Zodiac cadet fastroller 3.4 yam 15 2 stroke

RibinSpain · 28 May 2009, 11:22

Hi all & fabulous wealth of info on sibs here. I am thinking of buying the above set up for local pottering about in, exploring the bays, snorkelling etc. I am q aware of their limitations but has anyone any 1st hand experience of the following:

Choppy seas - the Med gets a bit rough with the heat & winds. Can a planing 3.4 airdeck turn over or does it just feel like it will?

Comfortable cruising range of c 10 miles, or a couple of hours or so, is this asking too much?

I like the Zodiac over the QS airdeck due to the tube diam & you tend to sit higher, I know they are more to buy but I am not that concerned, more safety conscious.

There will be 2-3 adults max, sarnies, beers & that's all.

Any advice much appreciated, or anything else I should be thinking of.

Cheers all & happy sibbing

codprawn · 28 May 2009, 13:05

Any boat can turn over!!!

Having said that remember an inflatable can handle very rough seas.

Do you REALLY need an airdeck? If you are taking the boat apart all the time then yes - if you keep it inflated on the roof of the car then wooden floorboards are better.

I have a 3.1m Quicksilver with a suzuki 15hp 4 stroke - I have used it to cross 26 miles of open sea - but the weather was very good. It will do 24mph with 3 passengers. If you don't get out of sight of land you will have enough speed to out run the weather.

Big ocean swells are no problem - short sharp waves aren't so nice.

Sitting lower in the boat will make it more stable.

Fit launching wheels to the boat - makes life so much easier. Carry a hand held GPS - some flares - lifejackets and you will be fine - along with a handheld VHF or a mobile phone in a small freezer bag.

Remember if you do end up in the water the boats are quite easy to turn back over - at least the Med is a lot warmer than our waters!!!

RibinSpain · 28 May 2009, 19:18

thanks Codprawn v useful info. I saw the 3.1 airdeck on b&o but am holding out for a 3.4, the airdeck pref as I want to store it in the back of my car.

What's the biggest cause of flipping it over, the wind underneath on the plane & a rogue wave? I suspect there isn't anything other than a bit of gravity holding the thing down.

Appreciate your views so far, cheers

BumbleAbout · 29 May 2009, 12:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by RibinSpain

Choppy seas - the Med gets a bit rough with the heat & winds. Can a planing 3.4 airdeck turn over or does it just feel like it will?

If you head into a strong wind in large waves, then there can be little between "feeling like it will turn over" and "actually turning over". Although I find that the children don't want to go out when the waves are too big anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RibinSpain

Comfortable cruising range of c 10 miles, or a couple of hours or so, is this asking too much?

If the sea isn't too rough (a combination of wave height + wind strength + passenger terror !) then it's fine - but passengers can get bored if the beer runs out ...

jyasaki · 29 May 2009, 15:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by BumbleAbout

Although I find that the children don't want to go out when the waves are too big anyway.

If the sea isn't too rough (a combination of wave height + wind strength + passenger terror !) then it's fine - but passengers can get bored if the beer runs out ...

Tell the kids to bring more beer...

jky

Keith Hart · 30 May 2009, 07:45

Quote:

Choppy seas - the Med gets a bit rough with the heat & winds. Can a planing 3.4 airdeck turn over or does it just feel like it will?

Not as rough as the North Atlantic around the Scottish Highlands I'll bet and my 3.4m SIB has been out in that plenty of times!

I agree with Codprawn apart from the bit about the airdeck though. If I was lifting the SIB off the roof of a car I'd prefer the airdeck as it will be much lighter.

If you have some weight in the front of the boat it will be much less lively and feel less likely to 'turn over' but as Codprawn says any boat can turnover. At least if the SIB did it will stay afloat!

Keith Hart

RibinSpain · 30 May 2009, 07:51

Thanks for the advice.

What sort of fuel consumption do you reckon I would get with a 15hp 2 st pushing the 3.4 fastroller? My tank is 22l so I was hoping to get a full day out, say 6 hrs pottering about.

Cheers

Sinistre1 · 31 May 2009, 17:27

I have a 15hp Johnson, 2 stroke and the consumption is pretty much fixed at wide open throttle regardless of the "weighting" of the boat. it's about 1.5 GPH. The only thing that will change much at WOT is speed/ distance covered, but you will essentially be burning the same amount of fuel per hour regardless of the amount of gear/ people in the boat and such. Consumption is pretty much set by chamber volume and rpm. As long as there are no real changes to either, the engine will always consume the same amount of fuel at WOT (give or take a small percent for Gremlins).

I assume you will get similar "mileage" measured in the available number of hours of WOT burn. Keep in mind though, the actual distance you cover can vary DRASTICALLY with just about any change in variables such as wind, tide, weight, balance, tube inflation, piloting skills, and stock market valuations! (well kidding about the wind part. Lol).

RibinSpain · 06 June 2009, 20:04

hi, thanks for info. At 6l per hr flat out a days blasting about is cheap. I can't wait to get started now.

Cheers

Sinistre1 · 07 June 2009, 00:10

Let me know how you do in the Zodiac. Top speed and such. Always like to know how other sibbers are making out in their rides. I know what you mean about fuel costs for the day. With the cost of gas climbing again, it's nice to know it doesn't cost more than $20 for me to be out on the water all day!!!

BumbleAbout · 07 June 2009, 11:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Tell the kids to bring more beer...
jky