Classic Accesories' Great Design For RVers Who Love To Hit The Lakes
When exploring the open road in an RV, living well relies on keeping options open while using the least amount of space possible. Whether it's a motor home with six bays or a vintage van with none, there never seems to be enough space. This conundrum poses a problem for the adventurers out there who would like to take a break from the trailer to do some pond fishing or lake exploring.
The design gurus at Classic Accessories, an online distributor of RV lifestyle products based in Seattle, offer solutions. Starting in 2000 they designed the very first inflatable pontoon boat. In subsequent years, revisions led to a line of different boats with different abilities. Steve Miller operates as the chief designer at Classic Accessories.
"I believe in the 'function over fashion' mantra," Miller explains. "We want the boat to function…and we want it to be really nice, but we try not to push a lot of the bells and whistles that you see [from other makers]. We want our features to be truly functional."
In essence, that means that each boat, at each price point, comes with the core functional parts, but are not tagged with useless features. The pontoons sold by Classic are not white-water built. Their function lies in getting travelers to the quiet parts of the pond where fish can be caught or the serenity can be enjoyed.
The different pontoon possibilities include the Roanoke, the Colorado, the Colorado XT, and the Colorado XTS. Each boat – in that order – possesses more features than the last. For example, the top model, the XTS, has a padded swivel seat, while the XT and Colorado have padded seats. The Roanoke, by comparison, has a molded plastic seat.
The perch is simply one of the angles of the boat. The XT and XTS both have transport wheels, removable stripping baskets and gear bags. Capacity is the name of the game for some users, as all that space allows for more food, drink, and storage of fishing materials plus the day's catch.
For Miller, the path was long and meandering that led him to Classic Accessories.
"I was kind of a do it yourself guy. I made a lot of my own things. [Plus] I was kind of active in the outdoor world," Miller explains. Miller was into mountain biking and snowboarding, and even did a stint in the commercial fishing industry in Alaska, before getting into commercial design.
"[Classic Accessories] was a really good fit because I had a lot of the skills that they needed to take their products to the next level," Miller said. As an example, Miller worked for many years in customizing marine canvases, for things like biminis and boat covers for high end yachts. Those skills came in handy when he arrived at Classic Accessories, which needed more custom fits on some of its product lines.
Miller went to school at Seattle Central Community College and studied apparel design. He said the coursework benefited him because the program focuses on the technical side of design, and taught him how to transform ideas into real-world products. From there, he went to work for a small company making school bags, travel bags, and dopp kits, among other items.
“I believe in having a different bag for each activity; hockey, roller hockey, snowboarding or biking … They all have different needs so they require a different bag,” Miller explained in an email. “I was making my own stuff to suit my needs and that translated well into making them for other people. In talking with people about their perfect bag you gain a lot of insight into how people use their bags and what they need out of them.”
After working on bags, he was discovered by the management of Classic Accessories, and went to work on a variety of their products. This was Miller’s first experience working with inflatable products.
“It adds a whole new aspect to working on product. You have to consider the safety and how much weight the boat needs to carry in your designs. We can make the boats any size but we have to be certain that they’re stable and safe for their intended use,” Miller said
From a practical standpoint, the dry weight of the pontoons range from 80 pounds for the XTS to 43 pounds for the Roanoke. The Roanoke has a max capacity of 350 pounds, while the XTS, on the other end of the spectrum, can carry up to 400 pounds. The key is keeping the product ultra-mobile but still able to be deflated and fit in a bag that can be thrown over the shoulder.
Almost any pump – hand, battery, or plug in – can be used to inflate the pontoon bladders, provided the user has the right adapter. Classic Accessories offers a pump through its online store that has a few adapters that work on a variety of industry valves.
A first-timer might require, according to Miller, upwards of 30 minutes to put the pontoon together. Miller explains though that he is able – after many iterations – to put one together in about 8 minutes. The advantage in the portability of the boat which is a great advantage to RVers is that it does not require any additional rigging on the exterior of the RV to carry, like a fixed hull which fiberglass boats do. The inflatable pontoon can literally be collapsed, folded, and put away in a small space.
Amanda Perry, the marketing director at Classic Accessories, recently ran some analytics on the cross-section of the CA pontoon users, and discovered that 86 percent are male, and 73 percent of them are actually RVers.
The intention is that, despite the design…despite the statistics…the end goal is really about getting out onto a pristine pond or into a slow rolling river and enjoying the moment. The exercise in achieving this moment becomes perfected when said boat comes equipped and ready to fold down like a camp chair. The difference is…this chair floats.
David Irvin
A graduate with a Masters Of Science from the University Of North Texas, David has written on many beats including crime and business for such outlets as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Montgomery Advertiser & USA. He enjoys RVing and surfing the Internet.
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