Honwave 38 airdeck or Bombard aerotec 380?

[xchsurfers]

Originally Posted by uny1965

hi xchsurfers, Don't get me wrong, honwaves are great boats and the only reason I got rid of mine was because of the floor bend.
The shape of the bow gave a very dry ride and any water that did get in you could see, different story if you have an aluminum or wooden floor as you can't see under them to see how much water you have taken on board. (also a lot heavier)
A mate of mine had a yam 330s inflatable with plywood floor and we had to keep coming ashore every 15 mins to bail her out. (very low in the water and the bow wasn't as pronounced as many other sibs)
I moved on to the bombard aerotec 380 with 18hp tohatsu 2 stroke (short shaft) and have found the floor a lot more rigid and have not noticed any bend due to the more pronounced "v" shape along the whole length and the extra psi, but as i mentioned in the previous post, every sib seems to have its own little problems.

The bombard manual says short shaft outboard so you should be alright with your honda 20hp, but you will probably find that you have to pack the outboard up on the transom about 35-50mm with a block of wood (refer to pics in previous posts). It will take up to 25hp outboard.
Also I must mention the bombard only comes with silly little telescopic paddles that aren't attached to the boat unlike the honwaves that are fixed to the tubes.
All in all I have found it to be a great sib, quality build and fairly light weight.
We use ours for fishing and towing ringos and even with the 18hp its quite nippy.

Good luck and hope this helps. Regards. Paul.

Thanks Paul I think I`ll look round for Bombard 380 aerotec
regards Allen

[RayWilde]

Bought a Honwave 3.2 airdeck and after 3 outings traded it for a Honwave 3.5 with Aluminuim Deck. Much better boat a lot wider and no problems with boat flexing.