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Old 07 June 2018, 20:38   #1
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Country: Other
Town: Anchorage, Alaska
Boat name: Nader
Make: Portabote
Length: 4m +
Engine: 6hp Merc-atsu
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 4
Hello from Alaska

Hello I've been lurking around here for a while and finally got around to joining. I live in Anchorage, Alaska and I'm looking to buy my first inflatable. I sailed in Monterey, California quite a bit as a kid and also did a fair amount of rowing and canoeing on rivers and lakes. We like to fish and hunt with our young children. I recently bought a used 12' portabote and new Mercury 6hp 4 stroke. It works great for my family when we putter around on lakes fishing, but I don't think it's quite up to saltwater use up here. I jokingly call it the Nader because it's "unsafe at any speed"!

So I'm in the market for an inflatable boat that can fit in the bed of my pickup when we're towing our camper(caravan). Can't do a trailer because im already towing something behind the truck and I'm not too keen on rooftop storage either. I'm very interested in the F-RIB 430 and I'd like to know more about the Solar 420/450. I really need a boat with a V hull for the rough seas we can encounter without warning, so I'm not interested in a traditional flat bottom SIB with aluminum floor. I'll likely run the 6hp on lakes and tough to access spots, and upgrade to a 20hp Mercury or Suzuki for ocean trips.
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Old 10 June 2018, 09:46   #2
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Country: Australia
Town: Melbourne
Make: Zodiac
Length: 4m +
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 7
Welcome and you'd definitely have some unique operating environments up there...also makes me feel a bit like a sook now complaining about winter back here at home now lol
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Old 10 June 2018, 10:24   #3
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Country: UK - England
Town: Cambridgeshire
Boat name: Nimrod II
Make: Aerotec 380
Length: 3m +
Engine: Yam 15 Tohatsu 9.8
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 8,293
Welcome to the forum... as Sirens says... you will have some very different operating conditions to the average forum member.

In truth the Frib is a shallow hull with little more V than some normal alloy floor SIBs... and the Frib lacks the shock absorbing flex of a "fabric" hull. I read an Frib owner's comment a few days back where he commented along the lines that get a wave wrong on an Frib and the shock would slam through your spine right to your teeth.

Obviously they have the qualities of a hard hull which might suit you operationally... and this hard hull shallow V gives very efficient performance for any given OB size which may also suit you.

But they are expensive and I guess getting one to Alaska might be an issue so you need to be as sure as possible they are the right boat before ordering.

No experience of those Solar boats but I've watched many videos of that ribbed tube floor design type in shallow Russian rivers... with a jet OB their ability is amazing.



But I've also seen videos of them on open water and they look to have a very joggly ride even in a small chop.

See around 2min on this video…

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Old 10 June 2018, 19:28   #4
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Country: Other
Town: Anchorage, Alaska
Boat name: Nader
Make: Portabote
Length: 4m +
Engine: 6hp Merc-atsu
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 4
The average guy up here runs a flat bottom aluminum boat with some sort of jet. They're great in the shallows but have a very rough ride. Come salmon season you see these same boats in the ocean taking a real beating! The jet boat fulfills the fantasy of exploring remote wilderness streams, but the reality is that most of us would be better served in a prop boat with a V hull.

I've gathered that the FRIB has a pretty shallow V and is a bit slammy in chop compared to a SIB. What kind of conditions produce the rough ride? Over 18" waves and high speed?

SOLAR makes a 420 and 450 V hull called the Maxima and we have a local guy that is importing them up here for the first time. Anyone know what weight material the SOLAR boats are made of? Very hard to find specs in English. None of these boats are cheap but minus VAT the price is not so bad.
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