Inflatable boat for diving and fun!

HelmGuy · 01 March 2009, 20:04

Hi all, I need some help please!

I'm looking at maybe buying an inflatable boat that I'd like to use for diving from as well as generally having some fun.

I'm a member of a dive club and have access to a 6.5m Humber Destroyer with a 140HP 2 Stroke. That's great fun and we often take 8 divers + dive gear but I'm looking for something a little smaller an more manageable for myself.

Ideally I would buy a RIB but I also have a caravan so can't tow both the caravan and boat at the same time. Hence why I've been thinking about an inflatable that I can put in the car or even in the caravan for travelling and inflate on site. We do a lot of weekend and week long trips to the coast so it would stay inflated while on camp site.

To be useful I'd ideally like something that can take say 4 divers or 6 people without dive gear. Something that will handle the weight of getting divers to a dive site but also something I can take the family out on for some fun. It wouldn't have to deal with very bad sea conditions as we have the club boat for that sort of thing.

The ease of setting up and folding it away is important as I'll need to deflate it for travel and storage.

So in summary I'm looking for an inflatable that's solid enough and powerful enough for diving from but that's easy (or as easy as it can be) to set up and put away. Budget wise I don't know yet and would appreciate ideas on what sort of money I'd expect to pay.

Any suggestions on boat size, type, engines, etc.. would be appreciated. I'm new to this stuff so I'm sure there's lots of things I haven't considered yet. Again, any help or advise would be fantastic.

Thanks in advance,

Mark

fred bolton · 01 March 2009, 21:57

Life's all about compromises and I think you may have to make a few the smallest sib you will get away with is probably a 4.3m the problem with this is that they become quite heavy at this size the Quicksilver weighs 115kg so even if you can roll it up small enough to get it through the caravan door it will eat up a fair chunk of your van's loading capacity. Also you and a mate need to be strong enough, can you lift 2 bags of cement each? see here for quick silver specs. http://www.seamarknunn.com/acatalog/...ableBoats.html

Maybe if your car can take it you could put it on the roof!! makes a good wind deflector for the van

Then you have to consider the engine 25 -30 hp will weigh about 70kg

You will also need transom wheels so you will be talking well over 200kg for the outfit and then you have your diving gear that's a lot of weight

How about buying 2 X 3.4m sibs with 15hp on the back 2 divers in each and you have your own safety boat and your mates can buy one of them

HelmGuy · 02 March 2009, 07:39

Thanks Fred.

I've been trying to do some maths and I think that 4 divers with kit should come in 500-600 kilos. 5 or so "normal" people come in at less than 500kg. The Quick Silver 380 that you gave me a link to has a max load of 760kg. The 430 has a max load of 980kg.

So do that mean that either of those boats would handle what I want or am I'm too close to the maximum weights for the boat to perform well.

I noticed that the 380 can only take up to 25HP but maybe that'll be enough? The benefit I guess is that it'll be lighter. The boat itself it about 15kg lighter and the engines will be smaller and lighter also.

Something like this maybe?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=180330677990

As you say it's about compromises. Even if I'm restricted to 2 divers and a driver to man the boat I think I could cope with that. I'm trying to work out what would be the best compromise to give me a boat that I'll enjoy.

nexus · 02 March 2009, 16:30

I'm a diver too. My first inflatable was a 10.5' avon. With a 25hp on the transom it would do 30+mph with 2 fully kitted divers. The problem was that it was just too much of a hassle to setup/tear down each time. It's been (and continues to be) my experience that every day of diving turns out to be a long one. The extra 30-40minutes to unload the boat, inflate it, get the motor mounted. get all the other junk into the boat and THEN get suited and geared for diving was just too much.

The after-dive workload was even worse because not only are you tired but everything is wet and cold. It's just not very fun. Size wise the 10.5' would fit 3 adults comfortable without gear, but totally crammed full with gear. It was a workable dive platform for 2 adult divers with gear. Still cozy mind you, but not uncomfortable.

After a while I just never used the boat again. It was more work than it was worth in most cases.

I've since replaced it with a 14' achilles that is trailered. This is a night and day difference in general utility. Gear is mostly setup and mostly loaded in the boat before it ever gets to the water. We get the boat wet, park the car, get suited and go.

I know you are set against something on a trailer but if it's possible borrow a boat from a friend for a day. Actually do a test run with it. I can relate to the appeal of the IDEA of a boat that fits in the trunk. Unfortunately the reality is far harsher. Lug that thing to the water a couple of times. Get it set up. Tear it down. Dry everything off. Repack it. Repeat.

Oh and lots not forget about the unpacking again when you get home to rinse everything free of salt, flush your motor, etc.

SIBs are infinitely adaptable to the activities they can support, just need to consider the work that can go along with it.

fred bolton · 02 March 2009, 19:31

Hi Helmguy

I've no experience with bigger sibs so I can't really advise you However my 340 which is less than half the weight of a 380 is very lively one up, two up she goes really well, three up performance is ok so you can see how performance tails off with more weight. If it was me I'd ditch the van and get a tent then you can trail a boat. As Nexus says you need to try before you buy how about a trip to the local sib shop and see just how easy/difficult they are to manhandle, inflate and deflate. I can just about manhandle my sib solo but i would prefer to trailer it and avoid the hassle

the 3.8 on ebay looks good not sure about the price have a look at this - http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/EML407 and ignoring my own opinions on weight i like this - http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/F201631

jyasaki · 03 March 2009, 15:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by nexus

I've since replaced it with a 14' achilles that is trailered. This is a night and day difference in general utility. Gear is mostly setup and mostly loaded in the boat before it ever gets to the water. We get the boat wet, park the car, get suited and go.

I'd pretty much agree with Nexus. 4 divers on a 14' Achilles is at about the crowd limit (though I did, on occasion, carry as many as 7 divers, but that was fully kitted, ready to splash, we weren't going very far, and couldn't go anywhere fast.) You can carry more than 4 but it gets uncomfortably cramped pretty quickly. Not to mention that your time to plane gets rather long, expecially after the dive when you've got a bunch of water in the boat.

jky

HelmGuy · 03 March 2009, 15:58

At the moment getting a boat that travels on a trailer isn't something that I can handle - purely because most of the trips I'd want to use the boat I'd be towing a caravan so would have to rely on finding someone else to tow it for me. So maybe I'll have to stick with our clubs 6.5m rib for diving and get a boat that's for fun.

If that's the way I go what sort of boat size/engine sizes would people suggest for something that can take up to 6 people up and down the river on a Sunday afternoon and also take 4 out to sea. Obviously bigger is better but I'm looking for something that's small enough that travelling deflated in the car or caravan isn't too much of a hassle. Maybe something like a 3.8 with up to a 20HP engine?

John Kennett · 03 March 2009, 16:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by HelmGuy

Maybe something like a 3.8 with up to a 20HP engine?

Sounds like a good plan. Do a search here for for "airdeck" to see the pros and cons of different floor types.

Two to consider are a Bombard 380 Aerotec (inflatable floor) or a Quicksilver 380 Sport (floor boards). Both take up to 25hp, but a 20 would be fine. Either way try to get a 2-stroke as it will be much lighter.

GerryP · 03 March 2009, 21:31

........If that's the way I go what sort of boat size/engine sizes would people suggest for something that can take up to 6 people up and down the river on a Sunday afternoon and also take 4 out to sea.......
.....I'm a member of a dive club and have access to a 6.5m Humber Destroyer with a 140HP 2 Stroke. That's great fun and we often take 8 divers + dive gear but I'm looking for something a little smaller an more manageable for myself......

Just watching the thread develop. If you are interested in a boat for fun, that is at home on a river and at sea, capable of 6 plus people with storage capacity see mine for sale on RIBS FOR SALE - Avon ex RNLI D Class with 40hp 2st £1500. See details and if interested I can send more photos/details. If not suitable for you, how about your dive club?
Apologies for the plug - "but if you don't ask you won't get"
GerryP

John Kennett · 04 March 2009, 06:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by GerryP

see mine for sale on RIBS FOR SALE - Avon ex RNLI D Class with 40hp 2st

He's unlikely to have much luck rolling that up and trying to get it into his caravan!

Keith Hart · 06 March 2009, 09:09

I have to agree with Nexus. I now keep my SIB on a trailer as the hassle of the constant packing unpacking was a barrier to going out and enjoying the boat and that was without the hassle of getting diving gear on and off!. It would work if you were going away for a few days and could keep the boat inflated when you were at your base.

Keith Hart

HelmGuy · 06 March 2009, 09:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith Hart

It would work if you were going away for a few days and could keep the boat inflated when you were at your base.

That's a good point - thanks Keith.

I'd imaging that I'd mostly use the boat on weekends away when I'm off somewhere with my caravan. So I guess the time spent inflating it when I arrive on a site and putting away before I come up might not be as bad as it would be if it was just a day trip.

It sounds like the ideal situation for me might be to have a SIB on a trailer that I can keep inflated in my garage and tow to the local river, docks but can pack up to go in the car/van when I go away on long weekends or longer trips near the sea.

So it's now a case of just chosing the best comprimse of size over ease of handling. I'd ideally like as large as possible so that it's as useful as possible. But also want to be able to unpack, inflate, mount engine, deflate and put away by myself.

Still sounds like quick silver 380 with a 20hp 2 stroke is the sort of thing I should be looking at. Pricies for this sort of set up seem to be in the £2000 - £2,500 range.

Keith Hart · 07 March 2009, 07:32

Quote:

It sounds like the ideal situation for me might be to have a SIB on a trailer that I can keep inflated in my garage and tow to the local river, docks but can pack up to go in the car/van when I go away on long weekends or longer trips near the sea.

Result...

Keith Hart

treerat · 07 March 2009, 07:57

I had a yam 380s with a 25 on the back. It was ok inshore with 4 divers and kit, ok with 6 and no kit

It would just fit on the roof rack inflated, so with caravan on the back you'd just get away with taking it inflated.

I did end up with an ebay trailer as I was fed up blowing it up - but it would fit in the caravn if you needed it to.

Andy

fred bolton · 07 March 2009, 08:19

How about this one - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/quicksilver-in...3A1|240%3A1318

treerat · 07 March 2009, 08:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by fred bolton

How about this one - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/quicksilver-in...3A1|240%3A1318

That'll do it.

fred bolton · 07 March 2009, 09:13

or this - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/YAMAHA-3-8M-IN...3A1|240%3A1318

reinier · 07 March 2009, 11:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Kennett

Sounds like a good plan. Do a search here for for "airdeck" to see the pros and cons of different floor types.

Two to consider are a Bombard 380 Aerotec (inflatable floor) or a Quicksilver 380 Sport (floor boards). Both take up to 25hp, but a 20 would be fine. Either way try to get a 2-stroke as it will be much lighter.

If he's planning to go on a small 380 sib with 4 people and gear, 20 would NOT be fine, because you will need that extra 5hp.

prairie tuber · 08 March 2009, 05:12

An airdeck would be completely unsuitable if the boat will be loaded with diving gear.

treerat · 08 March 2009, 08:36

I had a 25 on the back - it needed it wit all he kit. Ali floor with a cow mat over to protect it, never tried an air floor but it wouldn't be as durable if throwing dive kit in and out.

Andy