Inflatable Kayak Blog

Cecil Hoge, the man behind the Sea Eagle brand of inflatable kayaks, inflatable boats and inflatable fishing pontoons has been attending the Outdoor Retail Show for many years. That’s understandable since Sea Eagle has been manufacturing inflatable crafts for over 40 years, since 1968.

I had a chance to talk with him and his son John about the company and his philosophy behind the development of the Sea Eagle line of products. Cecil mentioned how his goal was to be the best at what they do and it’s evident in their efforts to continually improve all aspects of the business from the communication with dealers to the product line, itself. In the 5 years we have sold Sea Eagle boats at PortableKayaks.com, I’ve noticed the effort.

In those past 5 years, Sea Eagle has expanded their product line in response to the needs of their customers.

* They have added the 370 to their lower end priced (under $350) kayaks to give customers a choice of sizes. The 370 is slightly larger than the 330 providing more leg room and weight capacity.

* The 285fpb Frameless Pontoon Boat answered the call for a  fishing pontoon that doesn’t require hard to assemble metal framing, while making it easy for only one person to use alone.

* As the popularity of stand up paddle boards progressed, Sea Eagle’s LongBoard 11 became one of the first inflatable versions on the market. The LongBoard may be the only SUP that offers a sit down option that can be paddled with a kayak paddle for those less adventurous flat water “surfers”.

* When Sea Eagle noticed how the drop stitch inflation technology made the SUPs hard enough to stand on, they added drop stitch floors to their new Fast Track kayaks and replaced the floors on their older Explorer Kayaks, resulting in improved tracking, something inflatable kayak manufacturers are always striving for. The Fast Track series also introduced a hard keel to further stiffen the kayak for better tracking. These two innovations alone have raised the bar for inflatable kayak design and development.

* And just a couple weeks ago, Sea Eagle debuted a fishing rig that allows paddlers to add swivel seats to the Fast Track kayaks and turn them into fishing kayaks.

What’s next? One of the first things John showed me at the Open Air Demo was the solar panel that was rigged to a 385ft Fast Track kayak with a prototype mounting bracket for a Torqeedo electric motor. Endless possibilities … and “green”, too.

There have been other developments as well, but these are some of the highlights. I can only wonder what the next 5 years will bring as Sea Eagle continues to design and develop inflatable crafts with the user clearly in mind.

by Victoria Holt-Adams

The weather has been so nice these past couple of weeks, a bit of spring fever has been ignited  in a few of our close outdoor adventuring friends.  This is the perfect time of year for a fishing expedition and the clear blue skies and warming temperatures gave them an excuse to try out their new Outlaw Assault Inflatable Pontoons.

I’ll admit, at first I was a bit skeptical of this particular pontoon. The boat reminded me of a giant floating raft crossed with an inner tube on steroids. In my opinion, the Outlaw Assault didn’t look as sturdy or comfortable as a float tube or an inflatable kayak. But when we pulled out the pontoons and inflated them, my skepticism died a very merry death.

The Outlaw Assault inflated in a matter of seconds and was very sturdy when completely filled with air.  We inflated the pontoons on the lake shore, but with the size and shape of the Outlaw Assault, I am certain we could have filled them at home and tied them down in the back of the pick up without any difficulty.

We started out paddling in a calm section of one of our local lakes, just sort of lazing back waiting for the fish to bite. We’d prepared for our inaugural launch and overnight stay by packing a tent, sleeping bags, cooler, and back packs in waterproof gear bags. Because I’m a nature photography buff, I made sure to bring along my camera and tripod lovingly stowed in an oversized Pelican case.

We tied down all of the equipment to the bows and sterns of the pontoons. I must say, if I’d had even one of those heavy gear bags tied to my kayak, there would have been very little floating done that day! Much to my amazement, the Outlaw Assault Inflatable Pontoon handled the load of all the equipment and retained its ease of maneuverability.

My friends had heard about this little gem of a pontoon at a boat show where it was one of the featured items. The Outlaw Assault was created by Dave Scadden who revolutionized a new way to fish and float on rivers. I had to chuckle when my friends husband told us the Portable Outlaw Motor mount was on his Christmas list this year. Being a fishing fanatic, he wanted to turn his Outlaw Assault Pontoon into a mini bass boat!

Our first outdoor weekend was a smashing success and got me thinking about new “toys”. After a cold and wet winter, I think the Outlaw Assault Inflatable Pontoon might be the perfect “spring fever reliever” gift to myself.

The author, Victoria Adams is a 28 year old mother of two wonderful children and wife to a loving husband, a freelance writer, semi-professional photographer, and self taught graphic artist. She enjoys reading, kayaking, fishing; stand up paddle boarding, and many other water activities.

by Victoria L. Holt-Adams

The Sea Eagle Fold Cat 440 inflatable pontoon is definitely not your Grandpa’s old fishing boat. Modern technology has advanced to the point where the development of lighter, yet stronger materials has resulted in the design of these lightweight, easy to maneuver inflatable pontoons. Most of the inflatable pontoons on the market today are either one or two seaters, but the Sea Eagle FoldCat 440 has a capacity of 4 persons up to 950 lbs, while weighing in at a svelte 101 lbs itself.

Many fishermen and women are abandoning the traditional style fishing boat and replacing their old heavy trailer towed boats with this lighter, more suitable design. It has several benefits but the main one in my book is you don’t have to hook up a trailer to your vehicle to tow this boat to your fishing spot. It sets up in 5 to 10 minutes and it is so easy that anyone could put it together.

Another great benefit is that you’re not wasting gas. With gas prices well over $3.00 per gallon (at the time I’m writing this and expected to go higher), oftentimes we’d have to forego our fishing trips because of the expense. Not anymore! This doesn’t mean, however, that you ‘have’ to use oars to propel the FoldCat. It has a built in motor mount that supports a 4 hp gas (60 lbs. max weight) or up to 74 lb. thrust electric engine.

The Fold Cat 440 is light weight, easy to launch and comfortable, yet strong enough to take a beating. It also rows like a dream, gliding over the water with virtually no effort at all. Another excellent feature is that the Sea Eagle FoldCat 440, despite it’s size, is designed so that it will float in just one foot of water. This is possible because the weight (one hundred and one pounds plus whatever gear might be on board) is distributed evenly across the pontoons. This is the same principle that gives pontoon boats such great stability on the water.

This boat is an anglers dream in light weight convenience. But I won’t say the fishermen in our family get ALL the fun. My daughters and I can easily deploy it for a lazy day on the lake.

This inflatable pontoon is a great fit for everyone in the family. Whether you are looking to catch a lot of Bass or Trout this season, or just enjoy some good old fashioned family fun, then this is a great boat for you.

(Victoria L. Holt-Adams is the mother of two wonderful children, a stay at home mom, semi-professional photographer, and self taught graphic artist. She enjoys a myriad of other activities to stimulate her creative processes.)

This article was originally published it’s author, Victoria Louise Adams in Ezine Articles under the title “Sea Eagle FoldCat 440 – Nothing Like Your Grandpa’s Boat!“.

The folks at Sea Eagle claim to make some tough products and they back up their bravado with their testing procedures and video results. If you haven’t yet seen the video of one of their employees banging the claw end of a hammer into the 1000 denier material they use on the Explorer and Fast Track inflatable kayaks, as well as their Sport Runabout inflatable boats and FoldCat (structural) and 285fpb (frameless) pontoon boats, take a look at this …..

The latest “testing’ video I spotted shows how much abuse can be administered to the skeg that fits on the Fast Track 385ft inflatable kayak. The same skeg is used on the larger 465ft Fast Track as well. This is pretty impressive ….

It’s hard to argue with the video evidence that Sea Eagle has a really tough product. I guess that’s why they can back up everything they make with a 3 year warranty.

At PortableKayaks.com we have always tried to make it easy for customers to compare the specs of all of the boats we sell … inflatable kayaks, fishing boats, pontoons, float tubes and folding kayaks. Our Product Comparison Charts break down the width, length, carrying weight, weight capacity, material specifications, assembly time and other important specs that you can use to decide which craft is right for you. Each of the model numbers link to the appropriate product page for the complete product descriptions, which also makes it easy to review the kayaks or boats on your wish list.

Recently, our inflatable boat review page has been completely re-designed. We’ve updated the charts with additional information and changed the layout of the comparison charts to make them much easier to read and navigate.

If you’re in the process of reviewing inflatable kayaks, folding kayaks, portable fishing boats, pontoons or float tubes, check out the Product Comparison Charts at PortableKayaks.com.