Favorite type of float.....

CliffA

CliffA

Well-Known Member
Dec 29, 2009
4,712
Lake Norman, NC
Boat Info
2001 Sea Ray 340DA
Name: 'Happy Place'
4.5kW West. Generator
Purchased Nov. 2014
Fresh Water Use
Engines
Twin Merc. 6.2L (MPI)
640 hp (Total)
Raw Water Cooled
V-Drive Transmissions
we spend a lot of time floating behind the boat when it is anchored in a cove on our lake.....I have transom mounted speakers connected to the stereo so we can enjoy music and we have a float for a cooler to hold 'beverages' so we don't have to constantly be boarding the boat to get another drink.....we use a 30' tether line connected to one of the 'D' rings on the transom and one of the floats.....

I just thought I would ask the group what type of floats and/or floating chairs are your favorites.....we normally use floating chairs made by Kelsyus and they work fine but thought maybe there is a different type that would work better for us....the Kelsyus chairs are good quality but they normally only last 2 - 3 summers before they start to loose air....we also use noodles sometimes.....I am 6'-1" and 215 lbs. so the float needs to be sized accordingly.....

any input is appreciated....pics and links would also be helpful..... :)

cliff
 
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My wife and I like the inflatable loungers by Big Head. They're covered tubes where the seat which is also covered inflatable flips out to make it a lounger. We've had these for about 6-7 years. They don't get used every weekend, but enough. We also have the rule that the kids stay off as they're not meant to be jumped in. The rest of our group pretty much takes the ski-vests and turns them upside down, sticks their legs through the arms and jumps in that way. Keep them afloat and is dual purpose. We call it the diaper.
 
We use the Gail Force saddle type.
 
We also use the gail force saddle floats. We tried some other brands but they haven't held up as well. I like everything except the price of the gail force floats :)

Josh
 
Overton's Extra Large water saddle. It's just cross-linked polyethylene without any vinyl. Nearly indestructible as far as I can tell. Vinyl coated floats I've had in the past always seem to tear the coating.

Only down side is no built-in grommet/hook for a tether line. I made my own short loops of bungee that _barely_ stretch over the "top" of the saddle but have plenty of slack around the skinny part and attach tethers to the loop. The loops stay on the saddle and never come off by accident, it takes some effort to stretch them enough to get them off.

I have claimed one of ours as my personal one and have added a second short/light tether that I attach to a vacuum insulated bottle that I fill with beer. That way I can open, drink, close and just let my beer float and not worry about losing it, getting water washed into it, etc.
 
My wife picked up a multi person float at either Costco or BJ's Warehouse a few weeks ago. We rafted on July 4th with a couple of other boats that had them and they were pretty good for $75.00.
Took a while to inflate and deflate at the end of the day but everyone enjoyed floating around on them.
 
It's usually a combination of one or two of these River Run lounge things with the built in cooler, and Lazy Bunz, with a few noodles thrown in for overflow. We had just launched this chair while most of the crew was on Bassetts Island. It's almost never empty once they're back near the boat. (That's why we had to buy a second one!)

floating-off-bassetts-island.jpg
 
Saddles, life jackets, paddle boards, tubes, various other things my wife tosses out. I call it the debris field.
 
be_prepared said:
It's usually a combination of one or two of these River Run lounge things with the built in cooler, and Lazy Bunz, with a few noodles thrown in for overflow. We had just launched this chair while most of the crew was on Bassetts Island. It's almost never empty once they're back near the boat. (That's why we had to buy a second one!)

View attachment 49886
Click to expand...
Glad to know these are decent. Bought a double and 4x singles last season. Haven't had a chance to use them yet!

Until then, we've just used pool noodles (about 4 per person).

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
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We use the River Runs as well. Good quality, and cheap to replace if someone cuts it.
 
I'm a bit stunned that nobody offered up this gem as seen at West Marine. :grin:

IMAG1026.jpg
 
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