For mindless banter as well as up to date catch reports, advice, and classifieds visit our forum
Carp Fishing Forum
Handy little boat for a number of carpy purposes.
I first saw these boats about three years ago for sale on an American website and was instantly impressed by the potential, obviously not the only one as many shops now stock 'em. It doesn't take much imagination to see where a boat comes in useful for angling, from scoping spots to baiting up and it's in these areas particularly where the trail boat is useful.
Made by Sevylor, who make the fishhunter range, this is quite a different beast. Very lightweight fabrics, polyurethane and pvc, and a small size combine to make this quite a small and lightweight, under 2kg, package. Certainly far easier to lug about then a fishhunter.
It is a more limited bit of kit then a fish hunter though. There is just enough room to sit with a bucket between your legs and not much else. You wouldn't want to move kit around or play a fish in it.
The oars are a bit flimsy but work well enough, they don't have much to push, and the storage bag doubles as a pump although personally don't bother with that. One tip have noticed on a few reviews of these boats, for backpacking purposes, as originally designed, is too remove the string between the eyelets as repeated yanking on these can be weak point and rip the boat. It doesn't really serve any purpose anyway.
In use though owing to it's size it is quick and fairly stealthy to inflate. It seems pretty durable, despite the thin fabric, have bounced off plenty of trees and branchs without damage. For my purposes, baiting up and checking spots on a water where boat use is not disallowed but discouraged it proved a handy and convenient little tool.
Conclusion. A useful tool for certain circumstances and pretty good value. Usually retails for around ?50. It goes without saying though, always wear a lifejacket if going on the water, there have been far too many tragedies (I picked up one from the states for about a tenner which is perfectly good although the self inflating variety are the best best if your going to do lots of boating)
