11-16-2013, 05:59 PM
I gave this boat serious consideration as it is as close to an inflatable, portable drift boat as you can get (even the NRS inflatable drift boat is big, heavy, expensive and takes 30-40 minutes to assemble). I love the stiff floor for standing, and the self-bailing feature gives it the best of both a raft and a hard deck. I know Dave is comfortable standing up on his other ‘toons, but he has more coordination and confidence than I do, but I wouldn't hesitate to stand in this while floating a river.
I didn’t go with the new Assault for reasons particular to my situation. One, it was bigger and heavier than I wanted for now – but it would be awesome to take 3 people comfortably down the Green. When I get a trailer and more storage space in the garage, this may become the best option coupled with the Assault XX for smaller waters.
Second, in the Assault and Avenger XXs, I love being able to fin, row, or use electric motor at any given time during the day. We were floating the Henry’s in Sept. and I saw folks in drift boats jumping out to hold the boat for clients or friends to fish a hole. Jumping out wasn’t all that easy, but try climbing into a drift boat when standing in 3’ of water. Unless you’re a young kid, it “ain’t gonna happen.” We would float by, and I would just slide off the seat into the water to hold in the current. When time to move on, I just popped back up onto the seat. I could tell folks in the drift boats were amazed at how easy it was for us to stop in the current. Even better, both of us could fish while I held the boat - guys holding the drift boats needed both hands.
The new Assault with its inflatable, stiff floor is a neat development and would be awesome for taking three people out on the water and for overnight trips on a river.
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I didn’t go with the new Assault for reasons particular to my situation. One, it was bigger and heavier than I wanted for now – but it would be awesome to take 3 people comfortably down the Green. When I get a trailer and more storage space in the garage, this may become the best option coupled with the Assault XX for smaller waters.
Second, in the Assault and Avenger XXs, I love being able to fin, row, or use electric motor at any given time during the day. We were floating the Henry’s in Sept. and I saw folks in drift boats jumping out to hold the boat for clients or friends to fish a hole. Jumping out wasn’t all that easy, but try climbing into a drift boat when standing in 3’ of water. Unless you’re a young kid, it “ain’t gonna happen.” We would float by, and I would just slide off the seat into the water to hold in the current. When time to move on, I just popped back up onto the seat. I could tell folks in the drift boats were amazed at how easy it was for us to stop in the current. Even better, both of us could fish while I held the boat - guys holding the drift boats needed both hands.
The new Assault with its inflatable, stiff floor is a neat development and would be awesome for taking three people out on the water and for overnight trips on a river.
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