Buying a SIB and engine - Page 2

chris123 · 28 June 2009, 09:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

What is wrong with a wooden floor - not slats but removable boards - lighter than aluminium and stiffer than an air floor.

Only the fact that Honwave do not offer a wooden floor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lightning

I see that Mercury do a 4/5/6hp engine (choice of hp) and it's 25kg, lighter than the Honda and a bit more power. It's got a seperate fuel tank and a reverse gear (?)

Reverse gear is good, saves a bit of faffing about turning the engine around when you want reverse. The general opinion on here seemed to be that the small Mercury outboards are rebadged Tohatsus - Tohatsu might be cheaper?

http://www.tohatsu.co.jp/en/boat/products/mfs6.html

The same outboard is (I think) also badged as a Mariner:

http://www.marineroutboards.co.uk/de...p?product_id=9

I suspect you won't notice a huge difference (weight or performance) between a 5HP Honda and a 6HP Mercury. Some dealers offer Honwave + Honda outboard packages which again may save you some money.

Definitely worth shopping around - I bought my Suzuki DF9.9 new from Pacer Marine and saved over £400 (they are a real chandlery as well as an Ebay shop):

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/PACERM...34Q2ec0Q2em322

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lightning

So it comes down to the air floor or the aluminium floor. The air floor had a more pointy front to the boat, was available as a 2.4 or a 2.7m, and had a keel shape that looked like a proper boat (sorry that's my best effort at a description of it)
The aluminium floor, well he didn't have one but it's listed as 2.5m and having an "air keel" and the less pointy front like the slatted floor one.

The air keel on the aluminium floor boat should give a similar hull shape to the air floor boat.

The 'pointy front' of the air floor may improve comfort / performance slightly, but I would suspect not by much. The 'less pointy front' will give you a little more space for a given boat length but again not much. From the photos online there does not appear to be a huge difference between the two bow shapes.

The aluminium floor will be more work to fit and remove as well as heavier. It will be stiffer in use than the air floor (ie better), but on such a small boat I don't know that it will matter that much. There are plenty of people on here who are very happy with their air floor SIBs. Provided you invest in a decent inflator and pressure gauge to ensure the floor is pumped up correctly it should be fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Codprawn

The problem with the Honwaves is that you can't use normal transom wheels which are essential.

Codders is right on both counts - you will have to pay a bit more for wheels that will fit the Honwave, but they are absolutely essential.

http://www.seamarknunn.com/acatalog/...ZV5-T00HE.html

Cheers

Chris

prairie tuber · 28 June 2009, 12:19

Those honwave launching wheels look pretty dodgy!

codprawn · 28 June 2009, 22:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

Those honwave launching wheels look pretty dodgy!

I agree very bad engineering - I think a move away from a Honwave would be a good idea...........

lightning · 29 June 2009, 07:54

You may be right.
I've been looking and there's a "Zodiac" 2.6m boat (model 260S) with a solid floor and as a bonus it's lighter than the Honda. Looks like the floor may be plastic. Zodiac seem to be well regarded on this forum, I've never heard of them, but I wouldn't have unless I was into boats I guess.
Anyway, I've emailed a couple of suppliers and am waiting for a call back, I'll order that with something like the Mariner 6hp engine (after checking to see if the launching wheels will fit!)

On the Honda boat the floor does not look like it extends to the front of the boat, it seems to stop just after the bench seat.

prairie tuber · 29 June 2009, 13:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by lightning

Zodiac seem to be well regarded on this forum, I've never heard of them, but I wouldn't have unless I was into boats I guess.

They are, far and away, the most well known manufacurer of fully inflatable boats in the world. Zodiac offers a very wide array of inflatable boats, ranging from relatively inexpensive light duty (PVC) SIBs & RIBs to some very heavy duty military/commercial SIBs & RIBs. In fact it is pretty common for people who are not familiar with inflatable boats to simply refer to them generically as 'zodiacs' - regardless of who actually manufactured the boat.

lightning · 29 June 2009, 15:33

Well that's good to hear. I've ordered the Zodiac 260S, which has a wooden floor, and the Mariner 6hp engine. Plus the genuine Zodiac pneumatic launching wheels.
So I should be all set to go next weekend.

The dealer offered 2 types of wheels, the "small grey plastic type that attach permanently" and the "arms & pneumatic tyres type". Taking the advice above I went for the pneumatic ones. Do these "fit permanently" too?

Thanks again for all the advice so far.

thornbackflound · 29 June 2009, 17:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by lightning

Well that's good to hear. I've ordered the Zodiac 260S, which has a wooden floor, and the Mariner 6hp engine. Plus the genuine Zodiac pneumatic launching wheels.
So I should be all set to go next weekend.

The dealer offered 2 types of wheels, the "small grey plastic type that attach permanently" and the "arms & pneumatic tyres type". Taking the advice above I went for the pneumatic ones. Do these "fit permanently" too?

Thanks again for all the advice so far.

Most of the type transom wheels ,pneumatic one s you are after will have a permanant bracket fitted to the transom ,and the wheels and legs can be taken off and packed a way,i fold mine up and i have made a bar with rod holders to go,don t forget to use stainless bolts and a decent waterproof sealant to seal the bolt holes drilled in the transom

lightning · 29 June 2009, 17:35

The dealer has rung me just now offering the slightly larger boat for an extra £80. This would be the 2.85m rather than the 2.6m. Should I go for it? Is it going to be any more difficult to handle with an extra 25cm?

prairie tuber · 29 June 2009, 18:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by lightning

The dealer has rung me just now offering the slightly larger boat for an extra £80. This would be the 2.85m rather than the 2.6m. Should I go for it? Is it going to be any more difficult to handle with an extra 25cm?

The longer the better.

lightning · 29 June 2009, 19:56

OK that's done then. It did say with the 260S that the maximum "recommended" hp engine was 4, and maximum "permissable" was 6.
With the bigger boat it's 8hp so my 6hp engine won't be on the outer limit for the boat.

Heart-trouble · 29 June 2009, 19:59

i agree, longer the better, think your gonna have loads of fun on that boat! the more you drive it the more confident you will get in it! i didn't know anything about launching wheels on sibs, seems like a great idea. think i'll get one with wheels myself now!

chris123 · 29 June 2009, 20:08

Good stuff. Look forward to seeing the photos

Cheers

Chris

lightning · 29 June 2009, 20:20

I know I will probably get laughed at for this, but I've been looking at photos on this forum and these pneumatic launching wheels, are they not going to be overkill on a SIB under 3m with a 6hp motor on it? (total weight about 65kg)
It's unlikely that I will be launching it from anything other than a slipway. All I need is to avoid having to drag the boat along the floor. Won't the plastic type wheels do the job? How do the plastic ones differ (can't find any info or photos), do they just bolt on and stay underneath (not retractable).

Don't forget, I'm a complete novice. It's just that those pneumatic tyres look a bit big for my tiny craft!

codprawn · 29 June 2009, 20:48

I agree the big wheels may be a bit of overkill IF you have 3 people to help you with the boat each time. If not then they are essential. They swing up out of the way when you have launched. You only remove the leg(not bracket) when you are putting it in the bag - just one bolt so easy.

The plastic wheels are ONLY any good on firm flat hard surfaces - if you cross sand or grass or whatever they are crap. IF you stick to slipways they will be okish but the main advantage os a SIB is you can launch anywhere - why stick to a slip? Launch off a beach or even chuck it in the river or a lake.

thornbackflound · 29 June 2009, 21:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

I agree the big wheels may be a bit of overkill IF you have 3 people to help you with the boat each time. If not then they are essential. They swing up out of the way when you have launched. You only remove the leg(not bracket) when you are putting it in the bag - just one bolt so easy.

The plastic wheels are ONLY any good on firm flat hard surfaces - if you cross sand or grass or whatever they are crap. IF you stick to slipways they will be okish but the main advantage os a SIB is you can launch anywhere - why stick to a slip? Launch off a beach or even chuck it in the river or a lake.

Totaly agree ,good reply Codprawn ,id be lost with out my wheels on my SMALL sib,shingle sand ,don t matter i can launch ,them dolly wheels ain t no good on shingle and wet sand. bloody useless

chris123 · 29 June 2009, 21:24

The dinghy dolly wheels like these:

http://www.force4.co.uk/525/Force-4-...ampaign=pid525

do fold up, and as you have noted are much smaller and less obtrusive.

My last SIB had them, and I found them fine for slipways, tight packed gravel and grass. I never used them on loose gravel or sand, but a lot of people on here do not like them and reckon their performance on these surfaces is poor. Maybe less of an issue with a small / light setup (65kg is probably about 1/2 the weight of my old setup)?

My new SIB is a lot heavier and I have fitted pneumatic tyred transom wheels. I find they get in the way more and are more hassle to use for several reasons. Others may disagree with me

Cheers

Chris

m chappelow · 29 June 2009, 21:30

i cannot speak for all slipways but most have a few ruts and rough parts along with the normal grooves to get tyre grip then small stones and pebbles that may get washed up ,small hard plastic wheels find evey nook and cranny ,dont forget not all beaches are of the same type of sand, some firm others soft sinking sand so i would go for large wheels or pnumatic tyres if possible ,i have now made a fold up dolly for my sib using 2 pices of scaffolding poles that bolts in the middle like a T and some of those 8 inch mini motorbike wheels that kids ride illegaly on from a car boot sale since the photo was taken .though i suppose it depends on how long the slip is and how far you have to go with it .. pic of our pristine slip at teesmouth.though it is private members only,

PeteH · 29 June 2009, 22:01

Just to add,you may launch from a slip and land on a beach for example,the tide goes out a little way and you have sand to deal with,
im coming around to the idea of launching wheels.

m chappelow · 29 June 2009, 22:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeteH

Just to add,you may launch from a slip and land on a beach for example,the tide goes out a little way and you have sand to deal with,
im coming around to the idea of launching wheels.

and its easier to move the boat up the beach out of the tide range should you want to have a walk about onshore for a while ,saves worriing about burying the anchor .then get it back down in the water in again if the tides gone back out .

lightning · 30 June 2009, 16:18

Just waiting for it to arrive now! Will post my experiences when we've been out on it.