SIB & Outboard - First Timer

steelo · 22 August 2022, 14:33

Hi All,

Thanks for adding me to the forum.

I'm looking for some fair and honest advice about getting into boating around the coast of the UK. To begin with i'd like to buy a SIB with an outboard to launch from the beach in relatively calm water to motor along the beach a mile or two and back again, entertaining the children, having a look around the bigger boats in the harbour etc. and maybe do a bit of mackerel fishing or crabbing from etc.

I'm not looking for a huge boat or something that needs to be towed. I'd like something that 1 person can inflate, assemble on the beach and launch etc. In practice it's more likely to be 2 adult males doing all the leg-work etc. both with boating experience of sorts.

I've had a look at some of the SIB/outboard packages on offer and read the thread on here regarding SIBs but i'm still not sure about how easy they are to transport etc. How much space they take up in the boot of the car and the everyday practicality that comes with owning an outboard. I'm aware of washing things down in fresh water and that engines need to be serviced just like a car engine and flushing cooling systems through in fresh water etc.

My father owned and sailed a Mirror dinghy which I was encouraged to enjoy and eventual sail on my own, it was an original wooden boat around #4000, patched and strengthened in places but it gave me my first experience of boating. A friend of my father had a Tinker Traveller with a 5HP Mercury outboard which he used to bring on holidays with us and we would spend many hours investigating various bits of UK coastline, finding inaccessible beaches, try to catch some fish and generally lose track of time.

I've always been encouraged to be on the water and now I want to own something to be able to pass that interest on to my children. I want something that is very transportable, easy to use, a one-boat-does-all type of thing. I've considered Jet-skis and sea-doo boats in the past but I don't have extensive storage and I don't want slip-way/towing restrictions at this stage.

So any advice on where to look, what to read, who to talk to, places to visit in Essex or East/West Sussex (currently the coastline most accessible to me) would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

Fenlander · 22 August 2022, 16:22

Hi Steelo and welcome to the forum. We've had small craft in hard hull form on and off over my lifetime but the "out the back of the car" sibbing of the past ten plus years has been some of the most enjoyable and best value boating ever.

How big is your car... are you thinking new or used... buying something ready to go or a package the previous owner has sorted... a rough budget... how many folks do you hope to have in the SIB... all this info helps us advise.

But it seems you might be in the market for a SIB between 3.2m and 3.8m and an outboard 8-20hp depending on how many folks carried and your wish to plane or not.

steelo · 22 August 2022, 17:54

I would say an average of 2 adults and 2 small children, I have an Volvo XC60 so it would need to fit in the boot alongside a couple of day bags, any more and I'd be using a roofbox for luggage.
Budget would be about 2k for boat and engine and hopefully boating peripherals, I'm not thinking of any electronics/navigation currently, anchor, bailer and buoyancy aids etc.

Fenlander · 22 August 2022, 20:05

I've looked up the XC60 and see a loadspace width of 1125mm which is fine for a packed SIB and outboard to lay crosswise. Even with fuel tank, lifejackets and launch wheels etc you would get it all in with room for a weekend away... a week's gear actually if you soft bag pack with care.

Now the market has calmed down post covid price hike £2k should get you a usable outfit. My advice re SIB and outboard size stands... you should bias towards air floor models for an easier setup out of the car but alloy floor models are doable if you are patient and have strong hands!

Fenlander · 22 August 2022, 23:11

Just for interest here is a 3.6m air floor SIB, 15hp 2-stroke and all the kit in the back of a Citroen C5 estate... a car that was somewhat style over space. Before I'd taken the picture we'd removed from around the boat gear our own clothes etc for a week in Scotland for two adults and two teen girls.