Predator plus

[flygoddess]

Stopped in my favorite store on the way home from a few wonderful days fishing. North Fork Outdoors.
Was greeted by the man himself Dave Scadden. He is rocking the inflatable industry.
I am so stoked about this new line up.
Got to see the new talk of the town, the bladderless 5 lb Predator. 6' long with 15" diameter pontoons and an inflatable floor.
This is for real, no wires!


This means 600 lb weigh capacity and NO DRAG! unlike the SFC and the H3 design where you are dragging. This thing floats and is not effected more by the wind but rather more easy to compensate. It is made out of the same material as used in heart valves. Cool stuff. With seat it is a 7 lbs.
It is the same design as the ESCAPE. Same measurements. But new revolutionary light weight and strong material and no oars.
A wheel chair battery fits great behind the seat and the cost and performance can be satisfactory.
Now for some shots






Now, the new motor mount requires self application. Like the Scotty mounts and D rings I have added it will require special adhesive. This so slick and clean






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[idahoron]

I like that one. The motor mount is bad a$$. I have seen all the PVC ones and I am a PVC man by heart but this mount is very nice and it appears to be well thought out. The toons are spread out enough to fit even big fish like a sturgeon. I have one spot that a very light weight boat like this would be awesome in. Tell Dave to send me one and I will lad a sturgeon in one. [fishon]
Ron
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[kochanut]

price? might want this instead of an assualt
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[orvis1]

Same motor mount I have on my Raft. I went with the raft instead of the scadden mainly because it gets used only a couple of times a year and it was $500 vrs 2K. When my fish cat dies this will be it's replacement tube!
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks for the report. Confirms what I suspected. Not enough room for a good battery. A wheel chair battery won't get 'er done...for me.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Looks like a good "big guy" craft for most tubing applications. Just not if you wanna motorize it and fish anything besides a community pond.[/#0000ff]
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[flygoddess]

First off, the Price is $599.00 Koch.
TD, I have my reservation about the wheelchair battery as well, but a couple of guys were there and confirmed that they work great and get two days worth out.
The difference being this boat rides so high, it literally floats "on" the water, where the FC is plowing through. You go faster also as there is no drag what so ever (except feet).
Dave still holds the patent to the FC and SFC and he came out with the H3 on that same design, but stated this design is so far superior. The whole boat is a floatation devise. From the back of the seat is as much air chamber as in front of the seat. Equal Balance. As you can see where my hand is holding the boat.

I will be getting the wheel chair battery. I know Ron uses one and cruises quite fast for 5 or 6 hours at a time.

Plus the new motor mount is completely out of the way now. No bars or PVC in the back area.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Good points. A higher float makes a more efficient use of battery power. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Might just have to try one on for size when my Chubby Kitty gets senile.[/#0000ff]
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[pontoonman]

Thanks for the report, FG.

Welcome to the lightweight side where I spend most of my time hanging out. Less is more and appreciation increases as one gets older. The predator plus seems to be a higher quality product compared to my ODC 420L, and double the cargo capacity is certainly impressive!

As far as motors are concerned, there are some on the market at around 15# including battery which might be just the ticket with the plus.

Cheers,

Pon
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[kandersonSLC]

I just noticed that if you go to Dave's YouTube site, there is a video titled "She's So Cool" and about 3/4ths through, it has shots of Catilin Scadden taking the Predator down the Green River. It certainly looks more substantial than any other tube.
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[ydoc]

Cool Tube!!!

But one question... where do you put your fishing tackle?

I have the SFC, and - at times - I almost wish there were fewer/smaller pockets! I can fit so much stuff in their pockets that it almost becomes unmanageable! <lol>

But, you still need SOME pockets... how is that managed on the Predator?

Thanks!

bob
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[flygoddess]

As I mentioned, it comes with seat and side bags. This was just a demo on the show room. The side bags attach to the D rings on the tube. They are very large and insulated, so they can double as an ice chest[]
They also, thanks to Koch, come with a clear plastic sleeve on the outside of the bag to allow insert of a license plate should one want to put a motor on in the states that require you to do so.

Also, again, Dave Scadden is the designer for the SFC.
Enjoy!
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