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?