best seakeeping ability

[monkey]

I currently have a zodiac fastroller 285 with tohatsu 9.8 2 stoke but I am not really happy with the boat as I feel quite vunerable in it and like its too small to make any longish coast hopping trips in , especially around the tidal waters off Anglesey.
I am torn between a Aerotech 380 and a hard shell , either ribeye TL310 or Bombard AX500 , the latter two would give me problems transporting and it would be a roofrack job, or pherhaps a walker bay genesis 270 which would just fit in my estate . But I want something I feel a bit safer in and can handle a wind vs tide situation . Can anyone advise me what will have the best sea keeping abilities ? I know the 9.8 I have is a little weak for the 380 but I have no intention of getting a bigger one , at at that HP I avoid the £10 launching fees per launch and only have to pay to register.
Thanks all

[Nick Hearne]

I have the Aerotech 380 with a 15 hp on it & it gives me the feeling of a very capable set up happy taking it over to the IOW the other day. Very light weight too and you can roll it up and stick it in the boot too.

[monkey]

Thanks for your response , yeah I must admit im leaning toward the 380 . Just need to find a decent second hand one , there are a couple about but people want £1300 for one! Does anyone know what happens if you rip/pop the floor or a tube ? Do these boats sink in that situation ?

[Black]

They certainly aren't the cheapest boats around, but I've been really impressed with mine

The low weight is a great help when boating alone.

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by monkey

I am torn between a Aerotech 380 and a hard shell , either ribeye TL310 or Bombard AX500 , the latter two would give me problems transporting and it would be a roofrack job, or pherhaps a walker bay genesis 270 which would just fit in my estate. But I want something I feel a bit safer in and can handle a wind vs tide situation.

The Aerotec is a lot more boat than any of the smaller RIBs that you're looking at. The AX500 in particular has a very shallow V hull and doesn't perform as well as the Aerotec. It's also a PITA to move around when it's deflated as it's very unwieldy. It sounds like a great idea on paper, but in my experience it doesn't work well. I bought one of the Avon equivalents, expecting it to be a better replacement for an Aerotec, but I sold it (at an impressive loss) after only a couple of uses. Interestingly, with a 9.8 it performed no better than the 380 unless very lightly loaded. I now have two Aerotecs

I like the look of the little Ribeyes though. The aluminium hulls are light, and have a reasonable V to them, but the 310 is a lot smaller than a 380 and you'd need to get it onto a roofrack or trailer as well as having somewhere to store it.

Originally Posted by monkey

Does anyone know what happens if you rip/pop the floor or a tube ? Do these boats sink in that situation ?

You have three separate tube compartments, and two floor compartments. If you manage to lose enough air to sink the boat you would be doing something really wrong!

[monkey]

Thanks, nice to get an opinion from someone who has tried these boats, I am sold on the 380.just need to find a decent one at a decent price .

[bingosucks]

The only problem with the 380 is it has a v inside too making it hard to store a baitbox,
On the last durdle door run we had the benefit of 3 different sibs lined up my excel kept us drier than lockieboi who struggled in a bigger boat, hands down though the deeper v on the bombard is mega on a run

[bingosucks]

I should add i think lockieboi has a prowave

[lockieboi]

Originally Posted by bingosucks

I should add i think lockieboi has a prowave

I do indeed, it was good to compare all 3 different types of SIB.

My Ali floor seemed to dig in to waves more, probably due to the extra weight making the SIB sit lower in the water.

[bingosucks]

Originally Posted by lockieboi

I do indeed, it was good to compare all 3 different types of SIB.

My Ali floor seemed to dig in to waves more, probably due to the extra weight making the SIB sit lower in the water.

I wonder if the airfloors flex with the waves

[stray]

I wonder if the airfloors flex with the waves

Mine does, it gets the odd ripple going through it on choppy days.

[Ianhfc]

Originally Posted by Black

They certainly aren't the cheapest boats around, but I've been really impressed with mine

The low weight is a great help when boating alone.

Hi, i'm impressed with your launch (transom) wheels...what are they as I only have the smaller ones on mine. Thanks
Ian

[Black]

They are Zodiac wheels, they came with the boat. Seem to work really well.

Nick has he same set I believe.

The bigger wheels make all the difference, I had this size on my original Quicksilver 380 and they work well even on sand.

Sent from my iPad using Rib.net

[Ianhfc]

Hope you don't mind me asking but have you got the dimensions of just the wheel (Diameter x width and length of spindle and spindle diameter please) as I have the ordinary small wheels and I'm sure I can get a wheel to fit the same size as yours at a fraction of the cost.
Thank you
Ian

[Black]

Ian,

Hopefully these pictures help, let me know if you need any more.

The third one has the tip of the tape on the plastic bush.

[treerat]

Originally Posted by monkey

Thanks, nice to get an opinion from someone who has tried these boats, I am sold on the 380.just need to find a decent one at a decent price .

I had a Yam 380s. A great size, did everything I needed it to and could just about get it on the roof rack or in the boor when rolled. Ended up with a trailer in the end though just for ease.

I would have though that 9hp will be sluggish, especially if you get a few adults on board, used to have a 25 on mine and she flew

Perhaps a pair of them

[Ianhfc]

Originally Posted by Black

Ian,

Hopefully these pictures help, let me know if you need any more.

The third one has the tip of the tape on the plastic bush.


Attachment 85269



Attachment 85270



Attachment 85267



Attachment 85268

Thank you Black, that's awesome, I can work from that, as you can see from my profile I have a Zodiac CLR 340 and I just want to be able to move it about a little easier, i'm in the process of designing and making a cradle for the front end which i'll just use the 'Original' wheels for.
Thanks so much for your help.
Ian

[Nolandandallsea]

Took my Aerotec out Poole harbour entrance in the boat chaos, when hundreds of big boats were racing to see the airshow.

Really unpredictable conditions no thanks to the larger faster boats but felt my family and kids (3&6) were perfectly safe.

Also been out with a mate and questioned if the conditions were too bad and there was major chop and big waves.

Within a minute we were hitting big waves head on and taking serious air, engine screaming! love it!

Never felt it was too much, amazed at how stable it is.

[Stippolyte]

One benefit of the deep v on the aerotec is if it gets really choppy sitting on the floor means you are well inside the tubes.

[matt h]

The aerotec is the finest sib there is currently. The v inside the drains water away fast unlike the flat floor version sibs!