Best "airdeck" SIB?

[John Kennett]

What's the best inflatable-floor SIB?

The Zodiac Furura looks interesting, but is it actually any better than a conventional inflatable keel?

The Quicksilver ones seem to be popular. How do they compare?

Any others particularly good or bad?

Ta!

John

[MustRib]

I like my Honda 3.8. Its lightweight when your dragging it round.
Its got big tubes, and the V in the keel at the bow is quite pronounced.
I've had it out in 2m swells and not felt worried.
what size engine are you putting on? I have a Yam 20d and to be honest its proibably the most I would want to fit. I think you could put a beefier unit on a non air floor.
the only other drawback to the Honda is its almost impossible to fit launching wheels as there are inflatable sort of trim tabs that extend out behind the transom. They do help it get on the plane quickly though.

[codprawn]

Quicksilvers are very good value for money and seem quite well built. I love my 3.1m but it has a wood floor which makes it much more rigid. In my handbook it says that the air floor will only take 10hp and the wooden one 15hp but they seem to have revised that now and given them the same 15hp rating.

The boat is very easy to plane as the sponsons are angled at the stern which they say helps a lot.

With the keel inflated it gives the bottom a sort of cathedral hull shape.

[Hugh Jardon]

i had a bombard ax3 and a aerotech 3.4 or what ever it is called

i would say the quicksilver is far better, the fuel tank fits under the seat rather than an inflatable thwart that the bombards had

also the quicksilver is more substantially built, and would take a higher rated engine

the amount of space in the boat becomes a premium as well

also there was a thread on here asking if the airdeck or an aluminium/wood floor is best and i would say that if space/time and weight are not an issue then go for the wood/aluminium floor as i do find our air floor does flex no matter what they say.

[JCW]

John,
I have a Zodiac 3.4m Acti-V with 15HP 2 stroke mariner o/b. In addition to the High pressure floor the keel is also High pressure. It makes the set up very rigid considering it is all inflatable. A good SIB for its size and perfoms well with a 15HP.

[tamsrib]

have a futura with a 25 yamaha and a 5 yamaha
no criticism at all would recommend great directional stability both on lochs and surf

[tamsrib]

should have added i have metal floor

[prairie tuber]

Tunnell hull SIB with inflatable floor;

http://www.amiboats.com/Advanced%20Cat%20Specs.htm

I test drove one last summer. The only thing I didn't like about it was the inflatable floor.

[Nick Hearne]

Any one tried one of these Bombard Aerotec 380?

[fred bolton]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

Tunnell hull SIB with inflatable floor;

http://www.amiboats.com/Advanced%20Cat%20Specs.htm

I test drove one last summer. The only thing I didn't like about it was the inflatable floor.

Do they have a uk dealership?

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by fred bolton

Do they have a uk dealership?

Not sure, but here is the link to contact them:

http://www.amiboats.com/Contact%20Us.htm.


If you are considering a round nosed tunnel hull with a hard floor, the Gemini Surf series (4.0m & 4.2m) and their Dive series (4.7m & 5.3M) are a fair bit beefier in build than the AMI boats, and are available in either PVC or hypalon.

http://www.gemini-inflatables.com/in....asp?boatID=36

I have also heard good things about the ceasar surfcats, but haven't seen one my self. They are available in PVC only (I'm not sure if they are available with air floors). They are a trade member on this board and do have a UK dealer.

http://www.ceasarmarine.com/ceasar_surfcat.aspx

[Richard B]

When I was planning to purchase a new air deck SIB, I had narrowed it down to a Lodestar http://www.lodestardirect.co.uk part of my reason was that you can choose how lightly or heavily you want the boat to be built as they do different fabrics and you can choose whether to have all the reinforcing and handles, or not. I used on a few years ago off the French coast and was very impressed with the build quality against the Suzumar I had at the time. Lodestar UK's MD is also a very pleasant chap, he does a really good demo of the product at boat shows.

The only thing that stopped me buying one from JJ was an Ebay bargain - a 2.3m Jets Marivent branded boat.... probably made in the same factory in Taiwan!

[John Kennett]

Well, I went for the Quicksilver as the price was so much less than the likes of Zodiac.

You really do just pump it up and go. It's quick, easy and hassle free (especially with a high power inflator!). It's lighter to carry too.

As other people have mentioned, it is definitely less rigid than a hard floor equivalent. In a bit of a chop the floor is pretty lively, and it's much less efficient therefore slower.

For what I want, I can live with that though. It's worth it for the convenience.

It would be interesting to compare with a Zodiac sometime though!

John

[Nick Hearne]

Sounds like we should have a Sib outing, I'll bring the bombard along to compare!

Nick