We bought a boat!

Well, sort-of…

Shortly before we left Texas in June, we decided to purchase an inflatable boat!

My dad first suggested an inflatable boat years ago. We lived near water, but didn’t get out much onto it so we never purchased one…fast forward to 2020. As we were getting ready to depart, we came to the realization that we were soon going to be on the water, at campsites, a good amount of the next year. With that in mind, we strongly considered the idea of buying a boat. As much as we would love a pontoon boat, it was completely out of the question for us while full-time RV’ing (the extra fees, the trailer, the upkeep, the towing). Enter, the SeaEagle SE9 – motor mount boat!

This company has been around since the 1980s and has tremendously, overwhelmingly, positive reviews! We took a look at it, and decided it was a great fit for us!

One of the packages is the “motor mount” that allows either and electric or gas motor to be used. The gas option is a Honda 2.3 outboard. Here is the table we laid out for positives and negatives of the two motor options:

	Positives	Negatives
Electric Motor (“Watersnake”)	No gasoline No emissions Use in “no motor” lakes	Battery required (space, weight, charging need)
Gas Motor (“Honda 2.3”)	No charging needed No internal space for battery needed	Louder Need to carry gasoline, oil changes at intervals Cost

We liked the ability to have a full day on the water without needing to charge batteries. Also, we already carry gasoline onboard the trailer for the smart car/generator so access to gasoline was as easy as electric (for us). In the end, we determined that the gasoline motor was the correct pick for us! In the future, we might add the electric motor as well for the lakes that do not allow motors – for now, we are happy with what we have!

So we have been able to use this boat along our travels thus far – Wisconsin Dells, Lake Michigan, Vermont, Bar Harbor, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia, and many others!

We have used our little craft to tour small islands in the nearby lakes and have taken in many sunsets on it! The boys and I even scouted out and then took Sydnee to a nearby island for swimming on her birthday – we named it Sydnee Island; Conner was our Captain and Benjamin our First Officer.

We’ve used it for transportation, fishing and sometimes just for the fun of going out on the water. Without this sort of set-up, the complexity and cost would likely prevent us from having a chance to boat on the many lakes we have “lived” nearby. The motor is so easy, we have let all the kids try out steering the boat!

We have also begun carrying a 2 gallon gas can on longer rides (the motor holds about 3/4 of a gallon for an hours use). The boys and I hope to soon use it for longer trips!

Set up is a breeze as well with a rechargeable air inflator (like those made for inflatable air mattresses) and finishing with their foot pump.

Take a look at one on amazon!

Here is the Honda motor for sale

For those of you interested in having a chance to get out on the water while you are camping (tent or RV), take a look at the Sea Eagle boat line. Lots of options and we have loved the addition of the activity. As a matter of fact, we are thinking of eventually adding an inflatable kayak to the mix for some different fun!

Best,

David

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