i11s

here is my initial rigging for fishing with a Black Pac- I can run a Scotty Rocket Launcher off each side for 2 rod trolling, or run a GoPro off one side and rod off the other, plus 2 cup holders (water + coffee)...planning to keep all my gear and stuff inside the Black Pac plus there is room under the seat for a small insulated fish bag. (boat behind is my 2012 Oasis)


I did some self-recovery testing in cold weather/water; as expected, this boat is really easy to get back onto..plus it really glides over the water and is very responsive to the rudder...

https://youtu.be/h2gTZPhVE-g

That's quite a bit of room under the seat!

What are your thoughts on mounting a sonar unit? I see they offer glued-on accessory bases for the inflatables.

There are several i11s youtubes out now, and I just lost track of the only one that showed performance in wind and waves. But the waves were small - I wonder how well the i11s will track in waves approaching a meter or yard high. Say you were hitting them on a diagonal... would you have to be wildly correcting with the rudder all the time like my i12s or will it punch thru pretty well?

I took mine for a 10 mile loop around a lake, trolling 2 rods most of the time, and near the end the wind came up and I needed to go directly into those waves (1-2') for about 2 miles. The i11s definitely doesn't punch through the waves but it does track and steer really well (I had the skeg in) and, as expected for a low flat boat, the wind does not push it around...lots of spray up from the front going into the waves, definitely a fun but get wet boat.

thanks, that gave a better idea of i11s moving dynamics. I also played chicken leaving a harbor until the waves got too much, and possibly my i12s findings will be interesting to compare. When the waves got 2 feet high, the boat began to flex, making me think about increasing psi from 4 to 5. When they got 3 feet high, I would off and on lose rudder control and fishtail like a car with rear wheel drive hitting patches of ice. Not so much head on, but at angles or down the waves.

It was REALLY fun and seemed to be something I could improve on. I didn't dare enter bigger waves due to heavy traffic and fishing activity... normally coming back is harder and a 3.5 following wave can swap me around sideways. I tried to use a paddle, but with my aftermarket seat I couldn't control leaning without hands on the boat. If the mirage fins quit in high seas, I will have to slide down to the floor in front of my seat for lower cg (and less lee helm).

A strange thing happened when an isolated cloudburst just hammered the area with rain while the sun was out. It raised a smoky mist just above the water which lit up with a rainbow plastered on the water and ending at the seawall. It was completely comfy under my widebrim hat and total body cover, and the rudder got smoother to steer as the lines sopped up clean fresh water.

Well, I think wave hopping is the most fun I have on inflatables, and not necessarily surfing them. Sailing is the dream which never seems to offer the right conditions, but we have whitecaps galore here. One more equipment issue I will start under a different topic.

I was chomping at the bit to go over the bar into the ocean but CG wouldn't let me, they had it restricted to >20' boats....

I noticed no loss of directional control but these were rounded 3' swells. The wide, flat i11s is super stable so far in all conditions, sitting on the edge with both legs over the side and it was still flat on the water.

no steering cable problems so far but I do have 2 very minor issues- one of my side compartments has a really slow leak (takes about 4 days to lose pressure) and one side of the drive is popping up out of it's lock under heavy pedaling (I think slightly more spring tension on the lock will fix this).

cheers, roger