Anybody have experience with inflatable jet boat?

[summit151]

Wondering if anyone has real world experience with the solar and strihz jet boats? Looks like they take them some crazy places from the videos on YouTube. Looking for a boat that can run skinny and shallow water and get some places for Hunting and exploring


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[Positrac]

Originally Posted by summit151

Wondering if anyone has real world experience with the solar and strihz jet boats? Looks like they take them some crazy places from the videos on YouTube. Looking for a boat that can run skinny and shallow water and get some places for Hunting and exploring


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I’ve got a bit of a experience with Solar inflatables. I’ve logged about 2000 kms in a 380 and a few in a 420. What do you want to know?

[Desert Eagle]

I am also interested in this topic. One quick one for me. If you take the setup out fishing on a lake is it rough? My wife gets sick quite easily and wanted to see if this may be an option. Not worried about it on the River as it is much smoother than a lake for the most part.

[Positrac]

Originally Posted by Desert Eagle

I am also interested in this topic. One quick one for me. If you take the setup out fishing on a lake is it rough? My wife gets sick quite easily and wanted to see if this may be an option. Not worried about it on the River as it is much smoother than a lake for the most part.

If you want a boat for rougher water they aren’t the best because for the most part the ride on top of the water. I haven’t been out in really rough stuff but I’ve been in enough boats to know they wouldn’t be a lot of fun. I’ve been through sections of rapids on the Athabasca where there was 3’ of chop and I made it through but the guy in the front of the boat wasn’t having a fun time. But, they can run in 4” of water all day and make it through sections only a few inches deep.

I ran one of the local rivers late last August and through to November when there was very little water in it and I was one of the only boats on it. I did see other boats but never 2 days in a row and one guy would have spent a few bucks replacing Teflon after following me for a ways…

I sold my 380 in the fall after hitting/scraping bottom a few hundred times and the hull was still in excellent shape and it didn’t have the heavy-duty bottom on it. I have a new 420 Solar Expedition with all the extras for this year.

[dewalt18]

No long term experience, but a guy gave me a much needed lift across higher river in a little zodiac with a 15 horse jet drive on it a number of years ago. Other than a quick stop at the scout hall to clear the intake, I was impressed. It beat swimming!

[summit151]

Originally Posted by Positrac

If you want a boat for rougher water they aren’t the best because for the most part the ride on top of the water. I haven’t been out in really rough stuff but I’ve been in enough boats to know they wouldn’t be a lot of fun. I’ve been through sections of rapids on the Athabasca where there was 3’ of chop and I made it through but the guy in the front of the boat wasn’t having a fun time. But, they can run in 4” of water all day and make it through sections only a few inches deep.

I ran one of the local rivers late last August and through to November when there was very little water in it and I was one of the only boats on it. I did see other boats but never 2 days in a row and one guy would have spent a few bucks replacing Teflon after following me for a ways…

I sold my 380 in the fall after hitting/scraping bottom a few hundred times and the hull was still in excellent shape and it didn’t have the heavy-duty bottom on it. I have a new 420 Solar Expedition with all the extras for this year.

Thanks for the information and help. Have you looked at the Strizh boats? Seem very similar to the solar but with a wood floor?

https://m.youtube.com/c/StrizhBoats/videos


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[summit151]

Originally Posted by Positrac

If you want a boat for rougher water they aren’t the best because for the most part the ride on top of the water. I haven’t been out in really rough stuff but I’ve been in enough boats to know they wouldn’t be a lot of fun. I’ve been through sections of rapids on the Athabasca where there was 3’ of chop and I made it through but the guy in the front of the boat wasn’t having a fun time. But, they can run in 4” of water all day and make it through sections only a few inches deep.

I ran one of the local rivers late last August and through to November when there was very little water in it and I was one of the only boats on it. I did see other boats but never 2 days in a row and one guy would have spent a few bucks replacing Teflon after following me for a ways…

I sold my 380 in the fall after hitting/scraping bottom a few hundred times and the hull was still in excellent shape and it didn’t have the heavy-duty bottom on it. I have a new 420 Solar Expedition with all the extras for this year.

Also wondering if you can trailer these boats? Also wondering what size would be needed to pack 2 guys and some gear? The maximum weight capacity looks impressive but wondering about the issue when you get into the 40hp four strokes the engines weigh a lot and become a 2 man job to move them around


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[senderomag]

I have a Saturn inflatable boat. If your interested in one of them. It’s been on many fly in moose hunts. Can haul a two hunters. A moose. And gear.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by summit151

Wondering if anyone has real world experience with the solar and strihz jet boats? Looks like they take them some crazy places from the videos on YouTube. Looking for a boat that can run skinny and shallow water and get some places for Hunting and exploring


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I ran a 15' Zodiak, wioth the aluminum floor and a 35 HP motor on it for quite a few years. I had a trailer for it so I didn't have to break it down all the time. It was excellent in rough water, behaved a lot like the dedicated inflatable white water rafts that so many of the guided trips use. The Zodiak drew very little water, and I painted an extra coating of the rubberized repiar/top coat that Zodiac sells on the bottom. I tried not to scrape the bottom any more than absolutely needed but it stood up to being dragged quite a few times. It also had great load carrying capacity.

Problem with most inflatables is the seats are not very comfortable for long periods of use and depending on the type of flooring you have to watch what you hit and how hard, but that is true of pretty much any boat..

[Sundancefisher]

Years back we used Metlzer and Zodiacs with a 35 HP jet.

Worked great. I’d say however you couldn’t horse around like doing tricks or jumping sandbars like in an aluminum boat.

It’s very stable for going straight and weaving through boulder gardens when motoring upstream. Less so going downstream when not on step.

We also had fun one day when we hit rebar sticking up off bottom but not above water and sunk it by shore.

Some people have problem setting it up and getting floor boards in and lifting a heavy jet onto the transom.

Also we had pre inflated and set up on the roof of the truck canopy and tied down. Once had it fly off.

Found they were relatively easy to repair so long as holes were not too big.