What size Zodiac would you buy?

[DetectorGuy]

I am looking at getting an inflatable boat (Zodiac type) just for diving. I have an 18' I/O runabout but it is kinda hard to get in and out of while diving. It is crowded as the seats and everything are not set up for diving. I am not going to get used as I don't want someone else's problems. I have a brand new 15 horse Evinrude so I am not going to get a boat under 10' long. They are mainly set up for 9.9 HP. I heard that 12' is the smallest that I should go for diving purposes. At they have a 12' Saturn inflatable with a plywood floor for $1124.00. This sounds like a great deal until you look at the 13' Saturn that is only $1299.00. And the 14' Saturn rescue/dive boat is $1409.00 with the plywood floor. Now I don't want to be pitching the Saturn boats but this seems too cheap not to have doesn't it? Those prices included shipping. Anyway I realize that Zodiac would be the way to go or one of those fancy yacht tenders (Caribe, Avon, and the like) but the price over doubles, feature for feature. Mercury sells a nice inflatable as well for fairly cheap and there is a dealer in Bloomington. If I had a little more disposable cash I would probably be looking at a RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat with a fiberglass V-hull and inflatable tubes outside of that.

I am kinda leaning toward the Saturn SD385 13' long inflatable Keel. (did I mention that its red? I always had a thing for a red boat) I will probably get the plywood floor with the aluminum frame. It comes with one bench seat and a mount for the second bench. it has attached oarlocks with aluminum oars. This may be handy if the motor craps out but this may be a pain during the water entry/exit. My wife and daughter could fit comfortably when I am not diving too.

From your experience, what size boat would you buy for 2 or 3 divers in a lake like Superior or local potholes?  Would you go with the name brand or go for the most features for the buck? Would you opt for the Rescue/Diver model before the Motorboat/rowboat model? (The rescue/diver model has a more durable grab rope around it and no oarlocks just a paddle for second means of propulsion.) Would you have a fully inflatable or a RIB? Would you have the Plywood floor, Aluminum Floor, or the fairly new "Air-Floor"? Would you sit on a cooler, factory bench seats, the side tubes, or an after-market fishermans type chair?

[beeger]

I own an older Zodiac MkIII (~15 ft) with the aluminum floor. How many divers I can put on it really depends on what I'm doing. It can fit as many as four divers (single tank) and a driver and a video setup, but it's really crowded. Three divers (single tank) is comfortable. Two doubles divers and a single tank diver in Superior was no problem. Gearing up in doubles in these boats can be tricky unless you have someone (like a driver) devoted to helping. A dive buddy of mine built a tank stand of sorts to facilitate this. Two single tank divers with a driver leaves ample room. Very comfortable.

I run a 35 HP motor on the boat. It works fine. Performance really depends on weight. I could not quite get the four divers plus driver up on plane in the example above. Two or three average size divers plus a driver is no problem.

Personally, I don't think I'd want to buy an inflatable boat or outboard motor any smaller than what I have. Space becomes an issue, and weight adds up pretty quick. That being said if I got a once in a lifetime deal on a MkII or MKIIc (and I didn't have the MkIII) then sure, I might go for it. It also depends on how much you are looking at diving local lakes vs. Superior, and where in Superior you want to be able to go, the size waves you want to be able to deal with, etc..

There are different tips/techniques for diving out of these boats: clipping your gear to the boat when exiting vs. handing it up to someone; gearing up in the boat vs. in the water.; entries and exits, how to vary all this when dealing with different variables. etc.. It takes a bit of getting used to depending on your familiarity level.

[popolarbear]

say, i too am debating a zodiac purchase to add to my boat arsenel.
can anyone tell me if there is a model that is foldable and light weight enough to be able to fold into the trunk of a small rental car. my goal is to have a portable boat that i can road trip, i would fedex ground ship a small motor and the boat to a friends before visiting.

online i noticed that alot of them weigh 200lbs+ that is for me a tad heavy for shipping and moving around without trailer. ive got 3 people that would be involved.

we are freediving and dont have a ton of gear.

[DiverQueen]

You may want to look into the foldable boat.  I think it's called Porta-Bote...

[arcFlash]

PRM may post but I was just in his 17ft Zodiac and it's easy to gear up in. He has a large crate like a "Action Packer" in the bow. You kit up sitting on it then roll in. Exit I put the weight belt in the boat then removed my gear clipped to a small line. Getting in the boat was easy. Pulling the gear in after you stow the other small bits gave room to work. We put the dry suits on while on shore (do they qualify as a PFD?)