Newport Vessels Catalina

Spent a lot time considering something to fish out of. Looked at a lot kayaks but don't have the room to store it and didn't really want to haul it on the roof. Started looking at inflatable kayaks, but in all of the planning of what I wanted out of the kayak (including modifications for a trolling motor) I realized that might not fit the bill, particularly if I wanted to bring someone with me. I started looking at inflatables and for the price this one hit all the right buttons. I bought this boat last December and have been waiting to use it. Finally got it out last weekend. It's a great boat. Really nice looking and it seems well made. The material seems quite sturdy and well assembled, time will tell if the materials hold up. I once had a Sea Eagle SE9 and there is no comparison between the two. The Sea Eagle took forever to inflate even with an electric pump. It didn't hold up very well either developing slows throughout the hull. Compare prices, there's no comparison. I bought an electric pump for this boat but was really surprised how quickly it inflated, even with the foot pump. It literally took 90 seconds per bladder to inflate to about 75%. Put in the floorboards, a little tricky but watch some videos on Youtube and they will go together pretty quickly. It took an additional 60 seconds per bladder to fully inflate the boat. The keel inflates in about 30 seconds. Total time from the trunk to the water was about 20 minutes, but that includes mounting the motor, wheeling it to the water with my homemade dolly, and putting all our tackle in the boat. I expect to get faster with use. I have a small hatchback and I put the boat, motor, battery and all tackle and equipment in the back of the hatchback. It's pretty cool to be able to take so much in a small space. We have a 30 lbs trolling motor but I will be buying an outboard later this year. The trolling motor pushed it along with no problem. It was a little tight with two of us in it but I plan on not bringing the large cooler the next time and expect to have plenty of room for two to fish out of it. I'm a big boy at 6'2" and 275 lbs. Really looking forward to taking it out by myself, There will be plenty of room for me and any fishing tackle imaginable. Downside - it blows around a bit in the wind. This is common for most inflatables so it's not really an issue of this boat specifically. Bring an anchor. One of the things I hated about the Sea Eagle was the pain in the back I got from sitting on the low seats in the boat. This boat has larger tubes and this raises the seating position to nearly a normal height. This might seem like a small issue but spend 4 or 5 hours in the boat fishing and this will be an advantage over other boats. In studying this I don't know of any other manufacturer which has tubes this large. I expect the larger tubes will also be helpful once at speed on plane. Standing in the boat wasn't even an issue, another reason to forgo the kayak. This is a real boat with all the advantages you'd have from any boat with the exception of needing to inflate it before use. A downside to an inflatable is what you gain in portability and space you lose in convenience. For me it was the right compromise.

I read through these reviews for about two weeks over and over and contemplated purchasing the 12.5 Catalina, and I am SO glad I did. I have been looking for a high-capacity (1600 lbs) fishing boat alternative that is easy to get in and out of the water. I have a 55 lbs trolling motor on it right now and I have been fishing in it every weekend when the weather is good. I upgraded from an Excursion 5, because I kept putting small holes in it. This Newport Catalina is a freaking tank! I am not worried it at all! It is so sturdy, so comfortable, and perfect for fishing. Yes, the floorboards are harder to put in the first time, but once you get the hang of it then it's pretty simple. I do not do it the same way as the videos show, I lift the 3rd and 4th (Catalina has 5 boards) until they are together like a tent and then push them down at the same time. Not a problem. Because pumping it up at the water and deflating it will cut into your time to fish, I recommend grabbing a trailer for this and leaving it inflated all season. I plan to grab at least a 10 HP motor for this puppy next season and will add to my review when I have it. Don't hesitate, this is NOT a piece of crap. Another thing I didn't find much about when I was reading the reviews was how shallow I could get with the boat since I sometimes find myself in smaller streams. With about 700 lbs in the Catalina I am able to crews safely in 6 inches of water. I have to lift the trolling motor and use the paddles in these cases, but I am not worried at all. I can't wait to get a Bimini top and take the wife and kids out! (They don't fish lol) Update: After having this boat for a couple of years I decided to purchase the max HP available for it. This sucker is 100x more fun now. I can easily reach 20 mph (26 alone). I've caught a lot of fish on this boat and I'll say that I have put this boat through a lot. Don't be worried because it's an inflatable. I have been in some crazy places and (carefully) dragged this boat through some crazy rocky spots and I've put it everywhere I put my bass boat and more.

I’m new to the world of inflatable boats and was a bit skeptical buying one from Amazon, but prime day arrived and I made the purchase and don’t regret it at all. This boat comes with everything you need to hit the water straight out of the box. You do not need a stand alone pump for inflation as the included foot pump works very efficiently! The materials feel very durable and well made. I had everything inflated and assembled by myself in about 30 minutes on the first try, it has been quicker once I got the hang of it. The floors are the trickiest part of assembling, but if you follow instructions it’s not too difficult. If you are planning on using a gas powered motor and your state requires registration then you must contact the manufacturer. This was fairly simple and they mailed out the necessary paperwork free of charge. Deflating the boat is also quick and included are 2 storage bags, one for the boat, one for the floors. Overall this is a solid seaworthy vessel that has brought me hours of joy!

The good: Overall a well designed inflatable boat, nice stable floor, the inflatable keel makes it easier to drive, good value. Also, when issues arose, Amazon's customer service was second to none. What I didn't like: The way they package this boat, the plywood floor boards get damaged by the rivets on the floor board resting on top. Two of the four floor boards were gouged and paint was scraped off. This is not what one should expect from a brand new boat and is not good if you have a puddle of water inside the boat. I returned the first dinghy, got a second one and it had the exact same problem. Rather than returning, I painted over the damage in the two floor boards. The distributor, Newport Vessels, was completely useless when I contacted them and had no interest in solving this in a way satisfactory to the customer. It got too "complicated" was their response. Luckily Amazon agreed to take the first dinghy back. Also, one valve leaked and on the second boat the name tag was glued upside down. Other than the dealings with NV, I am quite happy with the product.

After a horrible ordeal attempting to purchase a Saturn brand boat, we decided to re-think our upcoming inflatable boat purchase. We had an extremely salty taste in our mouth due to the extremely unprofessional and down right anti-customer centric attitude Saturn Boats presented us. We were so ticked off that we were ready to default to the trusty standard of Zodiac, at a much higher price point; Zodiac after all is the "named" segment leader. That said, we owned a Zodiac years ago which was fantastic and another one more recently which was just OK (good warranty but build quality seemed the same as most of the other reputable brands). Having both discussed and coming to terms with the idea of a smaller, less know manufacturer (based on the fact that manufacturing and materials have greatly improved over the years which allows smaller manufacturers to compete with the big names), as well as overcoming Saturn's complete lack of customer focused sales practices, we opened our options to other, similar vendors. Amazon and Newport came to our rescue! The Newport Catalina has proven to be a stable, trustworthy vessel. Solid construction. It feels and looks like a stout, well built boat. There is little to complain about (but I will below), other than the typical solid floor boat complaints that inflatable boat owners complain about (they can be tedious to assemble / inflate, this applies to all wood / aluminum floor inflatables). Having owned several inflatable boats, the Newport Catalina is right up there with the best. In fact, I was torn between the Newport and an Inmar, choosing the Newport in the end (both are great values and great options). If you follow the 25% inflate rule while assembling and installing the floor, the build process is actually a breeze (inflate all chambers to 25% except keel, align and install floor, install stringers, make sure alignment is on point, finish filling all chambers then fill keel). This takes a majority of the aggravation out of the equation. It still takes some muscle to hold the tubes back and to maneuver the floor boards in place, keep that in mind. Things I don't like? A few... There should be handles in the front of the boat, 1 on either side, to aid maneuvering the boat at shore and when a wheel kit is attached. I wrote CS regarding purchasing a set and they don't have them 😑. It's also not super easy to keep clean being white, it takes a bit of effort to keep it looking fresh. I'd like the seat mounts to be longer fore and aft to allow more customized placement of the benches. A better bailer would be nice. Finally, a set of d-rings or a built in strap on floor panel #5 would be great to secure a gas tank. In the end we are please with our purchase. We're super happy with the quality of our Catalina. We'd definitely consider Newport in the future and we'd most certainly recommend them to friends and family. To those that may wonder about the outfitting done to ours in the pictures I've uploaded, the list is as follows: (1) Naviskin 6ft Bimini Top - Dark Grey - AZN (4) Brocraft Grey Glue On Mounts - AZN (4) Dkluub #6268 Bimini Mounts - Etsy (1) Oceanbroad 3M Self Adhesive EVA Foam Flooring, 105" Brown/Blk - AZN (1) Seamax Deluxe Black Edition Wheel Kit - AZN (1) Maximarine Lifters (Trim Tabs) - maximarine.com (2) SailorBags Seat Cushion Bags - Grey - Defender Industries (1) 8oz NRS Stabond Adhesive - NRS (1) Each of a WhiteDuck Duffle (all accessories), Gator Cases 58" Speaker Stand Bag (bimini top) - AZN (1) Navisafe Inflatable Complete Light Kit - AZN (1) Samman Fire Extinguisher Mount - AZN I hope this helps!

We’ve owned for about a year now and works great getting our family of five from anchor to the shore. Most of our shorelines are very rocky and this thing has held up without tearing and has held up to the weather here in southeast Ak. I do suggest getting the aluminum floor for weight savings if you’re going to be lifting by yourself. The wood floor is very solid but very heavy trying to lift up onto our boat by hand. The cons for us is obviously heavy and the pump that came with it to inflate the dinghy had a tear but used a piece of duct tape and it still inflates the dinghy. Assembly leaves some room for improvement as trying to get the floor together was a bit cumbersome but makes it very solid.

After using boat only five times the third chamber would lose all air over a two day period. I reported this to company and made a warranty claim since it was within the two year warranty period. The company requested photos to determine what might be the cause of air leak. I sent 3 photos and they said it was a leak from valve which was incorrect since I did a leak check on valve and it showed no leak.. I received a new valve from them which I knew would not solve the problem, however, I did replace valve to no avail. I reported to company that problem was not resolved. Three weeks later I received an email form them saying the problem was normal wear and tear not a warranty claim and I should repair the hole. This surprised me since there was no hole. I had offered to take boat to a repair facility but they didn't respond. DON'T BUY

The boat clearly exceeded my expectations. First, let me describe why I needed an inflatable boat. I have a small travel trailer pulled by a Kia Sorrento. Therefore, I had no practical way to take a boat with me except by car (SUV) topping it. My better idea was to purchase an inflatable boat that I could carry in the trunk area - fits just fine with left over space. I also need to inform you I am almost 81 years old and it is difficult to handle a car top boat anymore. OK, what about assembly/disassembly. It takes a little time but with another person, usually my wife, it took about 40 minutes to assemble and inflate. Note the foot pump is all you need. It took about 30 minutes to deflate it, repack it and put back in the trunk. Getting some additional assistance would be helpful. Please note, there are two seats pictured but you only received one seat as noted in the description. This misinformation should be corrected, but Newport Vessels was very helpful in providing a second seat. I have purchased and drilled the holes for the detachable wheels but haven't needed them yet. But the big question is how did it perform. We were on a lake with no motors allowed so I rowed. It was so stable my wife can't keep from commenting about the secure feeling she experienced. And, having caught some trout was great. I am planning to add rod holders and a fish finder. I am also planning to add folding/rotating boat seats. Don't hesitate to buy the boat - it is a great boat and Newport Vessels customer service personal are excellent - and they are here in America while the boat is built overseas. See the Newport Vessels website and don't hesitate to call them.