Mercury 15HP 2 stroke age?

[thestig1973]

First choice would be an aerotec but they are hard to find used and £2300 new is too much at the moment

[Fenlander]

Not being awkward but I have found it hard to get the Aerotec into a super neat package. I reckon the main issue is that with both the ones I've owned the OE bag is too large and the straps tighten fully way before the boat is pulled down to its potential minimum.

Never owned or packed a T32 to compare.

I know you can't always replicate the makers package as new but maker's spec comparisons in cms are...

Honwave T32 - 112 65 38
Honwave T38 - 122 72 43
Aerotec 380 - 115 72 39
Fastroller 360 - 120 65 40
Fastroller 340 - 105 54 32

The very best I've owned related to length were the two ill fated Zodiac 360 Fastrollers which packed so neatly as this one shown in our holiday cottage...

[Fenlander]

Here's a Zodiac 340 with air floor packed...

[Fenlander]

Here's the rather lumpy Aerotec packed...

[thestig1973]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Here's a Zodiac 340 with air floor packed...

Wow they fold neat, I need a sib that packs well because my boot is small, outboard and fuel tank take up most of the space

[Fenlander]

And OK it's a smaller SIB at just over 3m but this Zodiac Mk.1 hypalon we owned a few years back looks tiny packed away(ply floor in second bag)...

[Fenlander]

Actually hard to imagine that green bag held this which took us on some great adventures a few years ago...

[thestig1973]

So how many sibs have you owned in total Fenlander?

[Fenlander]

I think it's nine over almost 10yrs!! There's been a logical reason for each swap and if there wasn't... well... I just made one up.

Yep just been through them... it is nine.

Zodiac Mk.1
Zodiac 340 air floor
Zodiac Fastroller 360
Zodiac Fastroller 360
Honwave 3.5AE
Avon Rover 3.1
Zodiac 340 Fastroller
Aerotec 380
Aerotec 380

[thestig1973]

I imagine that's the most anyone on ribnet has owned :-)

[Landlockedpirate]

Originally Posted by thestig1973

I imagine that's the most anyone on ribnet has owned :-)

I think im just ahead, but im not if my wife asks

As a kid
Zodiac ZED31
Avon s300

As an adult
Zodiac 310 lite (sib or rib ? )
Zodiac Futura Sport
Zodiac Cadet 240 slat floor
Southern Pacific 200TC
Quicksilver 300
Europa Sport 270
Honwave T27
Honwave T32
Zodiac Futura Mk2C Fastroller
Zodiac Futura Mk2C Hard deck
Zodiac Futura Mk3
Lodestar 290
Aerotec 380

I also had another 3 or 4 that were bought for other bits of the package and sold pretty much straight away.

You have to love ebay

[thestig1973]

Originally Posted by Landlockedpirate

I think im just ahead, but im not if my wife asks

As a kid
Zodiac ZED31
Avon s300

As an adult
Zodiac 310 lite (sib or rib ? )
Zodiac Futura Sport
Zodiac Cadet 240 slat floor
Southern Pacific 200TC
Quicksilver 300
Europa Sport 270
Honwave T27
Honwave T32
Zodiac Futura Mk2C Fastroller
Zodiac Futura Mk2C Hard deck
Zodiac Futura Mk3
Lodestar 290
Aerotec 380

I also had another 3 or 4 that were bought for other bits of the package and sold pretty much straight away.

You have to love ebay

Wow, my toy box has never been quite that good 🙄

What was the Europa like? Any good?

[Max...]

Originally Posted by Landlockedpirate

I think im just ahead, but im not if my wife asks

As a kid
Zodiac ZED31
Avon s300

As an adult
Zodiac 310 lite (sib or rib ? )
Zodiac Futura Sport
Zodiac Cadet 240 slat floor
Southern Pacific 200TC
Quicksilver 300
Europa Sport 270
Honwave T27
Honwave T32
Zodiac Futura Mk2C Fastroller
Zodiac Futura Mk2C Hard deck
Zodiac Futura Mk3
Lodestar 290
Aerotec 380

I also had another 3 or 4 that were bought for other bits of the package and sold pretty much straight away.

You have to love ebay

Funny thing is for so many of us the list is pretty long and varied..........but there's one constant (sorry BAT haters - you know what's coming... ) - the last SIB on the list is so often a Bombard Aerotec!

[thestig1973]

Very true max, I've noticed that too, I'd love one but £2300 excluding outboard, launch wheels etc is a bit much...... Tempting though 😀

[Max...]

Hang around and look all over the various ad channels - they are not that uncommon and do turn up reasonably frequently.

http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/bargain...rt2-68784.html

There were about three available in one week last year. I would not buy new personally as they are silly money and used rarely will you pay more than £800. The older ones rarely have issues and are easy to check over. If you cannot find or they don't have the launch wheels it's very easy to make some.

http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/making-...els-68175.html

[thestig1973]

The Apollo duck listing has been removed now max

I'd happily pay £800 - £1200 depending on age and condition for a decent used aerotec

Where I live (Warrington) there are not a huge amount of sibs/boats for sale..... As we have no water to play on 🙄

I'd travel though for a bargain 😀

[Fenlander]

>>> I would not buy new personally as they are silly money and used rarely will you pay more than £800. The older ones rarely have issues and are easy to check over.

Well Max knows I will be ready with a sort-of counter argument!

First re issues... all Aerotecs (as with other SIB types having glued seams) have the potential for glue failure. With the Aerotec problem areas are the whole transom attachment and the floor. Yes they are easy to check if you know to look and a seller is willing for you to try pulling seams apart all over the boat!

Having said that these transom/floor seams are about the only issue as the tubes are all welded and the transom itself is substantial... never heard of a rotten one.

Paying someone to undertake seam repairs is really a non-starter so only buy old if you are happy to gamble on selling the boat very cheap if failures appear and you can't tackle them... or allow for sometime in the future buying the glue/solvent and setting aside a few days for some fiddly work... but still accept once repairs have been made the value will be reduced.

The alternative is to buy new enough to push the possibility of repairs well into the future.

Where this becomes a problem is that observing the market for the past couple of years seems to indicate that very few Aerotecs are sold on until their owners have had them quite a few years so the majority for sale are in the "wonder how many years until glue failure" situation where you need to factor that into the price. But sellers still seem to want robust prices for these older Aerotecs and as others on here have said in the last year "I'm not paying £1000+ for a 15yr old SIB".

The new price in 2014/5 was often discounted to somewhere in the £1850-£2100 range but now all that "old" production has been sold dealers seem to be quite consistent around £2300 for a factory fresh one. OK it's not a massive difference but to get a deal at £1950 last year sounds so much better than £2300 this year.

Of course the ideal buy is from that rare private seller who doesn't understand their value and might be offloading a 2012 model with a lovely 15hp 2-stroke for £1800 all in. Sell the outboard on and you will then have a fairly modern Aerotec at a bargain £700 or so.

Perhaps once a year somewhere in the country that might happen... and you'll be somewhere in a long queue of buyers.

None of the above thoughts are intended to say any particular age is the wrong age to buy an Aerotec (including new!)... just make sure it's at the right price.

[Max...]

Originally Posted by thestig1973

The Apollo duck listing has been removed now max

I'd happily pay £800 - £1200 depending on age and condition for a decent used aerotec

Where I live (Warrington) there are not a huge amount of sibs/boats for sale..... As we have no water to play on 🙄

I'd travel though for a bargain 😀

Those are old topics/links/ads from last years - just to illustrate that they come up quite often.

[Max...]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

>>> I would not buy new personally as they are silly money and used rarely will you pay more than £800. The older ones rarely have issues and are easy to check over.

Well Max knows I will be ready with a sort-of counter argument!

First re issues... all Aerotecs (as with other SIB types having glued seams) have the potential for glue failure. With the Aerotec problem areas are the whole transom attachment and the floor. Yes they are easy to check if you know to look and a seller is willing for you to try pulling seams apart all over the boat!

Having said that these transom/floor seams are about the only issue as the tubes are all welded and the transom itself is substantial... never heard of a rotten one.

Paying someone to undertake seam repairs is really a non-starter so only buy old if you are happy to gamble on selling the boat very cheap if failures appear and you can't tackle them... or allow for sometime in the future buying the glue/solvent and setting aside a few days for some fiddly work... but still accept once repairs have been made the value will be reduced.

The alternative is to buy new enough to push the possibility of repairs well into the future.

Where this becomes a problem is that observing the market for the past couple of years seems to indicate that very few Aerotecs are sold on until their owners have had them quite a few years so the majority for sale are in the "wonder how many years until glue failure" situation where you need to factor that into the price. But sellers still seem to want robust prices for these older Aerotecs and as others on here have said in the last year "I'm not paying £1000+ for a 15yr old SIB".

The new price in 2014/5 was often discounted to somewhere in the £1850-£2100 range but now all that "old" production has been sold dealers seem to be quite consistent around £2300 for a factory fresh one. OK it's not a massive difference but to get a deal at £1950 last year sounds so much better than £2300 this year.

Of course the ideal buy is from that rare private seller who doesn't understand their value and might be offloading a 2012 model with a lovely 15hp 2-stroke for £1800 all in. Sell the outboard on and you will then have a fairly modern Aerotec at a bargain £700 or so.

Perhaps once a year somewhere in the country that might happen... and you'll be somewhere in a long queue of buyers.

None of the above thoughts are intended to say any particular age is the wrong age to buy an Aerotec (including new!)... just make sure it's at the right price.

They are not that rare though David - I bought mine on here with the Merc 15, wheels, bag etc for around £1800/£1900 IIRC. Seen lots at that price both eBay/private etc, just not that rare. I'm not really talking buy one say 15 years old - plenty around are 5-10 years old and really as good as new - not a hint of glue issues and I don't expect any really as they seem to last better than many other SIB's. Like any boat each one needs a thorough inspection and needs to be treated on it's own merits. Not hard to examine and very quickly see if it is a good one or not. Keep checking the ads every day (usual places as per previous topics), set up alerts with the ad' websites, act quick. Most prices are very negotiable (an ebay classified ad price is a starting point to be bargained hard) - contact the seller right away, sound professional, see him that day or next - take the cash, inspect the boat very carefully (and the seller) and bingo.

And you have to be prepared to travel - what's a day's driving and a very cheap tank of fuel or two against a boat you plan to use for years.

[Fenlander]

>>>They are not that rare though David

Well almost every time someone has indicted an interest in one on here they seem to conclude they are hard to find.

Last year there was a period for week after week when there was just the same 15yr old Aerotec listed at £1200, plus one up in Scotland for £600 with failed seams and that was your lot.

Perhaps rare is the wrong word then but far less common than if you were not fussed between a Quicksilver/Honwave/Zodiac/Excel/Suzmar/etc and flexible between air or alloy floor... when in any one week in any one locality you'd usually have a good choice.