Caring for an inflatable
Posted by: Waterbird on Feb-27-13 9:34 PM (EST)
I've owned a couple of inflatables. One was expedition quality, the other an Advanced Elements recreational size. As others have said, they're slow but if they get you on the water maybe that's all that matters to you. Did you say the Niagara River? I thought that's what you said.
One problem with inflatables is that water collects in the space where the side tubes meet the floor. It gets trapped in there and soon starts to stink to high heaven. The only way to get it out is to deflate the kayak, and then it's pretty difficult to dry it properly. If you leave the kayak inflated for any length of time you're going to get mold in there. So try to dry it carefully.
I had no problem with the durability of the side tubes, but on the expedition boat a seam in the floor popped, so don't overinflate the floor.