Diving from the cheapest possible crappy inflatable boat

[DiveHewi]

I have a Sea Eagle SE9 with a trolling motor that I use for lake fishing. I made a rowing platform for it and have run numerous class 3 rapids. It's certainly durable! I've always wanted to dive from it but never had the opportunity. I think it would be quite suitable with 2 divers and gear.

 

[OTF]

Buy something quality-made but used.

Does it have to be inflatable? There are light boats that can go on top of a car. Does it have to be powered? You can get remarkably far paddling a kayak or rowboat without much effort and it eliminates the significant cost of a motor.

Are you going far enough from shore that a boat failure (popping, sinking, etc.) at the worst possible time would be dangerous, or just inconvenient when you have to swim home?

 

[ofg-1]

 

[bobmaggi]

The blacktip DPV from DiveX is a great tool for exploring inland lakes. I use 2 Dewalt 9Ahr batteries and easily get at least 2hrs runtime at cruising speed. They are much better than the pool toys shown in an earlier posting and yet not so expensive as to be out of reach. I use mine on shipwrecks to explore the area around the shipwrecks for additional debris that isn’t at the actual wreck site. Great way to cover a lot of distance in a short amount of time

 

[John C. Ratliff]

In the ol' days, we used to get a used inner tube, patch it up for pennies, get some line to wrap around it, and a burlap sack to wrap into the inner tube float. Good quality nylon line is about $3, an inner tube may be free if you look hard enough (tire stores, may need a patch kit), and just about any sack will due. If the sack is deep enough, you can take the end and move it around the tube, up and over, and into the inner area for travel. Get a floating dive line to tie the float to either you or an anchor, and a dive flag for the float, with a wooden dowel to tie the flag to. An older-style camping air mattress would also work. Use you brain, and explore the types of floats you could build.

SeaRat