Going on the road takes some extensive planning. Absolutely. Let’s face it, we were reducing all our worldly possessions and putting them into the storage compartments on the Mothership! It takes some ingenuity to organize what we could not live without into just eight storage areas.
We couldn’t do it initially. We hit the road with many items that we really had no idea where to stow. So, for the next three months, we were in a constant state of shedding possessions at every thrift shop we could find. Having things orderly and some space to move around provided more peace of mind than all that “stuff.” It took 90 days, but we were down to travel weight. We never regretted parting with all those possessions.
Even with that success, we had some interesting problems that were not easily resolved. One of the more pressing issues was how were we going to incorporate a fishing boat into the already stuffed Mothership. Fishing is not only important for our recreation but provides fresh and healthy meals for us.
Since we were towing the Chevy HHR behind the Mothership, we could not trailer a boat. Also, the HHR was a small car without a roof rack, so putting a reasonable length boat on top of the car was not practical. We needed a reliable and safe boat that could fold down to a reasonable size AND that could fit in the compartment area of the HHR. My Internet search began!
Click, click, click, revise search, click, click, well, you get it, but this was a serious endeavor! The parameters were narrow. It had to have good reviews, it had to be a stable fishing platform, and most of all safe. The most important thing about fishing is coming back from fishing! Click, click, click…
Sea Eagle pops-up! Mmm. They are a manufacturer of inflatable, rafts, kayaks, and what’s this? A pontoon inflatable that has a four-foot-wide stance, measuring twelve feet long with oars, swivel seats and a transom for an electric motor. Very interesting!
I looked at a lot of boats, but the Sea Eagle 375fc FoldCat got my attention. It is a serious contender for the position “Meal Ticket;” we named it before we found it! So many positive attributes keep coming up! It folds down to a miniscule 75 pounds and the folded boat is only four feet long. The 375fc FoldCat is engineered so that two pontoon tubes are joined together with a super strong fabric floor. It gets additional cross support from four aluminum slats that completely stabilize the inflated FoldCat and appear to provide a comfortable fishing platform. It is powered with a 30 lbs. thrust Minn Kota electric motor that is transom mounted on the boat’s rear. This gives the Sea Eagle 375fc FoldCat plenty of forward speed.
The 375fc FoldCat is adaptable to floating rivers and with its serious ten foot oars and quality oar locks, it can easily become a fly fishing platform. I really don’t have any aspirations for floating on rivers. I prefer to fish on lakes. My mind is racing with anticipation that just gets higher and higher with every review I read. This inflatable is lightweight, stable and nearly indestructible! I believe this 375fc FoldCat from Sea Eagle is the perfect boat for our Nomad Travels. I order our “Meal Ticket!
