Avon 340 sportsboat

[jwatson]

Hi guys. Left a deposit on this little cracker today. Does anyone know what the max engine I can put on it is? I'm assuming 10hp. Haven't seen the boat and won't have it for a week or so so can't check the plate. Cheers

[jwatson]

[Fenlander]

Nice SIBs... I've got very close to buying one on two different occasions in the past.

HP... they take a 25hp... hang onto your hat!

[jwatson]

The 3.4m will take a 25hp?!!

[Fenlander]

Yes that was often true of the older Zodiacs and Avons from the 70s & 80s... stronger built transoms than these days and perhaps less of the customer liability worries companies face these days where everything has to be extra careful.

I'll find the proof and link it for you when I can remember where it is.

[Fenlander]

This scan was sent to me by Matt H... he's posted it here before in previous years but I can't find the thread.

Page from Avon brochure for your SIB below.

Did you decide to sell your existing trailer outfit then?

[jwatson]

Flipping heck!! Yes my current outfit is for sale as I need to downsize... Now wondering wether to keep the engine though!!!

[Fenlander]

Downsize as in money.... weight... storage (i.e. not using a trailer)?

[Max...]

Nice proper old Hypalon SIB that - they don't make them like they used to. Very similar to a Y Class that takes a 15 normally, Sam on here told me he tried a 25 on his Y but the extra couple of kts was not really worth the extra weight/hassle/fuel so a 15 would probably be a good match too.

[Fenlander]

The Avon 340 Sportsboat we came so close to buying last year had a 20 or 25hp fitted. I knew it was a too heavy lift for me but we did say we'd have at least one blast out with it before downsizing the engine. Decided not to buy for several reasons in the end... one being it seemed we might have to put in a fair bit of cash to do the downsize due to the premium prices of 15hp 2-strokes.

[mattwarner]

I had one of these many years ago when I was a teenager, had an enormous amount of fun on it!


We started off with a 15hp tiller and ended up swapping to a 25hp Merc and making a ply floor with a centre console attached.


With a 25hp it literally flew!

[jwatson]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Downsize as in money.... weight... storage (i.e. not using a trailer)?

All the above!

[Fenlander]

OK... asked as it's easy to end up going round in circles with the SIB swapping and just end up with it costing money to end up with close to what you had before if you're not careful so think hard where you want to be with the new outfit...

Daily inflate from car? Planing performance? Light enough to carry or use transom wheels?

Those Avons are probably almost as heavy as your existing boat and with floorboards a possible but not ideal daily inflate.

Then as I said above a decent 15hp which is it's ideal motor might cost more than the nominal value you put on your 25hp in the package you are selling.

Oh and after a few uses you might find yourself wanting to cut the spray deck away!

Seems all negatives but having said all that there is huge pleasure to be gained from owning a tidy old Hypalon Avon or Zodiac.

[jwatson]

Yep I know what you mean. I want to lose the trailer as it takes up too much room in the garage. I've only given £550 for the 340 package. Including a 4hp mariner which looks mint so could sell that on. How much heavier is a 25 than a 15? I'd certainly go for the 25 if it was the cheaper alternative. Would forever be looking at the identification plate otherwise & wanting more power! However I am also swapping to make launching by myself slightly easier! So maybe not! What a pickle! Will have to weigh up the price of a 15 I guess. Also my 25 doesn't have a tiller & they're not as cheap as you may think!

[Max...]

That's a heavy boat and will be tricky to launch without a trailer with a 25 on the back or even a 15, you'll be OK on a slipway with transom wheels though but not on a beach really.

Not the quickest thing to assemble/disassemble either if going that route each trip.

But on the upside a lovely solid old thing compared to most other SIB's.

Really needs a trailer though...

Price is OKish but depends on the engine value, worth checking ebay for completed sales to gauge market value although location always affects this a lot:

This was another 340:

AVON SUPERSPORT S3-40 COMPLETE OUTFIT WITH ENGINE AND TRAILER | eBay

Avon Supersport S3.4 Inflateable dinghy boat | eBay

Past sales to sift through:

avon in Sailing Dingy Boats | eBay

avon in Boats and Watercraft | eBay

[Fenlander]

Oh well at £550 for the Avon with all its kit I can see in the image plus 4hp engine that's fine. On a good day you can get one of those old 4hp Mariners away for almost £400... they are such a dependable simple engine. I have one just like it... no particular need for it but they are the modern version of a Seagull to me so great to have about.

So after selling the outboard your Avon would end up standing no more than £300 even if you couldn't get top money for the Mariner. For a SIB that, were it made today, would cost probably £2500+ that's a bargain.

I can tell Max and I are thinking roughly the same thing. If you want something to store packed away at home then daily inflate at the coast for possible single handed launching then you might have thought of buying an air floor package with transom wheels and a 10/15hp already with it to get best value.

To get an 10/15hp engine now the best thing would be to buy a package of boat/trailer/engine/ kit etc then sell off the trailer/boat/etc separately and then you'll effectively reduce the engine cost.

As we all know unless you are exceptionally strong a 20 or 25hp is just too difficult to manhandle in a sole user daily setup situation... hence the popularity of the 10/15hp models as the maximum you can easily move that will still plane a medium size SIB.

[jwatson]

I never used the trailer to launch my 380, just for transport. That was hard work but do-able with the 25 on the back. I think the sensible thing to do is keep the 4hp for now until a local 15 comes up. Worst case for launching I can use transom wheels & attach the outboard at the waters edge. As for the bow dodger, it does seem to take up a lot of deck space but then will be useful for keeping stuff dry. Although all my gear is in dry bags... Will just see how it goes! Now.... Will someone buy my quicksilver!!

[Max...]

These old Avons are so tempting and below is a smaller one that was listed a few days ago - I saw it just after it came on thinking that is a heck of a lot of fun for £295 all in just to chuck in the corner of the garage and pop in the car boot or whatever:

Avon Rover R2.50 Inflatable Boat with Suzuki DT2 2HP Outboard Engine | eBay