T&T: Air floor Inflatable

[veiner@juno.com]

I have a Mercury Quicksilver 11' air floor inflatable. There are some
definite advantages and disadvantages that you should take into
consideration.

It is light, about 86 pounds, stable underway, and easy to hoist onto
the swim platform with a single davit. No expensive davits, not even
Weaver davits required.

The major disadvantage is trying to stand up in it when loading and
unloading. It becomes a precarious balancing act. Even my standard
poodle, who weighs a little over 50 pounds, acts like life is about to
end any moment when he has to stand in it. A minor drawback is that if
you use it to go to the beach often, sand collects down in the cracks
and they are harder to clean.

All in all, we gave it good marks and is good transportation.

I am presently rebuilding my hard dinghy, a Carolina Skiff J-12, that
was wrecked by Hurricane Jean in Stuart 2 years ago. After having used
that for several years, and after having owned several other types of
hard and inflatable dinghies, there is no inflatable or rib that comes
close to it for comfort and utility. Unfortunately, at 280 pounds, the
weight is a negative factor.

When we head for the Bahamas this coming winter, the Mercury will be
stowed on the deck for backup, and we intend to tow the J-12 across the
Gulfstream and to the islands. If we lose the dinghy in the process, we
can only write it off again after what happened to it with the hurricane.

Suggest you try an air inflatable floor dinghy before you buy it and
decide whether or not you can live with the instability of trying to
stand in it. If you can, it will be great for you.  Martin Veiner
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