Gidday from New Zealand - Pics of my unusual RIB??!

[troutboyNZ]

Pontoon style boats are huge over here, there are literally a hundred manufactures now. Some of the more popular brands are:

Senator
Kiwikraft
Macboats
Osprey
Stabicraft
Tsunami

One way to have a good look at these boats is to go to www.trademe.co.nz and select the boats section and search for the word "pontoon" and you'll come up with a heap of matches.

Most people buy them for the sea-keeping abilities and the fact most are unsinkable. I've just had 4 days trout fishing on my boat with 4 guys - and we had 4 of us fishing from the one side with hardly a lean, it was fabulous.

I have a great time showing mates when they come over what the Mac can handle, I give them a hammer and tell them to take a swing at the hull - they do and the hammer just glances off without a scratch - quite good fun!!!

One of the things I love about the poly material is you can just screw any fittings in with self tappers for a super strong hold - if you need to remove the fitting, just get a soldering iron and using a drilling offcut melt it into the hole - smooth off - and finish with a craft knife and heat gun to shine up.... you will not be able to tell there was ever a hole there.

Heres a few pics of the previous one I owned the mac 3.6 model - a fantastic wee boat for fishing, again you can perch two guys on the side without creating a fuss and stand and fish all day long.

[BogMonster]

Originally Posted by troutboyNZ

One of the things I love about the poly material is you can just screw any fittings in with self tappers for a super strong hold - if you need to remove the fitting, just get a soldering iron and using a drilling offcut melt it into the hole - smooth off - and finish with a craft knife and heat gun to shine up.... you will not be able to tell there was ever a hole there.

Now that is cool

Do you get problems with self-tappers unscrewing themselves over time due to the polyethylene being so slippery, or is that a myth?

[troutboyNZ]

Hi Stephen. No that's a total myth, they screw in with a great hold, infact the poly almost seems to shrink into the threads and you can often not get a self tapper out easily! You also do not need any sealers. The hulls being so thick (10-12mm for the Mac 420 and 18mm thick for the Mac 570!!!) create the grab needed. I use 12 gauge screws for maximum strength.

[BogMonster]

That's interesting because I had heard a number of stories where fittings allegedly unscrewed themselves over time but its good to know it isn't a big problem.

The more I see the more I like it - just wish I could have a go in a 570 and 600

Do you keep it in the water all the time or just launch when using it? Another benefit advertised is that the poly hull prevents any marine growth thus you don't have to antifoul it, I wondered how accurate that was, seems like a big bonus if you planned to keep a boat in the water!

[troutboyNZ]

I've definatly had no issue with unscrewing on the Macs I have owned, but it is a good idea to buy the coursest thread screws you can get. I got some paint overspray on mine and it just wiped off when dry, so I don't think marine growth adheres to it well at all. It is a slippery material. I have seen a few hire companys over in Australia that have their boats moored permantly and they didn't seem to have any growth, but they did have a distinct yellow colouration on the waterline.

The Mac 570 is a fantastic looking boat, it is quite different to the 420 in having higher freeboard, a better transom arrangement and the anchor locker built-in up front. The centre console ones run the double console which is huge! I could have fitted the double console to mine, but it limits the walk-around space. I have seen a few underway and they are a great seaboat but again, very wet from the side. both models have huge beams and a massive floor area you really have to see in the flesh to appreciate, having the pontoons 'D' shaped gives a lot of internal volume compared to a conventional RIB.

I keep mine on a trailer and just launch it as I'm only down the road from the boat ramp. you can only use trailers with PFTE skids as rollers create pressure points. I have seen a Mac 420 that was involved in a road accident at 100kmh - the boats was virtually unscathed, just some surface scratches. I'll dig out the photo and post it up - the car was a write-off. It looked like the Mac rolled over and over, but was still totally seaworthy and i bet is still in operation. One downside of the material is that they are HEAVY! My 420 weighs in at 650kgs loaded up.

[BogMonster]

Any more pics especially of the bigger ones (570 and 600) would be most welcome (by me anyway!)

I guess the bigger ones are pretty heavy though - my 5.8m Humber probably only weighs about the same as your 4.2m Mac! Any idea why they only have a 120hp power rating? It seems a bit low for a 6m boat but Marine Revolution say that with a 115hp Yam 4 stroke on the back it is still good for 45mph.

[grunta]

Hello from New Zealand! Seeing how we are also in God's Own Country, I couldn't resist posting to this thread. Alant - you asked about alloy-hulled boats so here are some photos of our 4.2 mtr Wavebreak which we use primarily in the Marlborough Sounds (Top of the South Island.) I hope the pig hunting photo isn't too upsetting....

More photos at www.wavebreak.co.nz and to view a video of the 4.2 mtr Wavebreak jetboat visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtPrYzZ19pw

Cheers, Gruntessa