4.3m air floor Saturn XD430

ba_fisher · 21 December 2014, 03:37

Hi folks,

I want to buy a light weight SIB and it looks like air floor is the way to go. Most air floor boats are just 3.6m or less, but I found a 4.3m here:

14' Saturn Long Tender XD430

It's got a narrow body with a 65" overall width, versus 78" for the "regular" Saturn 4.3m aluminum floor boat. But the air floor boat is a lot lighter, only 110lb. The aluminum floor boat is 140lb tube + 80lb floor.

I want to use the boat for in-shore fishing, probably just 3 miles off shore in OK weather. Will the air floor be good enough?

Also, how much will the narrow body affect stability?

Saturn claims that max engine is 15hp/125lb. Would so much weight be harsh on where the air floor meets the transom?

The Gurnard · 21 December 2014, 13:26

Hi Ba fisher .. I have no experience of the boat you mention.. so cant answer your questions with any confidence ...

However regarding your question of stability .... speaking of boats in general ... “will a narrower boat be less stable than a wider version”. I would say .. “Yes“ and also “No”

Under way.. I doubt you will notice any difference in stability. Heading into seas .. it is the length that counts. A narrower hull could even make it feel more stable as the boat could possibly go faster. Much the same way that a kayak or even a bicycle is stable with forward momentum. Its when you stop moving..kayaks and bikes fall over quite easily.

So when you stop at sea to do your fishing... is when you may find it is less stable. It will rock sideways more..and if you catch a huge fish.. it could pull the boat over more . while you are trying to get the fish to behave

For your purpose.. I would think an air floor would be fine. So saying ..personally.. I like a bit of weight low down in my SIB as I think it gives extra stability in much the same way some boats flood the lower part of their hull when stopped... so I have a heavy rubber mat on my wooden floor sib.. but that is just me ... and my opinion. Some may disagree

Hope that helps some

Chopperbill · 29 December 2014, 21:41

Just noticed this post. I'm in the US and own a Saturn SD 360. Only thing I don't like about Saturn is the rear bench is way to close to the transome and cumbersome for a large guy like me. I have the optional seat base with a swivel seat but to make it comfortable I had to remove the front bench. I put a marine carpet on my air floor, makes it real nice. If I knew I was going to keep mine inflated for long periods of time a solid floor would probably be better

weimed · 31 December 2014, 02:41

Hey Bill, good to see you migrated here also

. Ba, you decided not to go for the rib? Air floor is not good if you plan to fish often. 1 pinhole in your floor at sea and you have problems, as in you will not be able to plane when your air floor loses pressure. The only advantage an air floor has is the ability to disassemble your boat about 10 minutes faster. hard wood or aluminum is the way to go ( pain in the rear to setup your first 10 times). i made this video for people who need an example of a wood floor sib setup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZhy...rQ3szsHiga-4WQ

kestrel452 · 14 January 2015, 22:32

I am actually looking at that same boat, the XD430 which is Saturn's new 14' long air deck. I am also looking at the 12' air deck, the SD365 which seems to be their most popular model. I was originally looking at 16 and 18 foot ones, but I decided setting up a 200-300lb metal floor boat all the time would just be too big of a hassle. I don't want to buy a trailer or storage, I just want to grab the folded up boat and go. I'm hoping to pick up a 6hp Mercury outboard soon too.

While I was on the phone with the owner of AlpineBoats, a dealer for Saturn, he seemed to think the 12 footer was enough to seat 4 adults comfortably for tooling around a whole day. Maybe 6 people if it was for about half a day. Do the more experienced members here agree with that??? Though what was unclear is if the new 14' is narrower than the 12'. It's clearly narrower than the standard aluminum for 14 footer, which is listed at 40" wide. Obviously the 14' would be the way to go if it was wide enough to seat 2 adults on each bench, but I'm not sure how wide it is compared to the 12'. SaturnRafts.com shows them both as the same inside width, but Boatstogo shows the 12' as being 12.8', not 30" as SaturnRafts does. I'm not sure if SR is rounding down those extra few inches or what, but they're the only ones carrying the new 14' so I can only compare the two on one site. I also have no experience with SIB's, so I don't know what amount of space is necessary.

Alpine doesn't carry the new XD430 yet though, he said he's waiting on customer reviews. He said he thinks Saturn didn't make the 14' air deck as wide as the regular 14' because it was just too much real estate for an air deck to remain rigid.

jyasaki · 14 January 2015, 23:05

Don't know. I had a 14' SIB for about 5 years, and I can tell you that if you get 4 people in a smallish boat doing anything other than enjoying the view, it starts getting crowed pretty quick. Fishing gear, dive gear, it all eats up space. Remember that you need enough room to be able to maneuver said gear into usable positions as well. I'd be real leery about claims that a 12' boat will seat 4 adults comfortably.

jky

weimed · 14 January 2015, 23:08

Saturn 365 fits 2 adults comfortably. THATS IT. Do not even think about putting four people in it unless using as a tender. Air floor is a joke.

kestrel452 · 14 January 2015, 23:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Don't know. I had a 14' SIB for about 5 years, and I can tell you that if you get 4 people in a smallish boat doing anything other than enjoying the view, it starts getting crowed pretty quick. Fishing gear, dive gear, it all eats up space. Remember that you need enough room to be able to maneuver said gear into usable positions as well. I'd be real leery about claims that a 12' boat will seat 4 adults comfortably.

jky

The boat wouldn't be used for anything other than tooling around or just seeing the sights. I wouldn't have a bunch of gear taking up space, just a gas tank behind the rear bench and a cooler.

kestrel452 · 14 January 2015, 23:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by weimed

Saturn 365 fits 2 adults comfortably. THATS IT. Do not even think about putting four people in it unless using as a tender. Air floor is a joke.

That's a very scathing review compared to most accounts I've heard. The air floor might not be as durable as the aluminum floors, but this is a stow and go boat I'm looking for. I'm not looking to do anything serious with it, just to take 2-4 people out to tool around for the day. I really don't want to lug around 150lb tube plus a 60lb floor. The more portable the better.

weimed · 14 January 2015, 23:48

Its up to you, just trying to give you realistic advice abour the saturn sd 365. My friend owns that boat and i been on it couple times. I am not saying you cannot fit 4 people on it. All i am saying is they will not be comfortable and i personally think its to

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dangerous.

weimed · 14 January 2015, 23:49

First boat on the right is a 365. A 430 would be a whole lot better. I would look into a F-rib 430. Do not have to worry about air floor and it will be more seaworthy. Look at forums.iboats.com at the inflatable section we have all the data there

beerbelly · 15 January 2015, 06:26

I have a 3.2 airfloor sib and have been out fishing with one other adult on board and would definatly not consider carrying any more than that it would be far too crowded for comfort I would say for a comfortable day out with fishing gear mine is a one person boat but the transom plate says it can carry 4

Chopperbill · 19 January 2015, 19:24

Yes, Saturn says the SD365 is a five person boat. Me and four bikini clad girls would be nice and cozy. LOL . Other than that two of us, the dog and gear uses up a good deal of the boat.

Binarydigits · 24 June 2016, 00:08

After long research, I bought xd430 few weeks ago.
I have family of 4 (wife, myself and 2 boys 3 & 6). We can all fit there and have a lot of gear - tent, sleeping bags, 3 fishing rods, fishing chest, tent mattras, cooler, etc.

3 people can fish comfortably with gear, tent, cooler. You can definitely fit the 4th person, but then would be running into issues on rivers with high streams (keep in mind, you will need 2 anchors).

If there are only 2 people, you can most likely get a quartered moose in there (capacity should also be ok).

Improvements: buy at least 8 d-rings, buy anchor/rope attachment mount, rod holders (but don't glue them to the boat - attach to benches, same goes for fish finder). Buy side strips and glue them on the bottom - this will probably extend boats life by 5-8 years. I would not put 15hp on the boat - I got 9.9 Yamaha and is more than enough power.
Almost forgot, 2 people around 75-80kg can sit on one bench.
I chose this boat for capacity and narrow width which makes it Significantly faster than sd330/430.