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Rubber rafts?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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axbromley

New Member
Apr 19, 2006
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I will be mainly shore hunting in the UAE and I am looking into getting a boat before I go. I noticed a fairly strong rubber raft (6 man with the ability to have an electric motor) in my price range and space and I am thinking about getting it.

Any advice/experience using rafts? I only free dive hunt now, but perhaps later I will get some scuba gear as well.

Should I save my money for something heavier, or is this good enough for most shore hunting?
 
you need to consider several factors to be able to answer that, such as sea conditions and bility to reach your designated area, ability to launch from shore, ability to anchor in spearfishing area, ease of transport and care, capacity versus number of divers and gear you normally take along, if it is good for all the above, its good to go.
 
To answer your question directly, yes, it's doable.

But you will be lugging the boat, the electric motor, and the battery, and you will hate it before long. If the motor conks out or running out of juice, you will be hating life since that raft won't row worth a darn. In any surf, you will be hating life.

A better option, if you are stuck with the portability aspect of the inflatable, is to go with an inflatable kayak. I've tried both the one offered by seaeagle (seaeagle.com) and the dive kayak offered by Sevylor (not the toy one, the one that can take an engine). You can row those quite well, or you can put a gas or electric engine in the back.

Two tips:

1) Read up on kayak diving to learn how to rig so your gear is properly secured. Many sources on the web.

2) get a plastic rubbermaid "tub" to put your fish and sharp things in. Those fish spines can be murderous to inflatable tubes.
 
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