesburg. It cost $726.53 including tax. Our final stop was at Wal-Mart to buy a gasoline can, 2-cycle oil and a long rope ($5.18). Finally, we were ready to hit the water and our total cost was $1,511.91. At White Springs, Florida we stayed at Suwannee Valley Campground on the historic Suwannee River. We carried our boat down a bank and inflated it, latched the motor to the rear and threw our stuff aboard. It is tradition to break a bottle of champaign over a ship for the inaugural launch, but we only had a bottle of beer and figured a broken bottle would sink our ship. The next few hours we cruised up and down the river stopping only to eat lunch. We paddled a few minutes, but that was like work so we started the motor again. The motor's throttle has a "turtle" and a "rabbit." Most of the time we ran in turtle and we moved at a nice slow speed. Two times, after warning Linda, Norm moved the lever to rabbit and we flew. Linda held on for dear life as the front of the boat jumped out of the water, the rear dug in, and we moved out. We found it doesn't take a large motor to move a 69 pound boat. During three hours of running the motor we only used one quart of gasoline. After our ride we drove the boat ashore and carried it to the Honda. We stuck the motor in the back and set the boat on the roof. Back at our campsite we hosed down the boat and dried it off. The boat rolls and folds to 41" x 24" x 11" and goes in the basement of our motorhome along with the 27.5 pound motor. Over the next few years we plan to use the boat for fishing and cruising lakes, rivers and even the Gulf of Mexico. To order any model of Sea Eagle inflatable
boat contact:
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