How long can Inflatable keep its air/ & hang it or store it

We have a younger friend who is interested in buying an I9.

He lives in a condo and is unable to store any yak over 9.5'. He has a shed attachment that is 9.5 feet tall, 5 feet wide and 10 feet long. This rules out a Revo 11.

He is nicked named the rocky chunk and weighs in at a solid 230+#'s, and that rules out a Sport..

He rides a bike daily and is looking for some other way after work to "ride" and exercise, every other day and when it gets hot this summer to use the yak daily after work.

Daylight saving time is a great time for him. His place of work is about 8-10 minutes from an excellent kayaking lake. If his yak is in the back of his 8' pickup with the tail gate down, he can change clothes hop into his truck and
be out on the lake in less than 15 minutes.

He loves the Hobie Mirage solid boats, but with his home owner rules, he can't store one outside so they are a no go. The ceiling in his living room look like a bike shop with his bikes hanging from the ceiling.

Hobie's i9 Mirage might work for him.

However, he does not want to unpack it, inflate it and reverse the procedure after yaking on each trip. He wants to keep it inflated in his little shed and throw it into the back of his pickup in the mornings when he wants to yak in the afternoon. He has plenty of securing sites around the inside edges of his pickup bed.

So will the 9' inflatable work for him?:

How would he store it at night and maybe the next day in his shed. Should he lay it down flat or hang from a hook or something.

When laying in his pickup during the day, should he let a little air out until he gets ready to launch it and pump some new air into the I9 before launching it.

Or should he deflate it a little each evening/afternoon before he puts it into his shed?

With people in smaller living places, he is probably not the only one with these questions before he buys an inflatable Hobie.

Our friend and I would appreciate feedback for Hobie and inflatable users.

Thanks
Dave

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2009 Oasis
2012 Freedom Hawk Pathfinder

I've had some experience of inflatables, although not Hobies. I can suggest a couple of general points.

Temperature changes affect the pressure in an inflatable. You can pump it up to the right pressure on the bank, but if you then set off in cold water, in half an hour you may find the boat has softened. I always take an air pump along so that I can haul out and top up if necessary.

If your boat is firm enough to paddle, and then you take it out of the water in hot weather, you really need to let some air out, otherwise, with no water-cooling, it will get harder with the heat and might burst a seam.

Keeping a boat partly inflated in the truck is probably better for it than being rolled up, but don't leave it unattended if pumped up fully.

"Shed" to me suggests a wooden structure for storing lawn mowers etc. I don't know about your friend's shed, but make sure it doesn't have mice or similar. Rodents love chewing holes in inflatables. It hasn't happened to me - I live in an apartment. But a friend of mine kept her inflatable in a garden shed, and it was ruined by rodents over a winter.

Mary

The i 9 pumps up so fast that setup only take a few minutes - I'd rather store it put away than leaving it inflated - but lots of users use their inflatables this way and haven't reported any issues - at 230lbs - I'd recommend a bigger boat for him - and if he breaks it down he could go for the i 12s instead

The one thing I would add to the above is don't store wet... make sure to dry before storing. Mice or known to come to water and chew on things to get to the water in the item.

Of course I'm no expert in such matters, but with a 325 lb. rating, I think the i9 can easily handle a mere 220 lb. and have plenty of room for additional cargo:


(of course, I'm not recommending this 340 +/- lb. unbalanced load or any tandem arrangement for the i9 -- only illustrating that IMO, 230 lbs would be a piece of cake for this boat, even with one bladder deflated). BTW, the i9 is a fun little boat -- good maneuverability (for an inflatable), great stability and excellent portability! Naturally it lacks the speed of the larger boats however, as one would expect.

Thanks, RR, I had read your posts before on the i9 and remembered your pictures of it serving as a tandem. So it should work for a 230 #er.

Any input on storing it without totally deflating it or stuffing it in the bag?

_________________
2009 Oasis
2012 Freedom Hawk Pathfinder