Practical Sailor's gear and boat reviews take the guesswork out of your buying decisions.

Volume 31
Number 11
June 2005

Inflatable Boats Under $1,000

Mercury's inexpensive 200RU, with its stable, dry ride and standard seat, takes top honors, followed by the lighter, albeit wetter, Bombard AX-1.

At 6' 7", the Mercury 200RU offers good control at all speeds, and its larger tubes help keep passengers dry. However, the tubes also eat up valuable inside space.

It's been about a year since we last buzzed around in blow-up boats. In that May 1, '04 article, our focus was on airdeck roll-up boats, which use inflated parts to create V-shaped bottoms that mimic those of hard-bottomed inflatables. What they lack in toughness and rigidity, they make up for in lightness and portability, and they're superior to their flat-bottomed cousins in tracking and turning ability. Our favorite boat in those tests was the Zodiac Cadet 310FR ACTI-V.

There are plenty of variations in inflatables, but in terms of performance, the main difference is in bottom shape and how it's achieved. True hard-bottomed inflatables, or RIBs (for rigid inflatable boats)…

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