Drying your roll up SIB in the city

[Shafe]

Getting a SIB soon and will have to keep it rolled up between outings because I live in a condo in the city. For the same reason a trailer is out of the question for me.

After using it I will spray it down with freshwater but I can't imagine waiting around for it to dry before I roll it up.

So do you guys without trailers roll yours up wet? Do you unroll it in your yard to dry?

Does anyone else not not have a yard or trailer like me? How do you dry your boat? Do you towel it down then roll it up? Does it matter?

If it matters, best I could conceive was rinsing it off then strapping it to my roof rack while still inflated to dry on the way home, then deflating it and rolling it up outside my condo...

[Landlockedpirate]

I just wash off with fresh water, then give it a quick dry off with a swimming towel. Its not completely dry, but the air will do the rest.

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Are you completely sure about going for the hard deck version without a trailer ? A boat of that size is a pain to put up and fold down and the extra weight and bulk of the floor is a major faff. Despite the compromises, the air decks are much better transportable boats.

I lasted 1 outing with my 4m, hard deck Honda before I bought a trailer.

[lockieboi]

After I use mine, I dry it with a towel at the slipway, put it away and then when I get home if I won't be using it for a while I'll inflate it and wash it down then pack it away again.

Pain in the you know what these SIB's!!!

[The Gurnard]

Originally Posted by Landlockedpirate

I lasted 1 outing with my 4m, hard deck Honda before I bought a trailer.

Yup.. I can understand that completely. I have a 4.3m hard deck. Its only at the end of the season that I haul the floor out.. to flush it all out underneath the floor..simply because how difficult it is.. its not just the 20 minutes or so that it takes.. its the skinned knuckles I often get and sore back leaning over tubes at awkward angles .. fighting to get the side joiners out.. however I appreciate that is going off the topic of the question being asked.

Shafe.. I have a 2.8m , cheap production line PVC SIB from China..so its not best quality. It is somewhere in the region of 14 years old. And its used every year. After an outing..I roll it up ..slip it in its bag and shove it back in my shed. Its only cleaned with fresh water and dried at the end of the season..and it has not shortened it life one bit It can get a bit of mildew looking marks on it that wash off during its next use.

However..Im not sure I would want to store it wet with salt water and sea scum ..in my living room

[Shafe]

Thanks guys. Hearing these complaints certainly gives me pause on the HD. I will definitely do more research and try and find a way to test both methods before I make the decision. I have to think hard about how I will truly use this boat. I can put something over the air floor to protect it from my spearfishing gear but if I am going to go several miles out on calm days I will take more comfort with the HD. The question is really how often do I want a quick shoreline jaunt and how often will I do a full day excursion where 20 extra minutes of set up are worth it.

The thing is, I'm using this for spearfishing and I live 45 minutes from the ocean and go out for 4-6 hours each time. It is basically a full day on the water. So quick one hour outings where I want to get on and off the water quickly aren't something I'm going to do. I pretty much dedicate the whole day for spearfishing...

Gurnard: I do have a parking spot and big balcony to store the SIB thankfully! And my living room is where I store my spearfishing crates anyways

[The Gurnard]

Im a bit like you Shafe, in that its around a two hour drive for me to get to decent coastline for exploring.. so I don’t go for an hour a time..I go for a full day.. normally tide to next tide ...twelve hours..and I can easily do 50 or 60 miles in that time if I am exploring.

Im also a very determined old bugger of 60 years old. I am quite happy lugging a 25HP two stroke across 200 hundred yards of rocky shore myself .. and shoving a 150kg of boat on a trailer across the same shore.. but I will draw the line at fitting a floor everytime I want to use the boat .. so do try before buying.

I have the small 2.8m inflatable with a 3.3hp for an hours outing..if I want to do that.




It may also be worth mentioning that a smaller boat in experienced hands is less likely to get into trouble than a bigger boat in less experienced hands. I have no idea of your boating experience but it took me a long time before I would venture into situations which involved exposed crossings. I built up that confidence and skill over a few years.

You are doing the right thing though.. considering all options ..and asking for opinions off others... then make your own choice

[Mickhitchuk]

I have to say I suddenly feel very lazy, I have a honwave which is my second one and the only time I clean it is when I'm going to sell it, when I blow it up to use it I give it a wipe, but they are made of rubber so what can happen to them?

[Peter_C]

Originally Posted by Mickhitchuk

I have to say I suddenly feel very lazy, I have a honwave which is my second one and the only time I clean it is when I'm going to sell it, when I blow it up to use it I give it a wipe, but they are made of rubber so what can happen to them?

I tend to agree. I wash my trailer if it hits salt water, the anchor and chain if it hits salt, and my rear mounts, but the hull itself? Never. I don't even wash the aluminum floor unless it gets sandy.

If I had an air deck boat it would be drying it with a towel, then when possible flush the motor (Hopefully with a flush kit so it doesn't have to be started making a lot of noise), and the transom wheels, as I am a firm believer in transom wheels. If still wet at home, maybe set it out somewhere to dry for a half hour or so.

[Shafe]

Originally Posted by The Gurnard

Im a bit like you Shafe, in that its around a two hour drive for me to get to decent coastline for exploring.. so I don’t go for an hour a time..I go for a full day.. normally tide to next tide ...twelve hours..and I can easily do 50 or 60 miles in that time if I am exploring.

Im also a very determined old bugger of 60 years old. I am quite happy lugging a 25HP two stroke across 200 hundred yards of rocky shore myself .. and shoving a 150kg of boat on a trailer across the same shore.. but I will draw the line at fitting a floor everytime I want to use the boat .. so do try before buying.

I have the small 2.8m inflatable with a 3.3hp for an hours outing..if I want to do that.




It may also be worth mentioning that a smaller boat in experienced hands is less likely to get into trouble than a bigger boat in less experienced hands. I have no idea of your boating experience but it took me a long time before I would venture into situations which involved exposed crossings. I built up that confidence and skill over a few years.

You are doing the right thing though.. considering all options ..and asking for opinions off others... then make your own choice

Thanks Gurnard. I'm definitely going to check out the different options in person before I decide. I want quick assembly, performance, seaworthiness, upgradeability etc and some of those qualities are mutually exclusive so I'm going to have to have a hard think and figure out what's most important.

And I appreciate all the comments greatly.

[Wild_Bill]

Originally Posted by Landlockedpirate

I lasted 1 outing with my 4m, hard deck Honda before I bought a trailer.

Same here: I took my hard-floor Zodiac out once and then said "Enough!" and bought a trailer.

[paddlers]

Definitely a knack to hard floors !

Did my Honwave 3.5 for the first time yesterday after an 8 hour journey towing the big boat + family........... I'm glad it's staying up for two weeks !