Hello all,

My apologies if these seem like laughably dumb questions or if this
isn't the appropriate group. I'm a total newbie and googling around I
wasn't able to find much in the way of answers.

I'm interested in starting some paddling, either with a kayak or a
raft, just for fun. I'm just looking to go out on lakes and ponds with
some friends to relax, not to conquer rapids or anything like that. I
live in a small condo where I can't store anything hard shell. So I'm
pretty much limited to an inflatable.

I'm considering an inflatable boat since the seating capacity is
greater than a kayak, but for some reason I was under the impression
that you can only paddle those backwards (your back to your
destination) - or at least that if you paddle forwards, it's much more
difficult. Is this always the case? In particular, I'm looking at
something like one of these:

http://www.qualityinflatables.com/68335.html

Are these meant to be paddled backwards primarily? Would I be in for a
hard workout if I were to paddle one forwards instead, if this is even
possible?

Also, if anyone has experience with this particular type of inflatable
boat, could you comment on it? Did you find it comfortable, is back
support decent, etc?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Mike M.