First water

Bosi72 · 08 January 2019, 06:26

Here is video of my family having fun and enjoying the new boat at the Chelsea beach in Melbourne/Australia

" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350">

More photos are coming..

Cheers

Fenlander · 08 January 2019, 13:10

Great to see you having fun on the water with the family. I do try and keep us dry in the SIB but careful helming and throttle use but sometimes... accidentally you understand... we might just meet a wave that throws a sheet of water over Mrs Fenlander and a similar amount of excitement follows.

She always sits on the central seat... in front of me sitting on the tube at the tiller. She keeps the spray off me!

Fender · 08 January 2019, 13:16

Your videoing is worse than mine! lol

Fenlander · 08 January 2019, 13:23

>>>videoing is worse than mine! lol

Ha ha I didn't like to say. Must admit with just a non waterproof camera not a GoPro I've pretty well given up trying to get video on a SIB apart from someone in the bow facing backwards filming towards the rear.... and even then only when it's quite calm.

jeffstevens763@g · 08 January 2019, 15:26

yep you're having fun thats the main thing the camera work will come nice one

Bosi72 · 10 January 2019, 04:46

haha yep the GoPro wasn't fastened properly and unfortunately you can't tell until checking the actual videos.. learning never stops

The Mercury outboard is still in break-in period, so no more than 1/2 throttle applied, regardless, wouldn't be driving any faster in big waves.

Below are several photos of the boat setup, modifications, travelling, etc..

I tried to resize pictures, upload, but no luck.. It looks like shareable link from Google Drive works fine..

Boat inflated in the living room.. Hope I'm not the only one inflating boat inside the house

Garden cart used to transport the boat from the parking to the beach, way easier in the sand.

As with most made in China products, from my experience once unboxed, it is impossible to put it back. The 60kg boat came approximately in size of the garden cart above.

Additional AU$100 shopping for two heavy duty bags to carry the rubber and aluminium floor.

Boat and motor packed in the back of the ute.

A custom made attachment used for Garmin transducer, however the pipe at the top can accept another smaller diameter pipe to pull tubes with kids. Also, support for 12v bilge pump which is yet to be installed.

Garmin fish finder and Berkley fishing rod holder installed into the seat. I also used engraver to engrave measure in centimetres for fishing legal requirements, so that it stays permanently.

.. cont'd ..

Bosi72 · 10 January 2019, 04:47

Gear taken when fishing. It includes the air blower to help with inflating (up to 1 min), then need additional 10-20 strokes from supplied pump to get the boat to recommended PSI values. The blower also helps with quick deflation..
PLB, UHF radio, 12v battery enclosed in waterproof box, esky, safety gear, fishing gear,...

All packed and ready for the beach.

At the beach

On the water

Fully assembled with the canopy.

Resting at the pier.

Not sure if I'm carrying too much, but so far boat goes fine. We'll see for how long

Thanks for watching
Cheers !

Limecc · 10 January 2019, 09:13

A few minor differences to Excel SIB's but I notice shared components including the transom, it wouldn't surprise me if they are made in the same factory.

Great pics thanks for sharing.
Must do similarly.

jeffstevens763@g · 10 January 2019, 10:23

nice pics love your dog too

Fenlander · 10 January 2019, 11:35

Pasted in from your intro thread...

>>>My dad had inflatable boat approx 40 years ago when I was 8-9, and we used it maybe for 2 seasons, however my memory about the boat (actually the motor) was mostly related to cleaning spark plugs from oil at least twice a day..

>>>Somehow I think the motor won't be an issue this time, but the pvc boat may be.. The time will tell

I too have dad to thank for my early boating experiences and I remember as a kid of similar age the combination of less than reliable Johnson/Evinrude OBs and oiled plugs making it so hard for me to get them going.

You're right though, modern outboards are in a different league for starting and reliability. In the other thread I commented on you having what in the UK we call the classic Mercury/Mariner 15hp 2-stroke. Now I've seen the images I think it's a slightly different model to that which was sold here until pretty well all 2-strokes were banned 12yrs ago. Yours looks like the Tohatsu built Mercury and if so there is quite a simple modification to bring it to 18hp as in Tohatsu form the 15 & 18 were identical apart from a small tuning/throttle modification.

Re the PVC boat I guess you know that heat/UV exposure is not the friend of the material itself and the glued seams. You have more of that than we do in the UK! I'm guessing if left out inflated in the yard it may have quite a short life but bagged and garage/shed stored out of the sun when not in use it ought to be OK.

Thanks for uploading the images. Always great to see the way someone else has everything setup. To be honest, unlike many who first come on the forum, you seem to have pretty well every bit of kit for sibbing sorted.... there's not much more you could add.

Limecc · 10 January 2019, 18:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Pasted in from your intro thread...

>>>My dad had inflatable boat approx 40 years ago when I was 8-9, and we used it maybe for 2 seasons, however my memory about the boat (actually the motor) was mostly related to cleaning spark plugs from oil at least twice a day..

I too have dad to thank for my early boating experiences and I remember as a kid of similar age the combination of less than reliable Johnson/Evinrude OBs and oiled plugs making it so hard for me to get them going.

Same here!

I was age 9 or 10 blasting(!) around Great Yarmouth estuary and the Broads. Dad purchased a 'Sport Yak II' and an Evinrude 3.5hp which wouldn't get it on the plane or make it back to safety if the tide was flowing fast. Obviously no forum for advice in the 70's, no Internet lol. Taught me a lesson never to penny pinch on engine size.

The hull would gradually fill with water making it really heavy to lift onto the roof rack of our Ford Corsair (2000E no less!)

Here's one my dog found at Brixham:
(and another next to it that saw better days

)