It’s no secret we love fishing! In fact, if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you’ve probably seen quite a few fishing pictures already this summer! I am even considering bringing back Fishing Fridays just for the summers. If you’d love this, be sure to let me know! I digress.
So when we got settled here in Ohio my husband wanted one thing – a boat. We were kind of spoiled in Texas having access to my grandparents’ lake house with a great pontoon boat, but now we’re here in Ohio with very little access to significant lakes without a drive, but he wanted a boat nonetheless, so our search began.

We started looking at used boats as the prices were a little easier on the budget, but we were running into one problem – the motors were too big. You see, we discovered we could do some boating (and fishing, of course) right here on the Findlay Reservoirs, but they have a 10HP limit. So the question was – do we want to spend quite a bit on a boat and then buy an additional motor just for the Reservoirs? We went back and forth on this for a while!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Regardless, I’m only sharing as this is the boat we bought, and we enjoy it, so I would share regardless.
After much research and discussion, we discovered something we surely hadn’t considered before – an inflatable boat. When I hear “inflatable boat” I think of a raft like the kind we used for white water rafting. Little did I know an inflatable boat could be just what we were needing!

Here is why:

• It is budget friendly. For under $800 we have a boat that works for us plus everything else we need – the trolling motor, marine battery, etc. The boat has two bench seats, fishing pole holders, a solid bottom (you can seriously stand up in it without any issues), and oars.
• It fits our family. The boat is recommended for 4 people. We do have three kids, but they are still small, so all three are able to ride on the boat with us without any problems. For bigger kids (and, of course, adults), I wouldn’t recommend having more than 4 total people in the boat.
• It is flexible. We can take our boat anywhere. We can use it on the reservoirs or we can take it on bigger lakes. It’s totally flexible.
• It’s great for trolling. We have been using it frequently at night for trolling, and we have caught a bunch of fish this way. We will use it for hours, and when we come home the battery is still over 50%. Not only do we catch a lot of fish at night, but it’s so peaceful on the water at night!
• It’s Portable. Another reason we were iffy about buying a boat is because we’d probably have to buy a trailer, too. Not with this boat! We simply roll it up and put it in the back of our SUV! Set up and take down takes less than 30 minutes, and we always have it with us, so if we want to go out on the boat randomly, we can just go!
• It’s fun! It has been so much fun taking the family out on the boat. Not only do we enjoy fishing, but now we can spend time together out on the water, and it’s so nice!

Something to note is that we did have to get the boat registered because we are using a motor, though it doesn’t require the more in depth things like a title, for example. Of course, it’s important to be sure you have required items like your PFD’s (life jackets) and, of course, a fishing license if you’ll be fishing. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly option with a lot of flexibility an inflatable boat is the way to go!
Will you be doing any boating this summer? What kind of boat do you have?