DIY SIB improvements ?

[The Gurnard]

I confess...I love all small boats.. SIBS in particular ..of which I have three..all different sizes and they all get used regularly.

If the weather is too rough to put to sea, I will happily spent my free boating time, pottering around making things to improve them and make my life easier. Some work, some dont, some look pretty and other look damned ugly but I sure have fun making them.

The best improvement that I have made to my small SIBS is a spray dodger that works. They keep my boating experiences much drier and more comfortable. I make them from scraps that cost me nothing as I had the materials already to hand. I had an old plastic tarpaulin kicking arond the shed that cut up easily and was also easy to sew the odd seam in. For the rear edge support which holds the shape ..I used a flexable stringer from an old kite and have also, in the past, used a broken piece off a rod that electricians use to install cables in small conduits. Anything will do as long as its flexable but reasonably strong.

Here are some photos of the smallest boat in my fleet.. with the DIY spray dodger .. and I wouldn't dream of going to sea now without it :-D

It takes thiry seconds to clip onto the boat and utilises fitting that were already glued to the SIB by the munufacturer.

Does anyone else make DIY improvements to their SIBS ? And if so.. care to share the ideas ?

I have a few more DIY ideas if there is any interest ...

[lightning]

That is pretty impressive.

It looks like it is supposed to be there and l am sure will be a useful addition to the boat.

[hadd]

Originally Posted by The Gurnard

I confess...I love all small boats.. SIBS in particular ..of which I have three..all different sizes and they all get used regularly.

If the weather is too rough to put to sea, I will happily spent my free boating time, pottering around making things to improve them and make my life easier. Some work, some dont, some look pretty and other look damned ugly but I sure have fun making them.

The best improvement that I have made to my small SIBS is a spray dodger that works. They keep my boating experiences much drier and more comfortable. I make them from scraps that cost me nothing as I had the materials already to hand. I had an old plastic tarpaulin kicking arond the shed that cut up easily and was also easy to sew the odd seam in. For the rear edge support which holds the shape ..I used a flexable stringer from an old kite and have also, in the past, used a broken piece off a rod that electricians use to install cables in small conduits. Anything will do as long as its flexable but reasonably strong.

Here are some photos of the smallest boat in my fleet.. with the DIY spray dodger .. and I wouldn't dream of going to sea now without it :-D

It takes thiry seconds to clip onto the boat and utilises fitting that were already glued to the SIB by the munufacturer.

Does anyone else make DIY improvements to their SIBS ? And if so.. care to share the ideas ?

I have a few more DIY ideas if there is any interest ...

Hi gurnard I've just bought the same little boat, Avon redcrest can you tell me what size of engine you use on it,the spray cover looks great !! Think I'll have a go & make one myself

[The Gurnard]

Originally Posted by hadd

can you tell me what size of engine you use on it,

That is an easy one to answer hadd ..2hp ..anything bigger just twists the motor attachment into the rubber round tail.. you need a wooden transome if you want a bigger engine..however I love puttering around with the 2hp ..trolling a mackerel spinner behind me.

Although I go to sea in this one.. as soon as the waves start to show signs of breaking..im heading for land as fast as my 2hp will go :-D

It rows well too.. just as well as I normally like a back up engine when at sea ..which is not possible in this round tail.

Thanks for your kind comment too lightning ..its appreciated

[Portnahaven]

Excellent dodger. Looks very professonal.
Will have to have a good root around the garage.

[The Gurnard]

Thanks for commenting Portnahaven. For me ..the real beauty of DIY "improvements" are they dont cost much.

Here is a photo of another little project that makes my life easier on the smaller size SIBS. Its just a wooden plank as a seat. I find the original seat position a bit too low for me. The plank sits on top of the tubes and give an extra two inches of height for my long legs. To pad my posterior ..I fixed two "kneeling pads" to my seat area. They are available from garden centres and very much cheeper than seat cushions from yacht shops. They dont seem to rot in the marine environment and dont absorb any water.. but are quite a comfortable support for my boney buttocks.

On the ends of the plank, I made two wooden boxes without lids. They are a good fit for two tupperware lunch boxes which have tight waterproof seals on their lids. I keep my tools..camera.. car keys.. small hand flares etc in these boxes so they are always to hand. The boxes also help to deflect any waves that try to get over the tube sides from running along the plank and wetting my seat.

This spray dodger is a bit bigger than the one on my Avon..so I back stay it too. I can keep relatively dry in this setup



Next..I will show how I have developed a means for me.. an old, seven stone weaking.. to carry my 52kg 25hp 2 stroke engine from car boot to boat ..without giving myself a hernia.

Thanks to all for looking...Im still hoping some of you will share your DIY ideas too

[kerny]

Some great pics with your ideas and improvements there Gurnard

Keep them coming

[rossymtb]

Can't wait to see this invention for carrying the big outboard. Both your ideas look really professional.

[Perroboy]

Nice mods.How is the seat attached? Did you use the original plastic fittings or some other mod?I need to make a seat for my 4.2 Sea Search.

[The Gurnard]

kerny ...You keep watching ..and I will keep em coming

rossymtb ..you will kick yourself when I show how I do it.. its a very simple solution.. in fact ..so simple..most folks dont think of doing it this way....until the penny drops that they may have been doing it the wrong way for years .. I will reveal all soon...

perroboy ..you are in luck ..because.. like you I needed another seat for my latest aquisition..a 4.3m quicksilver SIB

I was horrified when I found the price a dealer wanted for a new one. So I made my own for a fraction of the cost.

In fact..I consider mine better as it is wider so that larger posteriors can fit without their blubber sagging off the sides of a narrower plank

The quicksilver SIB has a strap attached to the top inside of the tubes. The original seat has an angled plastic "flange" that slots under the strap and when the tubes are fully inflated..the seat is firmly attached to the boat.

I dont have any plastic flange in my shed..but I did have four steel angle brackets. I put the same angle in the steel brackets as was in the plastic flange.

Now that my steel brackets are attached to a pine shelving board (cost me 7 squids) the home made seat is also held firmly in place in my boat.

Once made..I primered then painted the wood and the brackets because steel will rust if left exposed. I then bound the brackets with a rubber sticky backed tape to pad them and help stop wear and tear to the tubes. The brackets are also fixed so they rest on the tube "pads" that holds the strap to the tubes..so even if over time..there is a little wear..the tubes wont get it..if that makes sense.

Ok ..i realise after a couple of seasons use..the steel may rust through the rubber tape and paint..and I will need to renew them ..but its still cheaper than buying stainless steel brackets.

If anyone has the plastic flanges and want to donate them to me..I will gladly swap the steel ones over..but I think that highly unlikely... ?

I finished my new seat off by mounting my fishing rod holders onto the edge. I knew it would be a problem trying to fix them to the tubes ..so the seat is perfet for the screws that hold the rod holders that will hold my next salmon to the boat until I get time to reel him in.

I will get some more kneeling pads from the garden centre too..just to pad the seating positions as seen in my little SIB photo.






The reason I started this thread.. is .. Im also making some fish box furniture to deck out the floor of my new aquisition..and wondered what others did to theirs ?


Keep watching if you want to see what fishbox furniture is... thanks for staying with me this far.

[rossymtb]

So far the only mod that I have done is to glue some foam mat to the floor board by the bow for where my little brother kneels when bouncing around on waves. Just to make it more comfy for him and the dog

[azzurro]

That's a smart dodger.

Let me tell you my story: my dodger is plain, as I just use it to keep cargo dry (I do not mind splashes, they are welcome in summer Med). And I moor my sib at the beach. This combination is lethal: usually seagulls go there and - well, the dodger is a restroom.

Thus, a non-horizontal dodger is not so comfortable for seagulls.

I need a dodger with that shape but stronger: when tiying the painter I have to lean over my dirty dodger.

[The Gurnard]

Hi azzuro ..thanks for looking in on this thread.

I envy you with your warm weather.. here in Scotland..it can get very cold on the water..even in summer time. It could just be my old bones feel the cold more though, so I try to stay as dry as possible.

I understand and sympathize with your seagull problem..as I get it on my boats too. I suppose we should just be thankful the cows dont fly and make a mess on our boats too

Hmmmmm... I can never think of any time that I would need to lean over my dodger to get to the painter ? Can you give a bit more detail as to when you would do it ?

I often see small boats with cabins up front and the crew climbing over the cabin roof and then balancing on the small front deck to recover the boats anchor. Or worse still ... lying flat on a small deck reaching down to get to the tied off painter while the boat bobs in the waves. This practice is wrong and quite dangerous..its too easy to fall overboard.

The correct way to tie off and recover painters or anchor ropes is to attach another rope to the painter/anchor rope and keep the other end in the boat. To explain better..I have recreated the situation on dry land as my boat in not in the water at present .... and attached the photograph.

Imagine the blue rope in my photo is the anchor rope tied off on the front rings of my SIB (ok..i know it should be a bridal connection to the two side rings..but for simplicity in this description ....I tied it to the front ring)

To retrieve my anchor..I dont clamber right to the front of the boat and lean over to reach the blue rope. I stand well back and pull the white rope which is tied to the blue rope. This pulls my blue rope (anchor/painter rope) into the boat and then I pull it in in a safe comfortable position... if all that makes sense ?

If its too rough a water to pull the rope over the side of the boat..I will use the alderney method which utilised a floating buoy..but Im not going onto that here as it takes a lot of practise to do it.

Forgive me if you know all this already ..but perhaps some people may benefit from this practice




Hi again rossymtb... sound like a good idea. I had a dog too but staffies dont like water so she didnt want to come on my small boats.. sadly..she is no longer with me.

[The Gurnard]

I have almost finished making the fishbox furniture for the front of my SIB, so I can now show some photographs of what I have been yabbering about.

Take one fishbox which was found on the shore. A plastic storage box which was found in a skip. A ply wood box that I made for a previous boat. A tin of primer and one of red paint...and you get this.



I cut the fishbox with an electric grinder, so that the plastic storage box is a tight fit in the middle of the fishbox. I also made a plywood lid for the storage box and painted it black.



The fishbox has holes in the bottom so its ideal for storing the anchor and its ropes in the side pocket. It will remain open to the elements.



The storage box is waterproof as there are no holes in it and the lid had side flanges. The lid is strong enough to sit on ..or use as a picnic table.. or a fish bait / cleaning cable. (I will make a plastic tray for when its used as the fish table)

I will keep flares ..lifejackets..and other stuff that needs to be keep dry in the storage box.



The other side of the fishbox will hold my inflatable pump, home made bailer, etc..stuff that doesnt need to keep too dry..but I will eventually make another ply lid for it. The wooden box is waterproof too so will keep my tools ..spare plugs for engine ..some 2 stroke oil ..and inflatable repait kit.. small stuff like that

So far... all this excellent starage space...has cost me the price of a tin of paint. It doesnt look too bad either..although I appreciate that may be a matter of opinion.

It will be strapped down to the mounts already on the boat so it cant shift in a chop. It is very light in weight and dismantles very easy.

Next.. to make ..is my console to hold the fishfinder..batterys.. compass ..and hand held VHF... coming soon ..

[spartacus]

That's not three boats, that's a fleet! Some ingenious modifications there!

[Locozodiac]

A pity that A model bow sibs like the Quicksilver loses so much front deck space. BTW, if you inflate more the Avon Redcrest, will engine rock less on engine mount ? Is that a slatted floor sib ?

Happy Boating

[The Gurnard]

Hi spartacus ..thanks for your comment, its appreciated ..I guess my modifications show what can be done when someone starts "thinking outside the box" ..if you pardon the pun.

Hi Locozodiac ..thanks for your comments, they are appreciated too.

I guess it depends what we use our boats for ..whether I have lost the front deck space or not ?

Here is a brief description of my usage ...

My family have long left , so 90% of the time..Im on my own in the boat..and I prefer that, as Im a bit of a lone wolf. I like my comforts so carry a lot of gear. I use the boat for day long excursions into the remote areas of Scotland. Ok ..I dont take the kitchen sink with me..but I do take aux outboards and all the safety gear..fishing gear .. BBQ gear etc.

Here is a photo of my first day in this boat..and I consider everything taken was essential. However it was all just thrown aboard as I was very impatient to try her out.

Now... in my opinion ... my modifications make a far more elegant solution and I want weight up front..so that I can have the main and aux engine dangling off the transom. So Im glad that I have gained the front deck space in this boat to store it all there..if that makes sense ?

Where do you store your gear ?



I also like disappearing into the wilderness on "camping trips" in my boats. Here is a photo of my "cabin cruiser"..where I have had many a good nights sleep. In the better weather ... I often give myself the challenge that I have to survive a week in the wilds .. without food..except for the fish that I catch. If I dont catch any fish..I sometimes eat the bait..and I hate shellfish. I usually crap like a seagull after these self imposed challenges though.

You may ask ...Why not camp on land ? But if you have ever spent a night ashore with Scottish midges..you will understand why I prefer sleeping over the water.



I do occasionally intend sleeping on board my SIB once I get a "tent" rigged on her..so again..I want everything ..up front.. then I have the main floor space for the camp bed.


Re the Avon.. its pumped up hard when I use it.. but its still too flexible for my 3.3 mariner outboard..the detachable outboard bracket start to detach itself from its mounts on the hypalon.... its just the nature of that little boat.

It has a hypalon floor with a 5mm piece of marine ply for the rear floor..it bends to your shape if you sit on it.... so there is no rigidity anywhere. I think if you got it rigid enough to put an outboard on it to make it plane..it would be too dangerous and directionally unstable for use.

However ... someone else may say its great fun with a 10 horse engine. Everyone has different ideas on the use of their boats..which is what makes us all different.

[Max...]

Originally Posted by The Gurnard

... I often give myself the challenge that I have to survive a week in the wilds .. without food..except for the fish that I catch. If I dont catch any fish..I sometimes eat the bait..and I hate shellfish. I usually crap like a seagull after these self imposed challenges though.

...Everyone has different ideas on the use of their boats..which is what makes us all different.

Great stuff and congratulations on your challenge! I like a bit of (mild) bushcraft myself but hats off to you for the above.

[camelgas]

Gurnard : Nice mods , keep the pictures coming. very pleasing too building your own stuff, I always find. keep up the good work.

[The Gurnard]

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement Max and camelgas ..its appreciated.


They say necessity is the mother of invention... and I agree ..all it takes is a little “thinking out of the box”


I have had this boat around three weeks now and Im still finding my way about it. I love the boat and the engine.. but I find the trailer difficult to get on with.


Its a heavy brute and a bit rusty from the dunkings in the sea from its previous lives. I checked the bearings as soon as I had swapped my other boat set up for it and as expected ..they were rusty..so I changed them out before towing the boat home.


I have trailered it two journeys of around 200 miles round trip each already and I go on holiday at the weekend and want to take it to the far north of Scotland. I wondered how the inflatable would get on being towed all these miles as there are no mudguards on the trailer. I assumed the boat acted as mudguards.


I searched this forum to see what other did to protect their SIBS while towing and thats when I found that the trailer isn’t legal .. it must have mudguards.

A slight panic as I realised I am working until Friday evening ..then hoped to depart early Saturday morning, so no time to think about ordering any in time for the weekend. However a quick look in my store shed soon settled my panic. I saw another plastic box that I had rescued from a skip.


This one is flexible but hard plastic around 5mm thick. The angle grinder soon cut in it half. A piece of 10mm exterior ply screwed to its base made it rigid enough to bolt a couple of pieces of 1” galvanised square tube to the home made mudguard.


Some more thinking out the box for DIY mudguards




This was then bolted to the trailer arms with 8M galvanised bolts.




This is how it will look to the traffic police if they want a look ..hopefully its legal ? .. it is certainly sturdy enough...and it will protect the bottom of my SIB






I mentioned at the start of this thread that some of my DIY improvements are plain ugly and this is one of them..but if its functional..it will do me in the short term.. and allow me go on holiday with piece of mind..


I have not forgotten about showing the method I use to lift the 25Hp engine from the car to the boat without giving myself a hernia.. I will show it before I go one holiday.

Thanks again for looking and to those who comment.