ANOTHER Help Post

[Gazz0322]

I posted the information below in the welcome forum, sorry wrong place.

The idea of us getting a SIB for our local inland waterways has now been resurrected as our last attempt was thwarted by an unexpected financial outlay.

3 persons (max) having a quiet day on a river or on our local canal is our aim, so 20HP outboards and wake jumping is not on our agenda lol.

I am after a little help and advice from more experienced SIB users/owners as to what I really need. If I offer my opinion then please feel free to shoot me down and point me in the right direction, I would appreciate your honesty at this point.

Having looked around in the usual places, I would like the following: 3M SIB with a 2.5 - 4HP outboard (4 stroke). If possible I would like the fuel contained in the OB and not in a fuel bladder/container in the boat.

Simple really, but I am still confused by the different types of bottom, be they inflatable, flat, "V" shaped, hard or soft floor. The OB's... the different HP, manufacturers, what would I actually need for my purpose.

I would rather ask on here than go to retailer who might sell me exactly what I dont need although I am sure there are lots of honest ones out there.

Many Thanks for reading this far, and if you can offer any advice I would appreciate it. Edit: Our realistic budget is £1'500

Mr & Mrs G

[Mickhitchuk]

If it was me I'd go for
Honwave 3.2 airfloor, this is a v type floor which is built into the sib, and has great valves and a really nice transom, the weak point for me is the transom wheels but nothing is perfect and a lot of people love them,
The honwave is a well made sib with nice big tubes and is easy to resell should you decide to upgrade
As for the outboard
I would get either a 4hp-5hp-6hp depending on what was available close to me, Suzuki,Tohatsu,mercury all have on board fuel tanks at that size I believe and I would have any of the above,
Best to get a good pump for the airfloor, like a bravo hp pump

[Stigomery]

If it's low speed, inland waterways you won't need a V shaped hull so I'd probably disagree with the above suggestion and rather go for a stable, hard, flat surface such as a similar Honwave with a removable ally floor.

Under 4hp has a MUCH lower license fee round these parts so you're on the money as regards engine size for inland water.

Any of the big name brands will have something to fit the bill and about 3-3.2m should be good.

[jeffstevens763@g]

You must look at how many folks you will carry with a bit of kit for a day out honwave are a good boat for the price also look at excel any of the top brand engines will be fine 3.2. - 3.5 m boat would be ideal for 3 adults.

[Poly]

How will you transport it to / from the water and store it?

[Mikefule]

Size: I have a Zodiac 3.1 metre. Yesterday, on the river with 3 adults, plus picnic and snorkelling gear and anchor box it was pretty full. If you can store and transport it, buy the biggest hull you can reasonably afford. On the sea, you'd need to factor in the requirement for a bigger engine, but on the river or canal, at non-planing speeds, a 3.5 metre hull will go at more or less the same speed as a 3 metre hull with the same small-medium engine.

Engine: one with an integral tank will free up space inside the boat and there will be less clutter. It will also be easier to store and carry, and - importantly for canals and rivers - easy to pass up and down from jetties and the like. I often launch my SIB down about a 3 ft drop to the water. My 9.9 hp engine is extremely difficult to manhandle down. My old 3 hp 2 stroke was a simple one handed lift.

Power: 3 hp will push a 3 and a bit metre SIB at river and canal speeds. However, a bigger engine will do so with less effort and therefore more quietly - and also leave some power in reserve if ever you meet a strong current or headwind, or venture on the sea.

Floor: for simple river and canal work, any of the conventional options will do, and everyone will recommend what they carefully chose - that's human nature. There's no need for a deep V hull at these speeds. I decided NOT to get a Honwave because the there is a concave V in the floor, and I eventually chose plywood floors because they are flat and stable and easy to repair or replace, or add fittings to. Each to his own, and all that.

The important thing is to buy one, rather than day dreaming about it. The thing about a SIB is it can sit rolled up in your garage for 2 years taking up almost no space, then be used for a glorious week away when the opportunity arises. A boat on a trailer is a big investment of storage space for all the times when you're not using it.

[rossymtb]

I wouldn't fuss about which floor type you have when dealing with such small outboards as 2/3people won't plane well with that size engine easily.

Although saying that I do know my old plywood floor sib would plane with a 3.3hp

I think if storage of boards is a issue I would buy a 3.0m airmat inflatable and a 4/5hp outboard.

Have a look into seapro boats and parsun engines.

6hp is a nice size. Not to heavy but also has a fair amount of power.

[HDAV]

Originally Posted by Stigomery

Under 4hp has a MUCH lower license fee round these parts so you're on the money as regards engine size for inland water.

Get 6hp and no4 sticker...........

[rossymtb]

Originally Posted by HDAV

Get 6hp and no4 sticker...........

All depends on area. Anglesey under 10hp is free to launch. Everywhere else it's £20

[HDAV]

Originally Posted by rossymtb

All depends on area. Anglesey under 10hp is free to launch. Everywhere else it's £20

Then get a 15 and no 10 sticker......

[Highland Haggis]

Honwave is a good make and I would get the 3.8 v floor or the 3.5 alloy or even T40 all three are very good sibs with a 6hp you have to think long term here if you get into sibing then all you have to do is get bigger engine so the T40 would be the best bet for money think long and hard before you buy or all you will do is lose money I have seen it time and time again people rush into things without thinking

[Stigomery]

Originally Posted by rossymtb

All depends on area. Anglesey under 10hp is free to launch. Everywhere else it's £20

Launch fee? Thankfully we don't get that round these parts, just an annual license (if you use a public slip on the river or canal)

[Mikefule]

Originally Posted by rossymtb

All depends on area. Anglesey under 10hp is free to launch. Everywhere else it's £20

Really? I was charged a fee at Trearddur Bay last year with a 9.9. Some sort of registration fee or permit? Can't recall the details,but £20 rings a bell. Was I ripped off?

[rossymtb]

Originally Posted by Mikefule

Really? I was charged a fee at Trearddur Bay last year with a 9.9. Some sort of registration fee or permit? Can't recall the details,but £20 rings a bell. Was I ripped off?

No you was charged correctly. The £20 was your license fee for the whole year. Which includes, Gwynedd , Anglesey & conwy area

But if you had say 15hp you'd also be charged a extra £20 in conwy or £16 Anglesey to launch aswell.

[Mikefule]

Originally Posted by rossymtb

No you was charged correctly. The £20 was your license fee for the whole year. Which includes, Gwynedd , Anglesey & conwy area

But if you had say 15hp you'd also be charged a extra £20 in conwy or £16 Anglesey to launch aswell.

Thanks for clarifying.

[Gazz0322]

Thank you all so very much for the advice, and please do not be annoyed if I have gone a slightly different way, all advice is good advice.

I have ordered today a 3.2mtr Honwave V floor matched with a Mariner 3.5HP outboard (new). I have spent all last evening and some time today at work!! looking, phoning and generally casting my eye over different options based on my meagre budget.

I was convinced in the end by a mate who has a much more powerful rib than I, who started out with a 3mtr and 4HP and had lots of fun time chugging. The main expenditure was the outboard and managing the weight. The difference between the 3.5 and 4HP was a little silly in that the cost jump was over £200. The 3.5 was £549.99 and the 4HP was £759.99 and the added weight went up from 17kgs to 26kgs for 1/2HP.

The inflatable and motor has come in under budget which has left us enough to insure it and hopefully get us a ticket for the UK waterways, which brings me to my next question (please).... Where to get insurance and who do I apply to for a ticket? Its very likely that most on here are salties but if anyone knows I would appreciate a pointer in the right direction. Thank you all once again for your very helpful and appreciated advice and I am so looking forward to becoming a SIB owner/operator.

[Mikefule]

Congratulations on making your decision. That's a nice size. Also, the boat will comfortably take a bigger engine in due course in which case you will ahve two options: heavy engine but fast, or light engine for chugging.

Shop around online for insurance. I insure my inflatable through Porthcawl Insurance and my sailing dinghy through alan-thomas.co.uk . Expect it to be somewhere less than £100, subject to where you live and how you store it.

As a rough rule of thumb, you don't need to pay a licence fee for sea and estuary, but you do for rivers and canals. Decide where you want to take the boat, then do a Google search for "boat licence" and the name of the river.

For example, on the Trent near Nottingham, I buy day tickets online from Canal and Rivers Trust, but for the Ouse near St Ives I pay over the counter at a local marina. A day ticket is usually under £10.

Many agencies do short term and other options but for those few days a year, a day permit each time is probably the most economical.

In addition, if you use someone's slipway, they may charge you.

It is easy to launch a SIB without a slipway. If you can man handle it so that the stern is afloat, you can lower the bow with a rope, even off a 3 ft jetty or quayside. Your size of engine is easy to manhandle.

[Stigomery]

You won't be disappointed with that set up I'm sure... I have the bigger brother Honwave and love it.

I use Craft Insure and is about £60

[rossymtb]

I also have the bigger brother.
And also use craftinsure. Costs me £46 a yr

[Gazz0322]

Originally Posted by Poly

How will you transport it to / from the water and store it?

I hope to inflate and deflate at the riverside, and the boat will be stored in my garage.