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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

$115 Inflatable Dinghy - Intex Seahawk II

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/01/2012 : 19:34:59

As some of you may have seen on another thread, I made a last-minute impulse purchase of a dinghy just before heading off on my Chesapeake Bay charter cruise. My friend Paul suggested on Friday 6/22 that it might be a good idea to have one, and since I was not sure whether we would want to go ashore somewhere that did not have a water taxi or deep water marina, I decided to consider getting one just in case. The first place I looked was Amazon, and I was right at the deadline - I had 3 minutes to order if I wanted next-day delivery. The reviews looked overwhelmingly positive, and it was far less expensive than I was afraid I might end up paying, so I bought on impulse.

The dinghy I'm discussing here is the [url="http://www.intexcorp.com/index.php/home/boats/pro-series/laminate-boats/68377e.html"]Intex Seahawk II[/url] inflatable dinghy. This is not to be confused with the [url="http://www.intexcorp.com/index.php/home/boats/sports-series/seahawk-boats/68347e.html"]Intex Seahawk 2[/url] boat, which is just a large size pool toy. (It's a darn shame they have named such radically different boats so similarly.)

I'm normally one to research things to the hilt in advance, but in this case I had to research it after the fact. I've looked over the many previous dinghy threads here and elsewhere, and have not seen this particular dinghy mentioned, so I thought I'd start a discussion.

First of all, I know that a $115 dinghy is going to be the wrong choice for some people. This is my third season on the C250, and I have not needed a dinghy yet. I was determined not to purchase one until I absolutely needed it (and planned to borrow one first if I did need one). But this dinghy changed my mind because it stores compactly enough to fit into my limited space, will therefore not be subject to any significant UV exposure, and, well, it's only $115, which made it cheap insurance for the charter cruise.

I did not end up using it on the cruise, but was glad to have it on board just in case. Today I inflated it at home for the obligatory leak check, which also gave me an opportunity to inspect its design and construction. First, it's not Hypalon, it is PVC, which is clearly a lower cost option with some known disadvantages. However, the construction is 3-ply, with a polyester mesh sandwiched between for strength and stretch resistance. When fully inflated, this thing stiffens up nicely, instead of just continually expanding with the pressure like ordinary PVC pool toys would.

One of the things that impressed me in the online reviews was the number of people who have used this boat successfully for whitewater rafting, which to me is a very impressive sign of its durability.

I was also pleased to see that it had swiveling oar brackets. The boat is about 10' long, with a double-ended construction, and is a bit narrower than most inflatable dinghies. When I sat in a rowing position, it seemed like the narrower beam would give a better angle of attack for the oars than a wider inflatable would give. The double-ended design eliminates a built-in transom, which makes this primarily a rowing dinghy. But there is a $25 motor bracket available which appears to be very easy to install, and will hold a trolling motor or outboard up to 2 hp on this boat. (Bracket is rated for up to 3.5 hp, but only on Intex's larger version of this boat.)

The aluminum oars break down nicely for storage, though the plastic connectors are a point of weakness. One of the whitewater reviewers commented that they were cheaply constructed because the aluminum got dented up when he took it down the rapids, to which I thought, "Duh, you were taking them down rapids, dummy!" If they survived that kind of abuse without completely breaking, I think they may be OK for general rowing. If not, I have two extra wooden paddles that I keep on the Trophy boat for emergency use.

The whole package (boat, oars, manual HVLP pump) stores nicely in a 3' long bag with enough extra room for my Coleman 12v inflator (which fits the Boston valves perfectly). The whole package weighs about 40 lb. Obviously this boat has a soft bottom, which make it lighter and easier to store, but without the performance advantages of a hard bottom boat.

This is clearly not a dinghy for the frequent cruiser, but if you're looking for an emergency liferaft and/or storable boat for infrequent use with oars, trolling motor, or 2hp outboard, you might want to consider this. The low price was enough to entice me to "just do it" to have it available for any future unanticipated needs.

Here's a pic of the inflated boat in my side yard:

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You can also find YouTube videos showing the boat under power.

Rick S., Swarthmore, PA
PO of Take Five, 1998 Catalina 250WK #348 (relocated to Baltimore's Inner Harbor)
New owner of 2001 Catalina 34MkII #1535 Breakin' Away (at Rock Hall Landing Marina)

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9089 Posts

Response Posted - 07/01/2012 : 20:30:44

So I guess the bow is the end with the bird?

Sounds like a not-bad decision!

I have a significantly underutilized hypalon Achilles that cost quite a few multiples of that one, and sees the sun only a few times a year.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 07/01/2012 20:34:01

redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 07/01/2012 : 20:49:35

Toss an anchor in a bag and go and row it around. I have a friend that bought one and used it for many years, but the motor attachment thing is a joke and it rows like ***. For the money, a great way to get off of the boat. Just make sure the wind isn't going to pipe up when you are trying to get to your boat.

sten

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 07/01/2012 : 21:50:18

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">So I guess the bow is the end with the bird?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

It must be, the fishing pole holder is at the other end so you can troll.

We had two of these, but I suspect they might have been the Seahawk 2, not II. One came with our C-250, and we already had one for drifting down the Yakima River in the summer. We ended up giving the second one to one of my best friends and as far as I know, he's still using it. Our other one is just sitting in the garage in it's bag waiting for the next time we need it.

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 07/02/2012 : 20:08:10

OK, my wife tricked me into getting into the boat today and snapped this picture, then posted it on her Facebook page. It's gotten quite a few comments:

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 04/14/2013 : 19:59:40

I'm hoping to do some cruising in the Chesapeake this summer, and may take our small dog with us. Since it may be difficult to hold onto her at the same time I row, I just picked up a small Minn Kota trolling motor ($80 after rebate at Amazon). I had already bought the $17 motor mount for this boat, and I have a couple extra group 24 batteries down in the basement hooked up to a backup sump pump. So it looks like I'll have a serviceable dinghy for about $200. Obviously I can't use it in high winds or heavy surf, but for getting around protected coves it should be good enough.

Since I'm going to be using it in Maryland, I'll have to register it, but it's small enough and low enough power that MD registration is free. (One of the few inexpensive things in Maryland.)

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 04/16/2013 : 19:54:56

My trolling motor came today, so I'm ready to power up my little raft for use as a tender this summer. Annapolis mooring balls here we come! (later this season)

The raft can stow in a bag, but once I have it inflated I'm sure I'll end up towing it for the rest of the cruise, and deflate it only after we've returned to home port and hung it from a halyard to dry it out.

There is a carry handle on the bow, and a blue carry rope around the whole boat (see pic at the top of this thread). I'd like to develop a harness that distributes the towing tension three ways - one connection to the carry handle, and two connections to the carry rope (one on each side of center). I'm afraid if all the pull comes on the carry handle, that it could pull the handle off and possibly tear a hole in the raft. Connecting to the carry rope will do a nice job of distributing the stress, because it will actually cause some of the tension to pull the raft from behind.

So my question is this: What knot would you recommend for attaching a painter or harness to the carry rope?

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 04/17/2013 : 03:58:49

Make life easy, use 3 carabiners.

Paul

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 04/17/2013 : 04:52:45

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by britinusa
 Make life easy, use 3 carabiners.

Paul
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Carabiners will make disconnects easy. However, they will slip along the carry rope and concentrate the towing tension at the little rubber rope guides. So I'm looking for a knot that could grab the carry rope and pull the carry rope itself, so that it distributes the stress all the way around the boat. I think this could be important if I get into heavy chop, where there could be periodic tugging on the tow rope as the inflatable plows through the waves.

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 04/17/2013 : 06:50:12

To answer my own question, I just realized that I could cut the carry rope in the front and tie bowline knots in each end. Then I could use carabiners or other connection methods to attach a three-prong harness to the two bowlines and the molded carrying handle. This would give pretty good distribution of the stresses.

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clayC
Navigator

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USA
207 Posts

Response Posted - 04/22/2013 : 18:20:36

I have one of these and broke an oar lock. when I ordered a new one it was the cheapest boat part I have ever purchased. about seven bucks so I got two.

Clayc

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