Sea Eagle 285fpb Inflatable Fishing Boat Reviews

After spending a lot of time reviewing boats to buy I came across Sea Eagle 285fpb and purchased a used one. It was one of the best decisions I made since it is light enough for me to load and unload by myself and the storage inside is perfect for a day on the water. It has been thru hell and back with me and still works like a dream. The nicest thing about this boat is you can get into tight spots where fish stack up on one another and other boats can't which makes it a winner. I had one problem with the boat which was self inflicted by stupidity, but when I called customer service to fix it they were outstanding with their knowledge and sent what I need out quickly. I should get a commission from them with the amount of people I send to them after they talk to me out on the water. A great boat for a great price - I highly recommend you buy one and try it for yourself.

Overall I like the boat. It's a little small for a guy 6' 2",but it's still fun. I didn't get to use it as much as I was hoping but the few times I did it handled the way it was advertised. It packs away nicely and is easy to transport. I have already recommended the sea eagle brand to my brother in law and he bought the 2 man boat. He and his dog like it very much. If I ever had to buy another one, I would upgrade to a 2 man just for extra space.

Entering 4th season with my 285FPB. Performs well and is easy to launch and retrieve. I seldom collapse it but it has withstood 3 hard winters in cold temps. It is not quick as my wife in her pontoon can blow me away even with the motor (30 pound thrust) on full. It is very easily affected by the wind but so is my wife's pontoon. I got the folding seat and it is quite comfortable for several hours just floating on my local reservoir or nearby lake. I am a horrible fisherman but enjoy the view from the water, listen to my MP3 player, and enjoy an adult beverage. Best feature: it is light and easy to launch. Worst feature: heading into high wind driven waves the boat will fill over the bow. Suggested modification (new models are better already): Move the rod holders forward. They are behind me so seeing them twitch (which they never do, hence horrible fisherman) is difficult. A good purchase overall. I have also been looking at the 285FPB's big brother because my wife and I would like to float together.

Well haven't used it much but when I did I liked it ,very busy with work lately, bought it to quick and wish I waited and got the green one, I have the gray one, wish they did a trade in for other one, has better rod holders and seat design, well is what it is but wish I had the newer model green one , thanks Chad.

Primary useage for me is Colorado rivers. I purchased this boat and my brother purchased a similar type inflatable with two separate inflatable pontoons held together with a rigid frame. The craft my brother purchased is better than the Sea Eagle for my missions primarily because the rigid frame with its higher stance is much better in fast water. The Sea Eagle is very well constructed and I am very pleased with the service and quality of workmanship. Although the oar lock mechanism on the Sea Eagle is well made its lack of rigidity in fast water makes control much more difficult and far less accurate. I highly recommend Sea Eagle, but I should have understood the difference between the two designs before I made my purchase. Great boat, but understand the mission you plan to use it for.if you are going to be working a lot of fast rivers you might want to consider other designs.

Great buy! I added a 2.5hp Suzuki 4 stroke. I have only used it a few times, but plan on more this year. I built a small tilt trailer for it. Great look. I keep it inflated on the trailer. Holds air for months. I recommend getting the electronic air pump. I also added some more "D" rings.

Great little boat but now my wife is also becoming an avid fly fisher so we are checking out 2 person fishing craft.

Like the foldcat but not enough cash on fixed income at this time.

This is a great boat and overall it has many advantages over other single man pontoon boats. There are only a couple of improvements and fixes that I would like to see. I got a leak on the second or third trip with the boat. I managed to limp back to shore but not without some hard work and disappointment. Turns out the leak was not in an area that you would suspect as an impact area. It was on the inside of the pontoon near the front cross member on what appeared to be a fold line of the original deflated packing plan. It took several attempt with the patch kit supplied to get the patch to seal completely. I now keep the boat inflated as I didn't want to take a chance at having the folded boat position compromising the patch. The other weak point of the boat was the paddles. They are lightweight but not strong enough. I had one of the paddles collapse on a river trip. Luckily I got both halves back and with duct tape and a branch got to the takeout.

I bought my 285 fpb three years ago to fish lakes on my northern Wisconsin property. The lakes range from 7 to 24 acres and the pontoon boat has proven to be a perfect match for me on the small lakes. I rigged up a 3 lb. window sash weight for an anchor using the motor mount to affix the anchor rope pulley/lock. I couldn't sit more than an hour in one of my Jon boats but I'm usually out for three hours or more in the pontoon boat and the swivel seat is fantastic. My boat sits out on the shoreline all summer and I dump rain water when necessary and give it a good scrub down before storing it for the winter. This is an exceptionally tough, well designed personal fishing boat.

Enjoyed much ,, has given me as much or more than expected .... Caught a lot of fish from this baby .... I have noticed some changes to the newer model ,, those changes were the right ones .... Even so this boat,, AKA Water Spider as named by me ,, cruises the water very well.... I have had to come out from behind a small island only to get in a 30 mph wind with white caps ,, opened my eyes knowing we had to make it back to dock with no choice .... We rode the wind an caps without problem .... Had to ride a 3 foot swell made from a jet boat .... Up an over smoothly ,, nothing got wet or lost .... All in all AKA Water Spider got us to places we wanted to go giving us the enjoyment we need .... Thank God for our Spider ....