So I live in a tiny apartment and the Mirage is my only car. For the longest time I have wanted a boat for some weekend fishing but none of the hassles of towing, docking fees, or storage. Several weeks back I found out about a mod for the Intex Excursion 5 inflatable boat to give it a solid wood floor and turn it into a decent weekend fishing boat.
The way it works is you get a normal 3/4th inch plywood board and some indoor/outdoor carpet and cut the board into three pieces with hinges to fit in your car and unfold/insert at the lake. Unfortunately the prices of lumber have skyrocketed since the article was made so it ended up costing a bit more ... The article was designed to fit into a Tesla so two sections were made to be 36". Since the Mirage wont fit that in the back hatch I decided to go with three 32" sections that the attendant at Home Depot cut.
I pretty much eyeballed the width measurement and the remaining cuts I ended up doing with a hand saw. After completing the boating safety class, going to the DMV multiple times for registration, I finally have it all ready and brought it out on the water the other weekend. The beauty of this is I can deflate/fold and this all stores in my closet and transports in the Mirage.
Youtube Guide and Demo
Parts:
Intex Excursion 5 Inflatable boat
Intex Motor Mount Kit
EverStart Battery 100AH 29DC
Battery Box
Cheap-ass chairs
Chinese Sunelex 58Lbs Trolling Motor
Small anchor
4 Hinges
Short wood screws
Plywood board
Pipe Insulation
Indoor/outdoor carpet roll
Battery Charger
Decent 12v air inflator/deflator