Testing A Rowboat

Got a chance to help a friend with her first test paddle of a new boat! It wasn't a kayak, though -- it was an inflatable rowboat.
Some inflatable rowboats are simply nothing more than pool toys for little kids to play with in shallow water while being watched by attentive lifeguards. Others are darned near as tough as a Zodiac and cost nearly as much. My friend likes to find something better than a pool toy and more affordable than a Zodiac, and it looks like her newest boat has the qualities she needs.
It takes only a few minutes to unpack this rowboat and inflate it. Behold! Intex's new model, the Seahawk 2. It's a nice enough boat to deserve a proper set of oars and a big doublestroke air pump. Looks about nine feet long and big enough to hold two people. Here it is, sitting on the lawn next to my little inflatable, an older version of an Advanced Elements Lagoon.

We carried our boats down to the shore and launched. My friend does a floating launch to avoid wear-and-tear on the rubber boat, but I wasn't able to get a video of the launch technique.
What a good day for a test paddle! The sun was bright without being too hot, the beach had several people yet wasn't over-crowded, and there were just a few ruffled wavelets as the breeze picked up. Over the next hour and a half we paddled along the bay shore and drifted, relaxing and letting the boats drift.

Test subject confirms the boat is large enough to recline with either head or feet elevated!

The verdict? This model is a reasonable choice of rowboat, very affordable, and it packs up small enough to carry on a bus or tuck easily into a car's trunk. Plus, if there's only one person in it, there's plenty of room for fishing gear and maybe a cooler full of a picnic. Must make plans for the future!