Sevylor Caravelle raft has been a lot of fun for the money
Written: Jul 02 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: inexpensive, folds up small
Cons: paddle broke
The Bottom Line: This is not a serious craft, but a toy. Use and enjoy as such.
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| platypus55's Full Review: Sevylor 3 Person Caravelle Raft Kit |
We got the Sevylor raft set at our local Bi-Mart at least five years ago at way below the listed price. Bi-Mart periodically has loss leader specials on such things, and I lost no time in sucking this one up. The product Sevylor is selling now is identical to the one we bought, with the exception that the new kits include a little pump.
You get the raft with one set of oarlocks, two paddles, a patch kit, rings, and a hold rope to go around it, and now a little pump (which I can't comment on because ours did not have one.)
The raft is about 7' long from stern to bow, and is made of tough yellow and blue vinyl. We have never had to patch ours in all the time we've had it. The main air chamber is equipped with a one way valve on the filler so air goes in but not out. In order to drain it, therefore you must poke something in it to open the valve. There are a couple of very small air chambers on the two sides, and two medium air chambers on the bottom.
It takes me about 20 minutes to pump the raft up with my hand pump. I'm sure you could do a lot faster with a compressor but on well. I don't have one.
The paddles are not of the highest quality. One of ours was broken shortly after getting the raft. However it doesn't matter much. I use one paddle anyway, or just forget them and paddle with my hands.
We mostly take this raft out in a small quarry pond near our house to splash around with the puppies when the weather gets really hot. The puppies love to ride in the raft. The kids like to catch newts and toss a whole pile of them in the floor of the raft.
We have also had it at Payette Lake in Idaho, floated it in the Willamette and in the Salmon river at Lincoln City OR. We towed it behind a canoe and took it right to the mouth of the river.
Our raft is advertised as a 3 person raft, and this is true as long as the people aren't on average, much bigger than me. It comfortably holds two adults and one child, or one adult and two wiggly puppies, or three teenagers. I do not think it would hold three average American adults, since the average American is chubby.
You would not want to go very far in this raft or take it in very choppy or cold water or a strong current. It does not go fast, and having no rudder (duh), likes to go in circles. As with any raft of this type you must tack back and forth or paddle extremely evenly. We don't normally bother with the oarlocks. This raft may be boarded by any reasonably fit swimmer from deep water because it does not ride high. It is reasonably stable, but of course it will capsize if loaded skew-wise or if it hits rough water. Nonswimmers should not go in deep water in this boat. It is strictly for playing around in summer, when it doesn't matter if you capsize.
Considering that I paid $19.95 for this rig, and I have had it five years, that means that it has worked out to $4 per year, which is cheap entertainment in anybody's book.
Recommended:
Yes
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platypus55
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Member: Colleen
Location: Pacific Northwest
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