PETER SMALL

FREE DIVER – SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

I did a ton of research looking for a perfect boat for me and ended up very satisfied with the Solas 4.0 with a 40 hp Honda.

I am an avid free diver (photography, spearfishing and crabbing) who lives in Seattle with a 14 year old son who shares these passions. The boat is ideally suited for one to four folks who are looking to dive in any conditions. On a flat day we can cruise at 35 MPH to dive/fishing sites and when it is rough we can pound thru whatever the great North West throws at us. Being light and easy to trailer and launch but tough enough for submerged rocks (yes we have found a few!)and beaches, the boat has provided great access to Puget Sound , the San Juan Islands and Neah Bay. The boat came equipped with the key essentials (speed, tach and trim gauges) but none of the unneeded fluff that someone who is as hard on a boat as I will break.

Alan and Travis have been just great to work with – a marked contrast to the bigger name inflatable dealers I’d met with in the Seattle area. In addition to their attitude, working with an aluminum boat provides great flexibility – when we asked about Salmon Fishing they added some custom wings on the back seat that are perfectly suited to running down riggers. In addition the tube mounting systems is just brilliant – extremely easy to work on if the need arises (I did have to make one repair after foolishly leaving it fully inflated on one of the rare summer scorchers).