Whilst researching info on inflatable boats - both powered and manual propelled before making a purchase, I found some disturbing information regarding the Electra Sport Inflatable Boat. This boat often comes with the Electra Sport Electric Motor. Since the information I found could quite easily be life threatening to any body using one I felt it only right to pass the details on.

My personal view based on this information is quite simple. Don't think about buying one unless you plan to use it in very shallow water or a swimming pool. Or better still - just dont buy one of these. If you want a good inflatable boat for use on rivers, canals, lakes, lochs and calm seas you should expect to pay £250 - £500 for a "new" boat which is fit for purpose, hard wearing and more importantly safe to use. The Electra Sport Inflatable Boat was difficult to manoeuvre, frequently capsized and sank easily when the valve was opened during testing by Scotish Trading Standards.

However please note the date of the article - there could of course be 2 boats with the same name, but I very much doubt it. If you see one for sale it could have possibly been disposed of or kept for years unused before trying to be sold again

Winning a prize inflatable boat from a company promoting timeshare holidays could cost you your life, a local authority consumer watchdog has warned.

Lothian Regional Council’s trading standards department yesterday released results of detailed tests carried out on the Electra Sport Boat, proving that it is very dangerous to use. Three thousand of them have been distributed by an Edinburgh importer, the Value Added Group, to eight timeshare companies.

Thousands more - all made in Taiwan and imported from America - are thought to have been distributed by two other companies to many other timeshare operators. One of the boats was involved in an accident last month on the River Axe in Avon when 16-year-old Nicholas Sidaway of Weston-Super-Mare drowned.

The government, local authorities throughout the UK, as well as regulatory bodies in America and Europe, have all been alerted of Lothian’s findings. British Customs and Excise officials have also been asked to seize shipments of the inflatables.

Under the 1987 Consumer Protection Act, local authority trading standards departments can suspend the supply of goods believed to be unsafe. One authority, Trafford borough council in Greater Manchester, has already prevented the distribution of 400 Electra Sport boats.

"I would not let anyone I know use this boat anywhere other than in a kiddies paddling pool. It is like a motorised lilo with a food mixer on the back, said Lothian’s director of trading standards, Mike Drewry.

Tests conducted by the Centre for Maritime and Industrial Safety Technology at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh found that the inflatable failed British safety standards on numerous counts. It did not have enough buoyancy chambers, its plastic fabric was weak, its valves were unsatisfactory, it lacked safety hand holds and its tiller was not secured to its mounting.

The boat’s shortcoming were graphically demonstrated yesterday as three experienced canoeists attempted to use it in an Edinburgh swimming pool. It was difficult to manoeuvre, frequently capsized and sank easily when the valve was opened.

Lothian Region, which has long been concerned about the promotional activities of timeshare companies, was alerted to the problem when a member of the public passed on a letter he had received from the Moness Country Club in Aberfeldy. It said that he had won a gold award of either a 1990 Ford Fiesta or an Electra Sport Boat.

To claim the prize he had to attend a timeshare promotion and, assuming he won the boat and not the car, pay a £48.50 fee to cover "shipping, handling and insurance costs. This is probably more than the boat is worth, and certainly more than it would cost to post it.

Councillor Brian Fallon, chairman of Lothian Regional Council’s general purposes committee said that problems with timeshare companies in the past had mainly been with their high pressure sales techniques. In this case, the further price you could pay is with your life. This boat must be withdrawn, he said.

Mr Ramsey Fraser, managing director of the Moness Country Club, said last night that he had stopped offering the boat as an award since reading reports of the death of Nicholas Sidaway. But he had not decided whether or not to reintroduce it in the future.

"We have given this boat away in good faith and I personally can see nothing wrong with it. Our opinion is that if the boat is used for the purposes for which it is designed, it is OK. It is a fun boat, he said.lem when a member of the public passed on a letter he had received from the Moness Country Club in Aberfeldy. It said that he had won a gold award of either a 1990 Ford Fiesta or an Electra Sport Boat.

To claim the prize he had to attend a timeshare promotion and, assuming he won the boat and not the car, pay a £48.50 fee to cover "shipping, handling and insurance costs. This is probably more than the boat is worth, and certainly more than it would cost to post it.

Councillor Brian Fallon, chairman of Lothian Regional Council’s general purposes committee said that problems with timeshare companies in the past had mainly been with their high pressure sales techniques. In this case, the further price you could pay is with your life. This boat must be withdrawn, he said.

Mr Ramsey Fraser, managing director of the Moness Country Club, said last night that he had stopped offering the boat as an award since reading reports of the death of Nicholas Sidaway. But he had not decided whether or not to reintroduce it in the future.

"We have given this boat away in good faith and I personally can see nothing wrong with it. Our opinion is that if the boat is used for the purposes for which it is designed, it is OK. It is a fun boat, he said.