Auction faux pas

[mike13401]

Well yesterday a bought a "3m Avon SIB" from a bloke on Ebay at a reasonable price as he stated that a couple of the valves needed servicing.

So off I go to pick it up and the motor with it,immediately I thought theres lot of room in that.
So with his help we manhandle on to the roof rack of my old merc estate,all the time wondering how I was going to get it off as my girlfriend is 5ft nothing and not too well.

Oh well I'd figure something out I suppose.

Got home and sort of half lifted half slid it onto the pavement and dragged it into the garden,its bleddy heavy.

So the first question is how do you measure an SIB ?
Bow to transom or bow to the end of pointy bits at back (excuse the terminology).

Personally I think its a bit bigger than he said.

So next stage to let the air out and remove floor. My usual trick if the valve doesnt release is to poke a chopstick in the hole,however there seemed to be a fair amount of resistance to opening the valve in this manner. A closer look discovered that this prat had filled the valves with silicone sealer.
I can either clean them out, if I can find something to remove the silicone or replace them which I guess is going to cost a mint.

There are several patches that I was aware of at the time of buying so I will remove the ones I am not happy with and replace them,having done this on a couple of dinghies ,I am confident to sort this.

I know that in theory I would probably get my money back through Paypal but having bought and sold at auction for 30 odd years I stand by the old rule that its "as seen" so I either get on and sort it or pop done and extract my money physically from the seller.

So advice please on measurement, what to do with valves and possible cost and ideas for a lighter floor.

Once I know how to measure it I can try to find out exactly what it is.

Then on to the motor,but thats for another day.

Mike

[chris123]

The boat should be measured as length overall, ie 'bow to the end of pointy bits at back'.

I assume this is the boat:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AVON-3mtr-INFL...3A1|240%3A1318

Pictures don't show much but first guess it might be an S100:

http://www.shorebase.co.uk/boating/i..._s100/s100.asp

Overall length = 3.2 metres
Overall width = 1.47 metres

I suspect you may struggle to clean out the valves successfully - I assume they are A4 valves:

http://www.polymarine.com/products/p...s/index.cfm?p=

If you do replace them, you might be better off fitting a different valve type. You can get patches to make fitting new valves easier:

http://www.rib-shop.com/product.asp?...For=&PT_ID=166

Floorboards shouldn't be that heavy - they should be 1/4" plywood with a batten around the edges. I doubt if you can make anything lighter without losing strength.

Cheers

Chris

[mike13401]

Thats helpful Chris thanks.

Yes they are A4 valves and I seem to remember that someone told me that you could replace the internal part (bit like a rubber mushroom) but it was a bit fiddly.

Its definitely not an S100 as the overall length is 3.8 m.

Any more info appreciated especially if anyone has replaced the internals on A4 valves.

Thanks
Mike

[Nos4r2]

Probably better to replace them with B7 or even better Leafield C7 valves (B7 or C7 don't catch on things as much as A7 valves).Henshaws and Paul Tilley can supply them. The couple of times I've replaced A4 valves I've had problems removing the remains of the black rubber without damaging the original circular valve doubler patch so I've had to fit new ones.

Nice looking SIB and a good price though-even if you add the cost of replacing the valves.I bet you'd get most of that back if you sold the engine, and if it's 3.8m long, should take 25hp without any problem.

[codprawn]

Remember to get a good set of proper launching wheels - makes life so much easier.

If you are going to use the roofrack make up some rollers - it's so much easier to slide it on from the back - simple even single handed - as long as the engine is off of course!!!

[chris123]

Originally Posted by mike13401

Thats helpful Chris thanks.
Its definitely not an S100 as the overall length is 3.8 m.

Could be an S300 then:

LOA = 3.81 metres
Beam = 1.68 metres

I'm assuming that it has the little round 'cleats' for a removable bow dodger, rather than a previous owner has removed a fixed bow dodger?

Is there something on top of the floorboards in the photos? if not, they do not look like the original floorboards. I have attached some photos of the boards from my old S250, I would expect your boards to be similar.

I agree with Nos that you got a good price - having just sold my S250, I would think when tidied up your boat (without outboard) could be worth twice what you paid for it with the outboard.

Cheers

Chris

[m chappelow]

it could be a Rover 3.8 exact measurement 3.78 m total length a beam of 2.69 weight 68kgs boat and floor will take engine up to 25 hp .the tube should be 43 cm at the transom and 38 cm at the bow .

[mike13401]

Not sure if there is a lot of difference between a Rover and the S300.

From your pics Chris all the floor boards and fittings look that that.
If you have any way of emailing the magazine or brochure details you have shown it would be brilliant.

MChappelow thanks for the info do you know what the differences are ??

Mike