New member from Nottingham

Mac71 · 19 April 2016, 23:06

Hi all, I purchased a Honda T35 Inflatable boat with a aluminium floor last May (not technically a Rib) for fun on the water with family and friends. We own a caravan at Devon Cliffs Holiday park in Exmouth so travel down quite frequent.

We have only managed to use the boat 3 times so far and have now purchased a trailer, the tide can be tricky on the river exe so have to be careful as we learnt the first time we launched and sat on a sand bank for a couple of hours!

There is not many places you can launch from in Exmouth and have to get your timings right with the high and low tides but is a lovely place to spend time on the sea.

Hoping to gain more experience this year and chat to like minded people.

Fenlander · 20 April 2016, 11:12

Great outfit Mac... welcome to the forum.

I've owned a T35 in the past and think it is a brilliant stable SIB at a really decent price. We used a 15hp 2-stroke and I always thought it needed a bit more grunt so expect the 20hp Honda is ideal.

Are you new to boating or just new to sibbing?

Mac71 · 20 April 2016, 17:53

Thanks Fenlander, Yes really good sturdy boat, 20hp moves it really well even with five people on board.

I'm New to boating, just fancied getting on the water and having fun. First time out was really adventurous and a big learning curve. We hit a huge wave that seem to come from nowhere, threw us up in the air but landed well! The boat really did its job. Your right about it being sturdy!

Looking forward to getting back on the water in a few weeks

Fenlander · 20 April 2016, 20:12

>>>We hit a huge wave that seem to come from nowhere, threw us up in the air but landed well! The boat really did its job. You're right about it being sturdy!

Sadly we sold ours on due to weight and time to assemble the alloy floor... but that floor at 60+lbs low down in the boat across its whole area made it as stable as any SIB I've used.

Just had a look at the charts... yes lots of drying ground to watch out for. Do you beach launch from the site?

Mac71 · 21 April 2016, 07:26

Would be ideal if we could launch from sandy bay but unfortunately ramp down to the beach is too Steep. We have launched from Shelley beach slipway and beach launched from orcombe point, orcombe point is the place we got caught out with the spring tide and sat on a sand bank until the tide turned. They are renewing the menway slipway in Exmouth that is due to be completed by the end of the year.

We do have racing boats and jet ski running up and down along with Stuart line cruises, they tend to stay in the same place.

Hopefully will make it out to the floating cafe this year too that suppose to be nice