Sea Eagle 285fpb Inflatable Fishing Boat Reviews

4 Discount Packages available. starting at $799

Jim Beste Verified Owner 7/3/2018 5.0 out of 5 stars.

I love my Sea Eagle boat. I rate it 5 stars. It's everything that I wanted in a rowboat. It's easy to assemble, easy to use, dependable, safe, etc. I've added a 1 1/2 lb anchor and a boat rope but that's all. I love rowing the boat since it's so easy and I'm not bothered mounting the motor mount or having to carry a trolling motor & battery in my van.

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Ken Shigemi Verified Owner 6/28/2018 5.0 out of 5 stars.

Finally got the chance to try out my sea eagle 285. Quality of the boat itself is great, light weight and easy to transport. It handled very well in the wind and surpriseinly easy to oar in choppy water. The only complaint I have is how the oars are mounted on the boat. I found that I kept hitting my knees when I used the oars, there should some way of adjusting the length of the oar handles.
Sea Eagle's reply:

Glad to hear you are enjoying your Sea Eagle. To keep your oars from hitting, have your hands crossover one another as they come through the middle of the drive. You can adjust the position of the floor to move it forward or back.

Bill Shuey Verified Owner 6/14/2018 4.0 out of 5 stars.

I unpacked the boat in Grayling, MI to use on the Au Sable and Manistee Rivers. The boat was easy to assemble and set-up; just follow the instructions. The front of the boat tends to rise at more than minimal thrust with my 2.3 HP Honda.

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The optional wheel assembly I purchased made launching and retrieving the boat reasonable easy. I performed both functions by myself on log steps and a healthy incline; at age 74 easy of launching and loading was a concern.

The oar mounts are not fixed; after two float trips I still struggle with coordinating both paddles because of the flex in the mounting arms.

Well made boat - worth the money.
Larry Dynes Verified Owner 5/10/2018 2.0 out of 5 stars.

On the plus side:

The 285fpb seems to be durable so far, and set up is reasonably quick. It's easy to launch and get in and out.

On the other hand:

Carrying in the pack is cumbersome, I tried to get the straps over my shoulders to pack on my back and tore one off.

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Then it's another three trips back and forth to get everything to the water - floorboard, seat, oars, motor mount, etc.

It's nearly impossible to get the floorboard installed under the rails that hold it in place.

Inflating with the foot pump, how are you supposed to check for 3.2 PSI?

Standing up on the floorboard with felt sole boots is like trying to stand on glare ice with teflon soles.

The handle ends of the oars hit when parallel to the water..

It doesn't track when rowing.

Skitters around on the water like a balloon, slight wind sends it off in another direction.

Fishing at anchor, it spins every time the wind changes.

Can't finish - post gets cut off - limited to a certai
Sea Eagle's reply:

Please contact us directly at 1-800-748-8066 (REF#2286056) to see about getting a replacement carry bag. We also have other storage bags to store additional accessories in or even our small EZ Cart (www.seaeagle.com/Accessories/ez-cart/ez-cart-small-) so that you can have the boat fully assembled and transported to your launching point.

To install the floorboard, make sure the boat is only partially inflated and install the floorboard as shown at the 2:54 mark in our instructional video, seen here www.seaeagle.com/Accessories/ez-cart/ez-cart-small.

The foot pump provided for your boat from Sea Eagle cannot overinflate the 285FPB and once you feel resistance on the pump you are at the recommended working pressure.

To keep your oars from hitting, have your hands crossover as they come through the middle of the drive. Again please feel free to contact us by phone or e-mail (staff@seaeagle.com) and we will do our best to resolve these issues for you.