Hi all

[DickL]

Thank you for admitting me to this group.
I'm looking for some guidance....
Done many kinds of boating over the years. For the last 10 or so years we've had our trusty Avon Rover with 3.5 4 stroke. This is great for transporting in the back of the pick-up, easy for beach launch & recovery. Tend to explore coastally, up creeks, bit of mackerel spinning etc. It's just getting a bit small, we can't all get in it comfortably & it becomes a bit wet & slow! There are 4 of us now - 3 adults & one 10 yo who is special needs but physically ok (he loves the sea).
I'm not after out & out peformance, but being able to plane moderately loaded would be good. Being on top of the job crossing eg the Solent in reasonable conditions, or a estuary - estuary hop as an extension to what we do now would be great.
We're about 2 hours from the sea. I've trailered lots of stuff but lack of faff is a big driver - we do have a Wayfarer dinghy & I'd charter bigger stuff. Something that would fold down to 1400long max with launching wheels woukd be ideal. The Aerotec 380 caught my eye, but I'm not wedded.....other SIBS....how about folding ribs?
Reading previous threads suggests 15hp or so for that size. Again be able to beach launch without a big struggle is important.
Your thoughts welcome
Cheers
Richard

[Limecc]

Hi Rich welcome.

If I were in your shoes I wouldn't have two beach launching SIBs, especially if you've got the capability to store and trailer a RIB.

We moved from a 3.9m SIB to a 4.2m RIB and the difference was vast, considering just 300mm longer. The Solent has some big wakes which were unsettling, also tricky overfalls in other places we visit. RIB was far better and drier in the 'chop'. 4.2m imho is the limit for beach launching from trailer because of weight. We find less faff, no need to inflate/deflate and set up. It's ready to go and what works for us.

[Steve509926]

Hi Richard and welcome.

3 adults, soon to become 4 adults , would in my opinion struggle in anything smaller than a 3.8 SIB and you'd struggle to maintain it on the plane with a 15hp OB
I have an Excel SD360 with a 15hp EFI, great with 2 adults and a dog ; good with 2 adults, slim teenager and a dog; a soggy mattress with 3 adults, slim teenager and a dog.
I dont know your circumstances it terms of "crew" to help carry and set up, but there's a lot of weight and bulk in any SIB 3.8 and over and a 20hp is also heavy and bulky.

Its horses for courses. A SIB suits my needs perfectly, it didn't suit Limecc's hence the small RIB. A trailer suits some, deflate/inflate every trip is better for others.

[beamishken]

I agree with limecc a rib will out perform a sib in every way except storage. If you can overcome the storage issue a small rib (we have a 3.8m) will plane on smaller hp & be far less faff than a large sib, will ride the chop better & feel more solid & stable. A folding rib sounds ideal but larger ones are large and heavy to handle when folded. If you can overcome the storage the current aluminium hull small ribs are worth looking at. I'm not keen on larger aluminium ribs but the smaller ones are very light & easy to handle for your application

Sent from my SM-G950F using RIB Net mobile app

[Fenlander]

>>>3 adults, soon to become 4 adults , would in my opinion struggle in anything smaller than a 3.8 SIB and you'd struggle to maintain it on the plane with a 15hp OB

Very much agree. If you are after a daily inflate setup that can be carried in the car packed away then an air floor around 3.8m/45kg with a motor ideally around 36kg (15hp 2-stroke or 10hp 4-stroke) is the sweet spot for manageability. But then the ideal load is 2 adults plus dog or 2 adults plus a child or light teen. Once you add that 3rd adult and still have the child/teen then it all gets a bit cosy and the edge is taken off performance... as in the ability to jump on and off the plane at will when working a difficult sea.

So as always it's the age old sibbing dilemma. Easy to manage pre and post launch with a light setup but not great for all the folks... much more faff with larger SIB and OB to cope with a larger crew... or move up to a modest trailed RIB.