AIRE Tributary Sawtooth Tandem Inflatable Kayak

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The Sawtooth is a generous 15'3" long, with new skeg design that ensures you won't lose it. With this model you have room for a third person or large dog, or space to do multi-day camp trips. Another improvement is that it now comes with two comfy Cheetah seats just like the American made AIRE models, not the inflatable pillows as had been the case previously. You can remove one for solo use or even purchase a third one for bring along the kid. These seats are infinitely adjustable.

Another tiny but very important addition that we had been asking for was also made last year: Two tiny drain vents at the stern end of the floor pocket underside. The Sawtooth, and AIRE's discontinued Sea Tiger model, always had a problem with water staying inside the floor pocket after you lifted it out of the water. This was due to the floor section being mounted in a way that leaves about 3.5" of it hanging below the side tubes. I.E., the floor envelope did not drain when you picked it up like all the other AIRE and Tributary kayaks do. You would think the boat was dry after ten minutes, then you would roll it up and more water would dribble from the floor pocket. This has been solved with the two little mesh drain ports. Now you just lift the bow of the boat after you take it out of the river/ocean/lake, and the floor pocket water comes out the two little vents. This assures no surprises after the kayak is rolled up to put in your vehicle.

Prototyping the AIRE Tributary Sawtooth Tandem Inflatable Kayak

We had worked with AIRE on the early Sawtooth prototypes (at first it was just called the “Rec kayak”), playing with several of them here at our shop and local waterways. The length, width, and tube size was precisely what we had asked for, though the unique protruding floor design was something AIRE came up with on their own. This floor, which pokes down below the tubes close to four inches, seemed bizarre at first. We quickly came to realize though that it gave lift to the side tubes in such a way that they drafted very little water compared to kayaks with more level bottoms. And this in turn made the final prototype design far faster than the more conventional earlier proto’s had been. It also helps with tracking if you happen to leave the removable fin at home, or want to paddle down a shallow stream where the fin might hit bottom.

Specifications - AIRE Tributary Sawtooth Tandem Inflatable Kayak

• Length x Width x Height: 15'3" x 33"
• Tube Diameter: 9"
• Bow Rise x Stern Rise: 9"
• Weight: 41 lbs (our scale says about 43)
• Load Capacity: 440 lbs (see above)
• 2" Waterline: 150"
• Aire Chambers: 5
• AIREcell Material: Vinyl
• Fabric Denier x Material Weight: 1000denier 23 ounce/yard
• Seam Construction: Sewn & welded
• Valve: Summit II
• Warranty: 1 Year Limited

AIRE Tributary Sawtooth Tandem Inflatable Kayak - High Performance

As mentioned above the Sawtooth has a removable fin, and if your paddling skill is fairly high you may be able to leave it off if you wish. In shallow water less than 9" you have to leave it off. To this day, we really haven't used the fins on this model at all, but some paddlers may experience "arcing" without it.

The Sawtooth slices through the water like no inflatable before that came before. It is faster by at least half a knot than the competitors, and glides quite a bit further after you stop paddling. In tandem mode with two competent paddlers, it will make about 4.6 m.p.h. You cannot buy a better performing solo/tandem combo kayak under $2K, if that.

There are 32 cargo/seat loops for tying in gear and the seat(s). The bow and stern have comfortable lift handles, and the Sawtooth comes with a basic patch kit & valve wrench. We also offer this model as a package with paddles and pumps, and that package is listed in this Tandem Touring IK section as well.