Honwave 3.8 Air V Floor or 4.0 Alluminum

[surferbill]

Hello

i am planning buying either a Honwave 3.8m Air v floor or 4.0m Alluminum floor with a 20HP Fourstoke

I know the 4.0m is a lot heavier but after some advice on what the different handling will be at sea, which will be better in a rougher, performance etc

I plan on mostly using a trailer but maybe sometimes deflate it and put in the back of my transit if going on ferries etc

I am a keen surfer from thurso north scotland and am up for a bit of adventure and excitment, don,t mind getting wet.

Plan use it for general playing around, maybe getting to some of the more out of the way surf spots along the coast and on the islands, a wee bit of fishing that kind of think

like it to carry 3 people

Anybody with any thoughts, advice on these 2 boats

cheers

Andrew

[longjohn]

i am planning buying either a Honwave 3.8m Air v floor or 4.0m Alluminum floor with a 20HP Fourstoke

I know the 4.0m is a lot heavier but after some advice on what the different handling will be at sea, which will be better in a rougher, performance etc

I plan on mostly using a trailer but maybe sometimes deflate it and put in the back of my transit if going on ferries etc

I am a keen surfer from thurso north scotland and am up for a bit of adventure and excitment, don,t mind getting wet.

Plan use it for general playing around, maybe getting to some of the more out of the way surf spots along the coast and on the islands, a wee bit of fishing that kind of think

like it to carry 3 people

Anybody with any thoughts, advice on these 2 boats

cheers

Andrew [/QUOTE]

I had a 3.8 airfloor - I think the hull shape of these is definitely better that the aly floor and the boat handles very well. The external form is very similar to a shallowish V RIB and the v shape internally gives more room inside but floor isn't flat and the floor is quite difficult to get to the right pressure without and electric pump. Only downside if the airfloor is that there is no possibility of fitting a steering wheel and remotes. Boat is very lively with a 20 and in-fact is rated for up to 25hp. It was just possible to launch and recover singlehandedly without a winch on a fairly steep slip.

[bradosh]

Originally Posted by surferbill

Hello

i am planning buying either a Honwave 3.8m Air v floor or 4.0m Alluminum floor with a 20HP Fourstoke

I know the 4.0m is a lot heavier but after some advice on what the different handling will be at sea, which will be better in a rougher, performance etc

I plan on mostly using a trailer but maybe sometimes deflate it and put in the back of my transit if going on ferries etc

I am a keen surfer from thurso north scotland and am up for a bit of adventure and excitment, don,t mind getting wet.

Plan use it for general playing around, maybe getting to some of the more out of the way surf spots along the coast and on the islands, a wee bit of fishing that kind of think

like it to carry 3 people

Anybody with any thoughts, advice on these 2 boats

cheers

Andrew

recken air flow is better as you only have 1 item to carry and open to inflate.
the ali floor version would only be better in my opinion if you were fishing all the time.
we have a little 2.7 honwave with air deck and the handling is exellent .
so the larger version should be quality
like the idea of using a trailer with the 3.8m that would take alot of hassle away also leaving the engine attatched to the transom will save your back bone when flushing out and storing away

good luck with your choice both are quality boats fit for purpose

[MustRib]

Hi... I have had the Honwave 3.8 air floor for three years.
I started with a Mariner 15 hp 2 stroke and moved up to a Yam 20 d 2 stroke.

On a flat calm, the engine runs out of puff before the boat feels challenged.
Here are some of my ownership notes on the thing, I never had or considered the Honwave 4.0 with the rigid floor. There are a lot of posts on here regarding the Honwave 3.8 - just search on those words.

1) Buy the launching wheels - they are a bespoke item and not cheap but very very worth it.
2) My only time when I loaded the boat into the back of my landrover, with the engine and all the rest of the stuff, I almost passed out after 15 minutes from the petrol fumes from the tank. Just as bad with the tank empty as full.
In my opinion, boats and fuel belong on trailers not inside cars
3) The boat gets a decent enough V shape in the hull when the floor is inflated BUT in a moderate chop it is still very uncomfortable unless you are dawdling along.
4) Its very sensitive to trim. I dont sit on the stupid bench they provide, at the speed I want to go I want to sit IN the boat not ON it. So shuffling my position in the boat affects the trim dramatically. The floor flexes upwards when you get on the plane and does react to the changes in speed.
5) Unless you tie everything up in your boat, all your stuff will all inevitabley gather in the centre seam that joins the two air chambers in the centre of the floor.
6) Glue four extra retaining loops to the floor around the existing tank tie strap points because the strap will not keep an adequate hold on the tank when the boat starts to get thrown around.
7) My own opinion again, but having had the boat out in a 6 foot swell with a fairly short distance between crests and a good wind blowing, I grew a bit alarmed at the way the boat creased up at the point where the tubes start to point towards the prow. Normally it feels fairly solid, but watching the whole front of the boat bend up including the floor, and the tubes crease up I decided it was time to turn around....also bloody wet and uncomfortable It was RIB weather not SIB weather. I guess what I am saying is keep an eye on the conditions and be aware of the boats limitations.

Hope this helps - PM me if you have anymore questions.

[longjohn]

Originally Posted by MustRib

Hi... I have had the Honwave 3.8 air floor for
7) My own opinion again, but having had the boat out in a 6 foot swell with a fairly short distance between crests and a good wind blowing, I grew a bit alarmed at the way the boat creased up at the point where the tubes start to point towards the prow. Normally it feels fairly solid, but watching the whole front of the boat bend up including the floor, and the tubes crease up I decided it was time to turn around....also bloody wet and uncomfortable It was RIB weather not SIB weather. I guess what I am saying is keep an eye on the conditions and be aware of the boats limitations.

Hope this helps - PM me if you have anymore questions.

That sounds alarming - never saw that myself and went out is some quite rough conditions - sure your tubes and floor were pumped to the correct pressure? - as I said before I found it impossible to get the required pressure in the floor without a electric pump. The boat is very sensitive to the pressures and it needs to be correct to get the handling and sea-worthyness right. Rough seas are best negotiated with 2 people on board - thats bouncy enough - with one its very bouncy - and you need a tiller extension so as to be able to helm from far enough forward to get the balance right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FENvm2CvxTU

I found it stable enough to shoot the above video with one hand while helming with the other - going thro' the Old Harry race.

[CJS]

Hi LongJohn

Haven't seen you on here for a while....

What electric pump do you use - mine only inflates to 0.25bar and the final haul has to be made with a wretched hand pump. I am surprised they have made a portable electric pump that goes the whole way to 0.8 Bar.

In regards to the original poster - like Long John I also have the Honwave 3.8m V Floor with 20HP - excellent boat, I have been out in some choppy conditions and have not experienced tubes bending as yet.

I have noticed though that the boat performs better with two people seated midship on the tube with tiller extension.

[longjohn]

Originally Posted by CJS

What electric pump do you use - mine only inflates to 0.25bar and the final haul has to be made with a wretched hand pump. I am surprised they have made a portable electric pump that goes the whole way to 0.8 Bar.

I

This is the pump you need - excellent but pricey bit of kit - they also do one with a built in rechargeable battery which is much more convenient for a SIB without electric start (ie not having a battery)

http://www.marinedirect.co.uk/bravo-...-hp-p-261.html

PS I've progressed to a bigger RIB - not so pressure sensitive as the hull is rigid
John

[MustRib]

7) My own opinion again, but having had the boat out in a 6 foot swell with a fairly short distance between crests and a good wind blowing, I grew a bit alarmed at the way the boat creased up at the point where the tubes start to point towards the prow. Normally it feels fairly solid, but watching the whole front of the boat bend up including the floor, and the tubes crease up I decided it was time to turn around....also bloody wet and uncomfortable It was RIB weather not SIB weather. I guess what I am saying is keep an eye on the conditions and be aware of the boats limitations.

Ok - so didnt want to give the impression the boat was bending in two!!!!
But, it was flexing more than I felt comfortable with.
I do have the bigger Bravo that does go up to the correct floor pressure, but inevitabley have to top off with the foot pump.

These are extreme conditions and I suspect at the limit of the boats design being C rated.

[MustRib]

Thanks for posting the video of the Old Harry Race, but I was trying to plow through 6 foot breaking waves, so a little more extreme than the confused sea in the video....as I said probably more at the edge of the design limit.

[prairie tuber]

[YOUTUBE]FENvm2CvxTU[/YOUTUBE]