Excel Volaire 3.9

[Bigplumbs]

I had a look at the Volaire 3.9 at the Boatshow this week and was very impressed. Looked very spacious inside. The only thing that concerned me was the fact that the bow seems to have very little deadrise and I wonder how dry the ride will be in a little chop.

We took our Honwave T38 out into the solent which was quite rough and we managed to stay very dry with hardly any water over the bow at all

Dennis

[The Gurnard]

I hope you dont mind Dennis..but the phrase “it was quite rough but we managed to stay very dry” always makes me smile me when I read it with regards to small inflatable boats

Simply because if true .. it tells me that it wasn’t that rough or if it was choppy water..the wind was not the cause of it!!

I have been in car ferries in the rough and water comes over the side in certain conditions. Large RIBs and I have been soaked to the skin. Popular brands of fishing boats like Warriors and Alaska’s .. and the water is flying everywhere.

The Honwave in “quite rough” water is a wet boat despite your claims it is not..but it all boils down to what you think is rough.. a bit like that infamous Solent..which many think is the roughest water in the UK.

HonwaveT38 in a little rough stretch of Scottish water. It had plenty in the boat when we finally landed.





Only yesterday I was going round Borrowhead in the Solway firth in a F4 verging F5 with wind against tide and its a seven mile long stretch of coast with tide running at 4 knots.. I doubt your “quite rough” was the equivalent but I may be wrong. ?

Excel Volaire





But to answer your question The Excel Volaire I was with ships less water than the Honwave T38IE in many conditions..but if the wind is blowing the flying spray around..they probably ship around the same amount.

Why ? The Excel planes around half way along its length ..where the draggy Honwave planes much further forward.. which from my view running ...beside them ..makes it the wetter boat.

However no skipper gets wet on our quite rough seas.. simply because we wear drysuits..its the only sensible answer for boat wear in small wet boats

Hope that helps answer your question

[Fenlander]

Always Interesting to read more on the Volaire… it's a very good addition to SIB choices.

Donny can you flush out your PMs box, it's full and preventing messaging.

[The Gurnard]

Hi Fenlander..I have some space in the PM box again.

Yup..the Excel Volaire from what I see and talk to there owners is an excellent inflatable and anyone in the market for one should consider it. Some of my friends have both the Volaire and Honwave T38IE and prefer the Excel..but that is only their thoughts and for the use they use it for.. which is in any sea conditions ..we are not fussy.

Now if you were to ask my friend's dog for her opinion. .she would definitely say the Excel was the best..in the honwave she always fell into the deep floor.. now she loves standing on the Excel's flat floor looking over the side.. like a dog with their head hanging out a car window

I will keep away from which SIB is best though..as in my opinion there are only subtle differences between any of the popular brands .. and all have different compromises too..none are perfect. They all do as the say on the tin which is CAT C conditions although there are only a few folks I know who push them to the limits

But there are one or two exceptions that don't do as the say on the tin..and that is the "Friday afternoon built Boats" A little research will highlight the makes that appear to have quality control issues at present..

[Bigplumbs]

Is it true that the Volaire is about 15kg heavier than the T38. If so that does it for me as I think the T38 is already a handful for one

[The Gurnard]

Yup..you are correct Dennis.. that is one of the negatives for the volaire from a pick up point of view..

however as Im sure you well know..a heavier boat with a low CG is often far more stable in a chop..so as I mentioned earlier.. its all compromises with every boat.

Most guys I meet add extra weight to their honwave floors by putting in a heavy rubber mat. At least the Excel has the additional weight built in

While on the point of weights.. lifting a 20HP is a risky business or ever a honwave T38 on your own. I personally don't know anyone who has drowned from an inflatable boat .. possibly because everyone take proper precautions example life jackets VHF's etc.

However I do personally know three people who had to have painful hernia operations lifting heavy outboards..my old man was one of them. I never understand why people don't look after their bodies better ?

So take care whatever weight you lift. It used to amuse me on another forum when everyone said they can easily lift their outboards..yet when I met them on outings their boats were on trailers ?? When I asked why..they had every excuse under the sun for the trailer..but lifting the outboard was never one of them

The other compromise with the Volaire is iT skids round corners and in strong winds can be tricky manoeuvring at slow speeds..but the guys I go with don't do slalom runs so its not an issue for them.

Everyone is different..thats why there are so many boats on the market .IMO of course.

[Fenlander]

>>>skids round corners and in strong winds can be tricky manoeuvring at slow speeds..but the guys I go with don't do slalom runs so its not an issue for them.

Not a problem at sea as such with all that room and the ability to use power squirts to get where you want.

Now and again we go on the river which seems so benign but if the wind gets up it can make an utter fool of you in a skiddy boat and restricted circumstances.

There's a riverside eatery with pontoons near us with quite a fetch over an open marina pool as big as a lake. The wind is often blowing onto the pontoons and when it's strong well worth a pint watching the riverboats with little grip on the water being blown into places not of their choosing.

If they're weekly hire boats you'll need two pints to give them time to work out how to get out of the reeds and moored up.

[The Gurnard]

Yup..I can imagine Fenlander..one of my favourite pastimes is watching people who have little experience or no experience and then try to launch their boats.


Im sure you must have seen that too where you go. Also folks with little
experience come into pontoons etc..and that is not only flat bottomed boats ..that goes for any boat.

We tie up at pontoons too but because the guys know the limitations of their Volaires..they allow for the wind drift so land as professionally as I do in mine. We also consider tide drift etc..it is a skill as Im sure you well know.

But it is worth noting and also noting that in general...many inflatable boats drive like soggy mattresses ..I first hear that saying from the RNLI guys doing their thing on a display day many years ago..yet they too handled their inflatable boats with perfect precision

[Bigplumbs]

Donny

Earlier you mentioned dry suits you have to remember that I am a Southern Softie and am strictly a pair of shorts and T shirt sort of Boater. I have been known to don a fleece but that is that.

Dry suits are for our friends from over the wall or others who aspire to such greatness

[Bigplumbs]

I got the terrible urge at the show to buy a volaire 3.9 to see what it was like but also the 4.5 m spearfish (with my 9.8 on) and or a F rib. Those people at Nesaway boats are temptresses you know.

Her indoors had a little whinge at me and said something about new carpets so I bowed my head and went on my way to look at some contraption weighing 6.5 kg that floats and does all sorts of things. Her indoors also put the kybosh on that saying your Ar** was too close to the water in it for her liking

[Celticfox]

Ah, bigplumbs, that will have been the Kayacat! Got the chance for a little “play” from a dealer who does tasters on the canal near us - interesting bit of kit! Mixed views on its handling under sail,though there is a really active Facebook owners group where a lot of folk are “tinkering” and rebuilding the rigs to get some awesome performance. While I was impressed overall with the concept and amazed by the lightness (12 year old daughter throwing it about with one hand!), I would have concerns about its robustness if any where near anything sharp or jagged. Great for messing about on sandy beaches and “soft” lakes, but wouldn’t want to be on one near rocks!

As it happened, I stumbled across the chap and his taster session while out and about in my own Spearfish (a 550) - you did well to resist the temptation, but it is an awesome craft, and you really should succumb...

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Celticfox

Ah, bigplumbs, that will have been the Kayacat! Got the chance for a little “play” from a dealer who does tasters on the canal near us - interesting bit of kit! Mixed views on its handling under sail,though there is a really active Facebook owners group where a lot of folk are “tinkering” and rebuilding the rigs to get some awesome performance. While I was impressed overall with the concept and amazed by the lightness (12 year old daughter throwing it about with one hand!), I would have concerns about its robustness if any where near anything sharp or jagged. Great for messing about on sandy beaches and “soft” lakes, but wouldn’t want to be on one near rocks!



As it happened, I stumbled across the chap and his taster session while out and about in my own Spearfish (a 550) - you did well to resist the temptation, but it is an awesome craft, and you really should succumb...

I think you’ll find that Bigplumbs has moved on to troll pastures new & is no longer of this parish[emoji6]

[jambo]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

I think you’ll find that Bigplumbs has moved on to troll pastures new & is no longer of this parish[emoji6]

Aw dear!!

[beamishken]

If you realy want a Bigplumbs experience he seems to regularly irritate folk across on YBW motorboats forum. I only look in now and then but there often seems to be a bigplumbs spat going on.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by beamishken

If you realy want a Bigplumbs experience he seems to regularly irritate folk across on YBW motorboats forum. I only look in now and then but there often seems to be a bigplumbs spat going on.

Oh ! I wish you hadn’t told us that.....[emoji23]