Squashing a Searider!!! (apologies to RW!)

[George8910]

Following the splendid advice offered on ribnet I have been searching for a searider 4.7 to fit in a garage - these seem to be rare beasts however - by contrast 5.4s seem to be more plentiful...

and so (as baldrick might say) is it a cunning plan to mildly deflate a 5.4 so it would fit in a garage, width is fine, or is this simply crazy desparate talk by a landlubber??

Regards
George

[Nick Hearne]

Sound like a cunning plan to me, if it fits & you get a bigger boat! Which all make good sense!

[SimpleSimon]

5.4 much better handling - you can't go wrong

will take you 5 mins to inflate

[codprawn]

What about the trailer???

[George8910]

Good point - I was thinking about a folding/detachable draw bar...

[Bilge Rat]

George.... my 4.7 fits nicely into my garage width wise and the height of the standard sized garage door, i even had my A frame made to measure with folding arials etc so its still just scraps in :-)

A close friend of mine has a 5.4 searider and we've tried getting his in my garage, firstly we found the turning circle a lot more, as i have to fit the boat between two houses we dont have a great deal of turning space before it has to fit into the garage, secondly the draw bar and the extra lenght makes it much longer than 5.4 metres, altold its nearer to 6 + metres, also he has a higher A frame and fixed ariels, in the end we gave up as we started hitting walls and denting things.

Ribcraft advertise the 4.8 as still being able to fit into a standard sized garge, so if your garage is a standard size this is max your'll get into it without significant alterations to the garage.

Altering a garage isn't such a bad idea, i've seen one with a big hole cut out of the door which allows the draw bar to stick out when the door is shut, i've also seen a garage with a hole cut through the back wall into the garden, the boats rolled in and the draw bar slips through the hole into the garden.
Both not idea but a damn site more secure than leaving your boat out or somewhere else, remember your biggest security aspect is that know one knows its in there.

[Biggles]

Good idea the internal length of my garage is 5 metres.

I even toyed with putting the boat in nose first and knocking a few bricks out at the back of the garage. I've got a small leant shed behind the garage for the lawnmower and this would have hidden it. I haven't told her indoors, I'd have to do it when she was at work and keep the old bricks for when I move.

I have since got my hands on a 4 meter Sea Rider and have found this to be quite a seaworthy boat. I shall keep it for a while and see how it goes.

Like you I'd like a 4.7 meter boat but as you say they are rare as Rocking Horse S__t.

Best of luck. If you do get one keep us posted with some pics.

[George8910]

Thanks Bilge

It's possible the garage could be modified - would the hull still be too long even with deflated tubes - discounting trailer length?

George

[George8910]

Originally Posted by Biggles

Good idea the internal length of my garage is 5 metres.


Like you I'd like a 4.7 meter boat but as you say they are rare as Rocking Horse S__t.

Best of luck. If you do get one keep us posted with some pics.

Thanks Biggles
I checked with Avon and they will retube a 5.4 to original spec with warranty for under £3k - it's probably cheaper to extend the garage than buy a ribcraft!

[Bilge Rat]

George

Not to sure it all depends on the actual lenght of the interior of your garage measured against the total lenght of the boat on the trailer, also remember the height of the consol on top of the boat, if the garage is fairly high then you wont have a problem, mine has canoes, wood and god only knows what else strapped up inside the roof space and the boat only just fits in.

Biggles if you do knock a hole through the back it might be worth doing it properly and putting in a lintle, this way you might save the back wall sagging, all depends on the construction of course.....remember though guys garages were designed for cars, your trying to fit a boat on a trailer into it.

So when i went to look at my boat i took the exact measurments of my garage with me and measured the boat, the previous owner thought i was nuts but it meant i'd bought something i knew i could store at home easilly.