Beginner SIBing

[Jon B]

Hello,

I’ve spent the last few weeks reading/researching as much as I can to find what best suits our needs as a family of 5 and also what is realistically possible transport/storage wise. Steve509926 very kindly invited me to take a look at his boat, which gave me a greater understanding of what I was facing, and how best to approach our new venture into boating.

I’m booked onto Powerboat Level 2 at Plas Menai in August. This I figured was a no brainer.

There’s a whole host of smaller items I’ll need before venturing onto the sea: flares, anchor to name but a few.

The outboard is still under review, but I’ll cover that over in engines/props in due course.

So to the SIB…. I called into Boat World yesterday hoping to take a look at something that might fit our needs. I’ve figured that going over 4m is probably going to be too big in most cases; storage, transport and on the water. Anything less that 3.5 just wouldn’t hold us all, or at least 4 of us comfortably. So that left 3.6 or 3.8. The Honwave T38 looked promising, and to be honest, still could be in with a shout.

But it was their new Air V Type Floor 380 that was sat outside waiting to be photographed that caught my eye. Overall looked like it had everything we needed, and at a reasonable price of £1095. I’ve deliberated over floor type for some time, but after seeing the V floor in the flesh, I think the extra depth inside the boat will give us that bit more space. Also, the internal width is a massive 96cm, compare this to most similar sized boats being around 80cm, it’s another tick. The only slight issue was I’d have preferred oars on the inside perhaps, but I’m not so sure it’s going to matter that much. This was also the lightest boat, I guess due to not having an additional air or aluminium floor. I just need to work out which transom wheels would work best. I’ve read all about the Beach Masters, and if they fit, I’ll get them. The guys at Boat World recommended their wheels, but when you compare them to the robustness of the Beach Masters, let’s hope they fit.

Please do share any thoughts or recommendations you might have. And Steve, I might just need the fixing plate measurements for the Beach Master wheels one day before I decide to purchase the boat please. I’ll be waiting till after my Power Boat course in August before buying something, so I’ve still got time to change my mind

Cheers, Jon.

[Croolis]

Looks like you've got it all covered.

I'm a newbie too, so anything I say is under correction. I got a 3.2m Boatworld Air Floor (not the V-Floor), bought it from them. Went up there to speak to them first, collected in person so I didn't have to pay delivery. All good.

I use the 3.2 with just me and my 11 year old lad. We could put someone else in volume-wise but any more than that would be overly crowded IMHO, and TBH three in it would be more than I'd want. But I'd imagine, within safety constraints, this is a subjective thing.

When it comes to loading, many hands can make light work of carrying the boat about when it's bagged up. My 11 year old can't help too much with the umm ~36kg is it that my 3.2m weighs, but it's the size that matters - I've never managed to roll it up as tight as it came in the Boatworld box, and, if I stand it upright on its end when bagged, it's broader than me and comes up to my chest (probably 4 1/2 foot).

So that's a considerable bit of boot space, plus outboard. Protect your back when moving either.

I did level 2 powerboat first (I'm in a sailing club and had to do it for safety boat duties) and in conversation with insurance company (do get insurance), I think that mattered.

[Steve509926]

Hi Jon, things appear to be moving along quickly.

If it's the SIB in the link below-

https://boatworld.co.uk/boatworld-air-v-type-floor-380

I think you will find the internal beam is 88cms which is still more than the T38 @ 80cms.
Also the Beachmaster type wheels won't fit on the Boatworld V 380

[Fenlander]

Just a heads up... it seems Boatworld have kept the transom floor tabs that are such pain for transom wheels and sounder transducer mounts etc. Despite the extra cost that alone would sway me towards the Honwave which lost these tabs on the last model change.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Despite the extra cost that alone would sway me towards the Honwave which lost these tabs on the last model change.

Me too

[Croolis]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Just a heads up... it seems Boatworld have kept the transom floor tabs that are such pain for transom wheels and sounder transducer mounts etc. Despite the extra cost that alone would sway me towards the Honwave which lost these tabs on the last model change.

Wossiss then? Do you mean those flange things that are on the inside of the transom that you need to make sure the air floor goes underneath? I have straight transom wheels of the cheap Amazon variety and didn't really find a problem when fitting them.

I'm not sure what a transducer mount is, TBH. Fish finding fingy?

[Fenlander]

No I mean the tabs that are part of the air floor and stick out behind the transom meaning special curved transom wheel sets were needed to clear the tab. Expensive, wobbly and prone to fracture. Yes transducers for fish finders needed extra thought if you had the tabs. Honwave had them up to a couple of years ago,

[Jon B]

Originally Posted by Croolis

Looks like you've got it all covered.

I'm a newbie too, so anything I say is under correction. I got a 3.2m Boatworld Air Floor (not the V-Floor), bought it from them. Went up there to speak to them first, collected in person so I didn't have to pay delivery. All good.

I use the 3.2 with just me and my 11 year old lad. We could put someone else in volume-wise but any more than that would be overly crowded IMHO, and TBH three in it would be more than I'd want. But I'd imagine, within safety constraints, this is a subjective thing.

When it comes to loading, many hands can make light work of carrying the boat about when it's bagged up. My 11 year old can't help too much with the umm ~36kg is it that my 3.2m weighs, but it's the size that matters - I've never managed to roll it up as tight as it came in the Boatworld box, and, if I stand it upright on its end when bagged, it's broader than me and comes up to my chest (probably 4 1/2 foot).

So that's a considerable bit of boot space, plus outboard. Protect your back when moving either.

I did level 2 powerboat first (I'm in a sailing club and had to do it for safety boat duties) and in conversation with insurance company (do get insurance), I think that mattered.

Cheers Croolis,

I’ve 1 strong daughter, 1 weakling daughter and a very promising 6 year old son that only ever talks about being strong and fast, he backs it up, too. So I’m holding out for him to bale me out in years to come.

Insurance? I’ve read about this briefly, but not looked into it. What sort of prices are we looking at?

[Jon B]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Hi Jon, things appear to be moving along quickly.

If it's the SIB in the link below-

https://boatworld.co.uk/boatworld-air-v-type-floor-380

I think you will find the internal beam is 88cms which is still more than the T38 @ 80cms.
Also the Beachmaster type wheels won't fit on the Boatworld V 380

I’ve just reread the brochure I received yesterday from Boat World and the dimensions say 184cm wide with each tube being 45cm. I get that 94cm internals. I was close. Could this be the new model?

[Jon B]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Just a heads up... it seems Boatworld have kept the transom floor tabs that are such pain for transom wheels and sounder transducer mounts etc. Despite the extra cost that alone would sway me towards the Honwave which lost these tabs on the last model change.

Hi Fenlander,

I’ve got some pictures of the new boat, but struggling to upload. Says failed upload. Can you advise what I’m doing wrong please?

[Jon B]

Originally Posted by Jon B

Hi Fenlander,

I’ve got some pictures of the new boat, but struggling to upload. Says failed upload. Can you advise what I’m doing wrong please?

Anyway, I have some pictures of the boat that shows the tabs are different on the new model. Just struggling to upload them! Keeps showing an error, failed upload.

[Steve509926]

Uploaded them for you Jon.

Yep, that's a brand new model from Boatworld, wonder where they got the idea from to drop the trim tabs!

[Steve509926]

Now that I have taken a proper look at the pictures you took, my opinion is that the Beachmaster type wheels will fit. They will probably need a packer fixed to the transom behind the mounting on the wheels.
If they are offering it for sale at the old model price, I think I would be getting an order in pretty quickly.

[Tommy c]

Just my personal opinion and I'm no expert, infact I've only been sibbing a couple of years or so.
I've had a boatworld boat, granted not the 380 air vee.
My son bought a honwave t38 a few months ago.
Boatworld 380 air vee £1100 and the honwave t38 at Liverpool power boats under £1300
For an extra £200 the honwave gets my vote all day long.
I've actually took delivery of a t32 this week

[69cmw]

They will probably be made in the same Cheng Ming Shing factory as the majority of Chinese made sibs are 🤷

[Tommy c]

Originally Posted by 69cmw

They will probably be made in the same Cheng Ming Shing factory as the majority of Chinese made sibs are 🤷

Even if they are, the honwave is being made to a better spec.
The material is noticeably thicker.
More and wider protection strips
GRP coated transom.
Better seating fixings
The whole boat just feels more robust

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Tommy c

Just my personal opinion and I'm no expert, infact I've only been sibbing a couple of years or so.
I've had a boatworld boat, granted not the 380 air vee.
My son bought a honwave t38 a few months ago.
Boatworld 380 air vee £1100 and the honwave t38 at Liverpool power boats under £1300
For an extra £200 the honwave gets my vote all day long.
I've actually took delivery of a t32 this week

Whilst one would normally agree with you Tommy, the thing that "may" sway me towards the new Boatworld V 380 is the internal width. When I have been in a T38 I've always felt that they are uncomfortably narrow. If the internal width is as Jon says, 94cms, that makes it a totally different sib from the Honwave T38.
What model of Boatworld SIB did you have?

[Tommy c]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Whilst one would normally agree with you Tommy, the thing that "may" sway me towards the new Boatworld V 380 is the internal width. When I have been in a T38 I've always felt that they are uncomfortably narrow. If the internal width is as Jon says, 94cms, that makes it a totally different sib from the Honwave T38.
What model of Boatworld SIB did you have?

According to the boatworld website, the t38 has an inner beam of 80cm and their own 380 air vee has an inner beam of 88cm so under no illusion that it will be noticeably different
I've had the boatworld 300 air vee then a 330 pro.
But since being introduced to honwave the robustness and quality is also noticeably different IMHO

[Jon B]

Originally Posted by Tommy c

According to the boatworld website, the t38 has an inner beam of 80cm and their own 380 air vee has an inner beam of 88cm so under no illusion that it will be noticeably different
I've had the boatworld 300 air vee then a 330 pro.
But since being introduced to honwave the robustness and quality is also noticeably different IMHO

I picked up a new out brochure when at Boat World yesterday, it says the width of the 380 is 184cm with a tube diameter of 45cm. I’d send a pic if I knew how. I didn’t measure the boat when there, but presuming it’s not a misprint, it’s a decent internal width.

I can see how the Honwave is a better built boat, and that’s to my very untrained eye. But I think for my needs right now and the foreseeable, the 380 is edging it. Be nice to see a Honwave in the flesh though.

[Jon B]

Had a go using my phone.