How did you find assembling/inflating it? 10 Min? 30 Min?

I remember checking my watch last time I took it out. From putting it on the ground to inflated took me 12 minutes. I wasn't racing so it really doesn't take long...

I did like Tim at Innova suggested, and put some McNett protectant on the hatch covers...10 minutes and some elbow grease later, and they look good as new! This also helped with getting the hatch covers on, they're a tight fit (but that is a good thing!)

I hope to receive my Seaker II and Safari next week and look forward to testing them out. I live practically on the beach facing the South China Sea so that is an added incentive to get on the water more often.

Needless to say, I read your report with wide eyes and cannot wait to hear more. I'll write up my experience with the boats on my website when the time come. Btw, over here we call them Gumotex.

Thanks so much for the review. Looking forward to learning more about your experiences with this boat. I have my eye on one and am seriously considering it.

Thanks for your review,

I purchased the Seaker a year ago, and have used it on the Hudson river which can be a handfull when the wind pipes up because it is a tidal river. I have paddeled with other people in plasic boats and I had no chance of keeping up with them. Without rudder it is nearly impossible to keep the boat going straight in any kind of wind.After taking the boat out of the water which is a chore since it weighs 60 Lbs it is quite a bit of work to get it folded up and packed into it, bag and very cumbersome to carry to the car where it occupies the whole trunk of my small car. At home I carry it to the basement to inflate it again and place it upside down because the water is caught in the space between the sponsons and the floor, therefore I dont inflate the floor. I practiced selfrescue last summer and the only way to get back quicky is to rigg a paddle float. the paddle attaches to two velcro loops that i placed behind the seat. The boat floats too high in the water to get up without paddle float but with it I can get back into the cockpit with one leap by pulling myself over the cockpit edge whereafter all I have to do is bring my feet in. There is no need for a pump since the boat floats so high after a capsize that almost no water gets trapped inside. it may be important to make sure you don't let the boat get away from you in a strong brise. Overall it is a safe comfortable boat for people who intend to go slow and don't want to learn to roll.Itinflates quickly (10 minutes)it is slow reasonably comfortable although the cockpit rim is pressing into my spine I have to use a sit on top kajak seat to eliminate this problem. It is heavy and cumbersome,certainly nothing that you are going to lug around in the airport. It is expensive at full price. I do not have any plastic kayak but from what I see it is certainly easier if you have the space to put one up in your garage.

The Seaker comes with its own traveling bag which is plenty protective and has about six or eight webbing handles. In practice, the boat easily folds back into its shipping and travel bag without a lot of fuss. Folded, it generally seems to have a footprint of about 48" x 36" x 10" or a little less. It should travel very nicely as its own piece of luggage. The boat does not break into multiple bags. Although a little awkward to carry and transport, setup (in practice) is a dream. Cleanup is nothing with the Seaker. Buy some bar mops (hand towels), wipe it down, fold it, and your done. Pack the rudder separately. The rudder is tough but never trust delicate stuff to an airline baggage handler. I originally purchased the Seaker for use on the Great Lakes (Sup., Mich.) as I am originally a Milwaukee native.

In my opinion, with the right rescue and recovery skills, the Seaker is very close to being the perfect Great Lakes boat. The Seaker is warm and dry in cold wind and water chop up to 2 feet without a skirt although I'd always wear one for Great Lakes stuff.

The Seaker is quick if you are a reasonably conditioned paddler with good paddling technique. I've recently taken to using a longer paddle (230 cm and up) with a larger spoon face. It seems to help especially in current and surf. The boat is fast enough if you are mostly interested in making an easy 3 MPH with a large load in big water. This boat is at least as quick as the best folders of equal length and should be just as quick as a plastic 17' The only boats that tend to dust me are glass boats and other innova boats kayaked by paddlers with better technique than mine.

The Boat People (considered a credible inflatables dealer) say that the boats can make up to 5 or 6 MPH. I have made speeds like this in a sprint in flat water for a mile or less w/o current. I once caught a three masted sail boat on a day with good wind in SD Bay and the helmsman kept looking at the speed gage, looking at me and smiling. I think I kept pace for 20 minutes or so. Cruising speed in flat water is probably between 3 and 4 MPH and between 2.5 and 3 MPH in big swell and chop.

In big nasty water, the Seaker is unbelievably stable.

My only word of caution, be sure to practice your rescue and recovery techniques in the Seaker before heading out solo.

It took me a bit of practice to be able to do a solo recovery because of the higher sidewalls. Assisted recoverys were no problem as I just scrambled over another boat and back into mine. I'm a little out of shape (5'10" 270 lbs) and shaped like a barrel. This said, I've never had a wave or swell or chop even come close to dumping me from this boat. I don't know what it would take to get tossed out but I think that it would be pretty darned big (plus 5'). I've taken breaking waves of 4' with just a gentle brace and never felt uneasy about the stability of the boat.

I think this boat would excell on Great Lakes trips.