Mercury Adventure 320 Enduro

andypandy · 27 January 2016, 15:29

Looking for SIB to be used in the sea with 15hp outboard and some freshwater fishing with smaller 4-6hp ,must have solid floor .Anybody used Mercury Adventure 320 Enduro?? Apparently it's re-branded Quicksilver. How does it compare qualitywise to Zodiac Cadet,Honwave etc ??
Thanks

office888 · 27 January 2016, 20:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by andypandy

Looking for SIB to be used in the sea with 15hp outboard and some freshwater fishing with smaller 4-6hp ,must have solid floor .Anybody used Mercury Adventure 320 Enduro?? Apparently it's re-branded Quicksilver. How does it compare qualitywise to Zodiac Cadet,Honwave etc ??
Thanks

It's a glued PVC boat. Probably about equal to Honwave?

Fenlander · 27 January 2016, 21:43

In the UK the benchmark for a budget but still decent SIB is the Honwave range. The alloy floor 3.5m (T35-AE) is discounted to around £800 at the moment. I've owned one and they are a huge amount of SIB for the money. If that Mercury Adventure 3.2 is any more than you'd need a specific reason to want it.

I'm guessing... like the Honwave... the Mercury would be Chinese made??

My personal opinion (from experience) is that for UK leisure use there is not much advantage to the Zodiac cheaper ranges (Cadet or Zoom) over a Honwave and they cost £500 more for a similar specification.

andypandy · 28 January 2016, 21:26

Thanks
Placed a bid and won myself a new SIB (£600 with leccy,battery and charger), I did think about Honwave but I'm not a fan of ally floor ,mercury comes with high-resistance composite (FRP) material floor (I think it's a new fancy name for plastic

) which should make it lighter.Now just need to source a small 4-6hp outboard.

Fenlander · 28 January 2016, 21:38

It will be interesting to hear what you think of the "plastic" floor and how firm it feels. In truth I'd rather a hardwood floor than alloy if I was looking for a non air floor boat and I'd expect that plastic might have a similar feel/stiffness to wood.

Well done on getting the SIB... a 4-6hp outboard should be easy to find... the 15hp you mention less so.

andypandy · 29 January 2016, 13:30

It shouldn't be a problem as I already have 15hp 2 stroke Suzuki (just need to service it and clean the carb)
I know I went the wrong way around but friend was selling his outboard for peanuts because he's moving to Portugal that's why I decided to get the SIB

Fenlander · 29 January 2016, 14:13

Oh that's a good start having the 15hp already... once the early season gets going in a couple of months prices of 15hp 2-strokes will firm up and it can be hard to drop on a deal. Should be a nice outfit.

andypandy · 07 February 2016, 10:09

got the carb cleaned and started the engine

I wasn't expecting it to start after second pull as it stood in a garage for almost 10 years .Best £200 I ever spent

https://youtu.be/4V8GE1JcK-w

Fenlander · 08 February 2016, 08:17

Well done for dropping on a bargain 15hp outboard like that. In running order your outboard is worth more than you paid for it and the SIB together.

Not sure how much you've done with outboards before but I'd change the gear oil and cooling impellor (plus thermostat if it has one) after it's been standing that long.

Going to be a great little outfit. When you get it out on the water do upload some images.

andypandy · 17 February 2016, 15:24

service kit ordered already (not sure about thermostat

)
Boat arrived today

slightly bigger than advertised (3.4m not 3.2m ) and 5 lifejackets included

Fenlander · 17 February 2016, 17:25

That's going to be a great outfit... looks better with the mud off!

You'll have to search on a parts diagram for the Suzuki to see if has a stat... if it has one they rarely fail but they are a choke point for salt deposits.

jeffstevens763@g · 17 February 2016, 18:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by andypandy

service kit ordered already (not sure about thermostat

)
Boat arrived today

slightly bigger than advertised (3.4m not 3.2m ) and 5 lifejackets included

I have the Mercury hd 365 x's Ali floor weighs in at 100 kg bit Heaver than yours running a 25hp Suzuki on mine very happy with it, build is good, both same material look on Mercury site for specs it will go well with a 15hp

Cheers

andypandy · 20 February 2016, 13:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

That's going to be a great outfit... looks better with the mud off!

Took me good couple of hours

jeffstevens763 glad you like yours

I need a good set of launching wheels now and I think I'm ready to get it wet

jeffstevens763@g · 20 February 2016, 14:57

Barnet marine have about six different sets Andy I bought the top set 200kg capacity

Cheers

andypandy · 20 February 2016, 20:56

Thanks mate

I'll have to check it out ,they not far from me