What size Zodiac would you buy?

[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.