I’ve had the True Kit Navigator 250 for about a month and taken it out roughly a dozen times around Cape Cod. Overall, I’m very happy with it and would absolutely buy it again.

I bought it as a lightweight family boat for cruising the harbor, getting to beaches, and occasionally venturing into protected bay waters. I’m coming from a 30-year-old 8’4” AB inflatable with rigid floorboards and a 5 hp gas motor that was so heavy even two people struggled to carry it down the beach. The Navigator is a completely different experience.

The weight may be my favorite feature. Two people can easily carry it 100 feet or so up the beach. I’ve even picked it up myself by squatting underneath it with one tube across my shoulders. It’s just manageable for me alone and effortless with two people.

Build quality is excellent and setup is easy. Once you know what you’re doing, about 15 minutes from packed to inflated is realistic even with the excellent included hand pump and pressure gauge. We’ve mostly left it inflated, so I can’t say much yet about repeatedly packing it into the bag.

I debated the Navigator 250 vs. 300 quite a bit. Our normal load is two adults, our four-year-old, two small dogs, and beach gear, and the 250 works very well. We’ve also taken it several times with three adults and a kid plus the dogs and gear. That’s tight, but manageable. The 300’s extra space would be nice with that load, but I imagine it would start to feel heavy to pick up alone. I don’t regret choosing the lighter 250.

I really like the catamaran hull. It’s extremely stable—you can stand on either side and feel very secure. The reinforced bottoms of the tubes also take the wear when pulling it onto a beach while the center stays raised. The tradeoff is that the catamaran design and slight flex of the inflatable floor are a little noticeable in chop compared with my old rigid-floor inflatable. It’s not a significant issue for us, just something to be aware of.

A few ergonomic notes: the handles seem designed more for carrying than holding onto underway. Sitting on the tube operating the tiller, there isn’t a great handle to grab, so I tied a short rope around the bench as a handhold. I do really like that the bench slides forward or backward depending on where you want to sit and how the boat is loaded. The floor also sits fairly high because of the catamaran design, so your knees are higher than in a traditional inflatable, which I notice on longer rides.

Like most small inflatables, it’s difficult to climb aboard from deep water. I can see why True Kit created the open-bow Discovery. If swimming, snorkeling, or frequently boarding from the water is important, I’d seriously consider it. For our family use, I prefer the enclosed Navigator bow. Our dogs can easily get on and off from a beach or shallow water, and the bow gives us a useful place for bags and gear.

I bought the beach wheels but haven’t installed them yet because we put the boat in the water immediately and it needs to be dry for installation. One suggestion: since I bought the wheels as part of the package, I would have loved to have the mounting screws installed at the factory, or at least have the appropriate sealant included.

Another thoughtful feature is the hard-plastic loop on the transom that can take a padlock or cable lock. It’s a great solution for securing the boat overnight at a dinghy storage area.

For electric power, I spent a lot of hours comparing the ePropulsion eLite, Remigo One Neo, and Spirit 2 before pairing the Navigator with the Remigo. After a month, I think it’s an excellent match. With the whole family and gear aboard, we comfortably run around 4–5 mph and can make progress against a strong current. Range hasn’t been an issue; a couple-mile outing may use only around 20% of the battery. With just me aboard, it can almost get the Navigator onto plane.

If I were using the boat mainly as a short-distance tender, the extremely light eLite would be great. But since we’re regularly traveling a mile or two each way and dealing with harbor currents, I would have worried about its range and power. The Spirit 2 seemed unnecessarily large and heavy for a motor we’re carrying on and off the boat every day. The Remigo has been a great middle ground.

I also love the paddle storage along the inside tubes—secure and accessible without taking up useful floor space.

Finally, Fergus and the True Kit team were super helpful and got the boat to me incredibly quickly—I believe it arrived less than a week after I ordered it.

Most importantly, my daughter loves the boat, the dogs are comfortable on it, and we’ve found ourselves using it frequently. The Navigator 250 is a great balance of portability, quality, stability, performance, and enough space for our family. Looking forward to many more years on the water with this fun little boat!

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