zodiac 550 pro open

tide-mark · 18 March 2005, 20:20

hi i am back again digging for info.has any body any experiance with this boat and how does it cope with the rough stuff

Scotty · 18 March 2005, 22:11

I had one of these and drove the bejaysus out of it !

It had a mercury 115 hp two stroke and went like sh*t off a shovel. Good storage on board and it handled well in a big sea. Main reason we changed was seating is aimed at flat sea conditions. We now have jockey seats. Zodiacs tube removal system in my opinion is still the best on the market. If you buy one make sure extra patches have been fitted to the tubes underneath the cones..... where they join. This is a common place for leaks to occur.Oh and the metal steering wheel gets bloody cold in winter

. And another thing... they hold their value real well

Brian · 19 March 2005, 10:45

Here is mine in Looe harbour.

Did not like the bench seat.
Did not like it's sea handling although that could be due to it's length.
Good point on tube detachment and refit but would query how many times you do this?
Mine had a 75 Honda. Wrong weight/power ratio. topspeed was 35knots.

Scotty · 19 March 2005, 11:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian

Here is mine in Looe harbour.

Did not like the bench seat.
Did not like it's sea handling although that could be due to it's length.
Good point on tube detachment and refit but would query how many times you do this?
Mine had a 75 Honda. Wrong weight/power ratio. topspeed was 35knots.

Jeez, you didn't like anything about it ! I also suspect that you boat was not a 550 pro open. As far as i know they never had a bench seat. I wonder was there a pro open and an open pro ?

We took off our tubes three times in one season for warranty work to them

Brian · 19 March 2005, 15:46

Scotty
Actually I also typed some nice things in about it but me system crashed and I couldn't summon up the energy at the time to redo it!

Anyway, now I have finished mowing the lawn.........I can return to the thread.

OK
Loved the engine. V. quiet, smooth economical etc. Just now I realise I could/should have done better. It was the wrong power/weight for that particular boat and it was a bit stern heavy.
The build was of high quality. No doubt about it. In retrospec I cant think of anything that broke on it.
I would buy the same boat again but............
select a diferent engine
have jockey seats only
move things forward a bit, or at least until the boat was balanced better

There now, do you feel better?

tide-mark · 19 March 2005, 17:48

brian what was the age of your pro open they look a little different now the console looks further back and its red

Brian · 19 March 2005, 20:37

Shot from a slightly diferent angle.

Photo taken in 1999, so I guess I bought the boat in 97 or 98.

Sirius_Bane · 19 March 2005, 20:55

Just letting you know that there is a differents between the Zodiac 550 Pro open and the boat in that photo. That is the zodiac Pro.

The pro is different than the pro open. Go to there website. Complete different boats and options. I hear good things about the pro open. They are supposed to be better in a sea than the pro. Being in Vancouver i have seen both Pros and Pro Opens and can make them out easily. The Pro seams more like a dive boat while the Pro Open seams more adventurous and sea worthy. Let me know how you come along with your research,
Sirius_Bane

tide-mark · 20 March 2005, 19:44

looked at their web site and it is totally different i will have to check them out in the flesh

Simon666 · 20 March 2005, 23:31

Hi
New to this forum!... soooooo Hello all!

Me and the missus took delivery of our 550 pro open on saturday (Thank you Barnet marine!)
Not got it wet yet so can comment on the sea handling! Should christen it next weekend in the solent weather permitting. Fingers crossed.
Ive heard lots of good things about them too so spashed out.
Also, i agree, that brians red rib is a Zodiac Pro not a Pro Open. Totally different.

Thanks
Simon

kram · 21 March 2005, 13:25

I had one with a 90hp Johnson, quick, 2 seasons use, no complaints. Good storage, good introduction to RIB's, no issues with handling....one and only time out in F6/F7 with powerboat instructor on board, interesting experience as I was new to RIB's !

Agree with Scotty "make sure extra patches have been fitted to the tubes underneath the cones..... where they join. This is a common place for leaks to occur". Mine leaked, local dealer put on a spare set of tubes while mine were sent away under warranty (5 years) for repair.

Enjoy.

aligator · 22 March 2005, 00:04

Hi
i agree with Scotty ,in my third year with this boat and no complaints... other
than seating

who on earth thought of putting these seats on a rib never went out in one, definatley a big let down in rough weather.

Alistair