Guest Minicat Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I am contemplating the opportunity of importing one of the inflatable catamarans out there. I thought before I plunge into this I will ask few questions around. So the main question really is: Would you consider an inflatable catamaran I see the main benefit of these crafts that they are light, portable, easy to store, easy to transport (the bag will fit in a car or on a plane). Some of the questions I have are: Would you go sailing on one? What purpose would you buy one of these for? What kind of information/support would you like to have to consider buying one? Is the storage space and transportability (or the lack of) of a standard sailing boat an issue for you? Would you take it on family holidays with you? Have you heard of inflatable catamarans? Have you had any experience with these boats? Any comments would be much appreciated. Cheers George Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Was that a genuine question or market research? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I smell a rat Somebody let the cat out of the bag to take care of it Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Minicat Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Hi there, Yes this was a genuine question about market. I would like to see what people want, like or dislike. I have tried to find the terms again to find out if I have broken any. The link seems to be broken. I do not remember seeing asking questions to be against the rules. Thanks George Link to post Share on other sites
PaulR 3 Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 How about some pictures and details Are these 4ft long for swimming pools and playing with the kids OR Something 10ft long for a day at the beach Link to post Share on other sites
ex TL systems 63 Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 could be useful to carry on a boat as another toy, if it would carry say 3 and take a small outboard it could be a tender, all depends on price and quality, just send me one and i,ll let you know next year if its any good or not. Link to post Share on other sites
ab1974 1 Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Just a guess, but given your user name, is this the one you are looking at bringing in? http://www.portableadventures.com/ US$4,100 with furling jib, so guessing it would be about $6,000 +/- here. An expensive toy, but could be fun. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I once sailed one of these things off Murrays Bay about 30 years ago. It had little plastic skegs on each pontoon. It's the only time I've been rescued. The bloody thing would not go to windward at all and so got blown out to sea. Slow, silly, wouldn't bother ever again. Link to post Share on other sites
TimW 1 Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 This is an Ad ! Support Crew.org by Paying for it ! Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Minicat Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Hi everyone, It seems there are lots of touchy members here. Is this thread an ad? I personally do not think so but correct me if I am wrong. I am not selling anything, if I want to start advertising a product I do not have a problem contacting the moderator and supporting the forum. I want to make an educated decision if I want to be spending my time and money on importing a sailing product. AB1974, you are correct. And the pricing would be in the region as you mentioned too. There are two variants of this craft. One 10ft and 13ft. The smaller weighs 35kg and will take 2 people (230kg), the bigger one weighs 45kg and will take up to 4 people (450kg). There can be a small outboard motor (3ps) attached to the catamaran. I am thinking of one another brand and they go up to 19ft and seems to be a serious craft. Thanks you all for your comments. Cheers George Link to post Share on other sites
Atom Ant 0 Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Is this thread an ad? I personally do not think so but correct me if I am wrong. I am not selling anything, if I want to start advertising a product I do not have a problem contacting the moderator and supporting the forum. I want to make an educated decision if I want to be spending my time and money on importing a sailing product. George I think that is a fair comment. Guys why shouldn't he ask us for an opinion? We have a broad spectrum of depth and experience about this subject - sailing vessels. He hasn't advertised for sale. He wants to know if he should buy these and sell them. It wasn't George who posted a link to them. If he simply went ahead and brought some in and then advertised, you lot would be the first to condemn him for not seeking expert opinion here. George, I suspect your market mostly isn't us - we're keen sailors who mostly sail on what I would term as dedicated yachts. I think what you're looking at is for the purely recreational market and would be up against any of the roto-moulded fun boats. The marine market appears to be very depressed at the moment so entering a market right now would be a brave move in my opinion - also it is nearly the end of summer, so perhaps you are thinking about next summer? Great fun for kids? Perhaps, but I'd want to know that they can sail reasonably well on all points of sail and as Zen pointed out this type of craft aren't known for their ability to sail upwind. If you go for it, I wish you all the best with it. Good on you for asking our opinion Link to post Share on other sites
Deep Purple 514 Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I think it's a fair enough question. Would I buy one? Nah, it's a toy. Most NZ sailors will want a lot more performance from $4000 and portability isn't really a worry as most sailing is done from localised clubs and baches. Your average sailing tender has as much performance and can carry more. Frankly I'm more pissed off about this sh*t website that won't remember my name........ Link to post Share on other sites
Battleship 100 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 most sailors would probably find something like this more satisfying to sail http://www.katalystmarine.com/ can't see an inflatable ever giving good performance to windward. SD I thought it was just me who kept having to re-enter my name. Link to post Share on other sites
ex Elly 200 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 SD I thought it was just me who kept having to re-enter my name. This site has become harder to use, which is why the number of posts is down. All due to the earthquake in Christchurch apparently!! Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 For those that missed it, here is Mothership's reply when first asked Apologies to all; we updated the server framework to the latest version, and there's an issue with cookies (which allow the website to remember you) which means it's using session IDs (which is why you'll now see SID= in certain URLs). Unfortunately we carried out the update early morning of the Christchurch earthquake, and we've had more important issues to deal with since (our people in Christchurch are ok - physically - but offices and equipment are destroyed). We're currently helping out other providers who had a presence in Christchurch with servers, restoring services, and manpower etc which has kept us busy. One of our clients carry out EAP for many large companies and government departments and their partner Relationship Services have had their offices destroyed (was in the Pyne Gould building) so we're absolutely flat out at the moment. It also doesn't help I'm overseas, but am now coming back early next week to deal with whatever needs to be done. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 No noticeable drop in traffic, though I don't monitor the number of posts, in fact I'd say we are headed to a new high this month. But i just figured out that if you look at the bottom of the page where it says who is online, there are more "visitors" than usual, so I'm guessing a bunch of people who want to read what's here but not post are among them, then they sign in if they have something to say, just a guess tho. Link to post Share on other sites
Battleship 100 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 thanks Squid, i missed that, was halfway down the west coast when the 2nd CC earthquake struck. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Minicat Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Thank you guys for your comments. I see the login seems to bothering few people but that should not be a reason for hijacking the thread? I think you might be right that you, the serious sailors will not be all that keen on these sailing dinghies and I should be asking elsewhere. On the other side there are reports out there how people were sailing on the bigger crafts around north coast of Canada, Alaska and similar. That then come down to portability, that enables you to sail anywhere in the world without necessarily first sailing there. Maybe as a second boat? Or if you go camping something to take along for bit of fun? Cheers George Link to post Share on other sites
Atom Ant 0 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I'd say they're pretty keen to do that. I'm not one to comment as I'm not at all interested in the "adventure" side of things. Anything below 4 stars is roughing it to me. Link to post Share on other sites
PaulR 3 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I am contemplating the opportunity of importing one of the inflatable catamarans out there. I thought before I plunge into this I will ask few questions around. So the main question really is: Would you consider an inflatable catamaran . . . . . . Any comments would be much appreciated. Cheers George I took this to be a genuine fair question asking for "comments". Hard to comment really as NO REAL information or photo shown; so it was a "BAD" question as it lacked facts. Hence my photo question. So I was surprised by the marketing queries and did knot take any inferrences from George's username. Some boat names could be misconstrued sooooo easily However if one was to ask: "I need to buy an anchor for my boat" would reponses be similar What about questions about: Is DSC function useful on my VHF in NZ Which type of flares are best What rope is better for halyards Should I buy something from overseas or buy locally All these have been asked and discussed before with your considered experiences viewed. All could be considered "buyer market research" or equally "Seller marketing research". IMHO there is nothing wrong asking about a product before buying it and equally for a vendor to see if a market exists. Afterall, some will be too eager to authoratively state: "What sort of "w@*/er" imported this useless piece of $#!t marine heap of junk " My 2c worth. Link to post Share on other sites
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