Bombard Aerotec ready for the maiden voyage (b@stard son of a Y Class)

[Max...]

Yes, kind of a super lightweight poor cousin of a RNLI Y Class but they're are just too much of a lump for me to beach launch - still like to try one one day but for now (with a few mods) the Bombard could be my ultimate compromise SIB.

Sitting in the thing I have grown to like the deep V and foot position but am always wary of wear and grot on the floor (especially with the heavy Pelicase with anchor and all the gear in) and wanted to smooth out the transition in the interior V floor - this 3mm thick HD industrial mattting works a treat and is super grippy, just the right amount of flex and not too heavy. The black looks so much more in keeping with the red tubes too don't you know! It's not cut perfectly but after about fifty in and out adjustments it will do.

Will see how the flexy bladder works too, mounted on shock cord so has a little give. I will cushion the brass filler with some foam lagging against the tube. I'm not too keen on bow bags and like to use the full length of the boat so I've used the bag mounts for some simple lifelines.

Roll on Sunday!

[Landlockedpirate]

Looks fantastic and I really like the look of the flooring, where did you get it from ?

Dont think you will be in danger of running out of petrol, I bet that tank will last 2 to 3 ................years

[m chappelow]

One advantage with a flexi fuel bladder if the fuel pump on the engine packs in you can always kneel on it to force fuel through : )

[Max...]

Originally Posted by Landlockedpirate

Looks fantastic and I really like the look of the flooring, where did you get it from ?

Dont think you will be in danger of running out of petrol, I bet that tank will last 2 to 3 ................years

Thanks, yep, 7 1/2 gallons is a lot! I've got 25 litres in it and it's heavy enough.

Matting is easy to buy on eBay, I'll PM you a link.

[Spongie]

Looks really smart! What size/model bombard? May be a suitable temporary replacement for the missing Y-class on an ex RNLI ALB I'm involved with.

[Max...]

It's an Aerotec 380 - bit lightweight for an RNLI boat but see my reply in the Y Class topic.

[beerbelly]

post the ebay link for the rubber mat please would be just the job to keep fish blood of my light grey zodiac floor

[Max...]

Will post up some pics and thoughts on the Bombard tomorrow but a word of warning on the rubber flooring, if you spill petrol on it (inevitable) and this leaks under the rubber it *will* leave yellow stains on the PVC main floor that so far prove impossible to remove. Having Googled rubber flooring and yellow stains this seems to be an issue especially with petroleum products thrown into the mix. Despite this I will say the rubber flooring worked brilliantly in the boat today.

[Max...]

Well, it was an awesome day's Sibbing yesterday. I've read a lot about Aerotecs' on here and often thought they can't be that different but now I know why. It really is completely different to any other SIB I've experienced and as has been said is far closer to a RIB for sure. We did nearly 40 NM yesterday and I was *seriously* impressed - it's all in the unique floor of course but it rides, handles chop and corners far more like a RIB. Cornering is not the usual 'hovercraft' type side sliding affair but it grips, digs in and carves round. It was a reasonably smooth sea yesterday but the wind came up a bit in the afternoon and we actively went out for the disturbed water around the harbour and other boats wakes. Previously in the Zodaic we would be down to low speed, throttling up and down, in the Bombard we just plowed through at WOT. No jumping, bouncing or dramas, just a soft ride. The floor is totally solid and flex free and as others have said the shape gives a much deeper interior floor especially towards the bow (see pic). This gives a *much* more secure feeling of being in a 'real' boat and a virtually dry ride all day, no splashing or spray coming in. All in all we were blown away and it was better than we thought it would be for sure.

So, is it the perfect SIB or the best in the world? No, nothing is perfect and there are some amazing military and sevice SIB's around but as an allround compromise and judging on the criteria perhaps important to most of us (as per the 'which SIB, which SIB sticky) - ie suitable for 1 - 3 people, doesn't need a trailer, lightweight, easy and quick assembly/storage, beach launchable by 1 or 2, able to be popped on a car roof, requires no more than a 15 2 stroke (this being the max weight easily managable up/down a beach/in and out of car) and most importantly usable in typical UK sea conditions then it probably does it better than most and in chop will leave them for dead.

I was concerned about the inner floor shape but in practise as others have noted it is very comfortable and the shape is ideal for propping feet against and gives a really deep secure space for kids, far more sitting 'in' a boat than 'on' it.

We were about 1 1/2 up with a 20 litre fuel load and fairly heavy Pelicase/anchor/gear. With the 15 Mercury at WOT we touched 19 kts with an easy cruise at 15/16. Performance up onto the plane was fantastic and take up from mid throttle impressive. A 25 would be nice but would be too heavy for us and not fit the criteria above.

Downsides? The V floor means a little more depth of water is required for launching. I don't like the interior middle panel that you step on but the 3mm rubber matting above transfoms this and is a huge improvement.

The new retail price is silly expensive and I would never pay it but secondhand value is superb.

All in all a truly awesome and unique SIB, if a RIB is 10/10 and thinking of specifically typical UK F3/4 slight seas/chop I would give a typical air floor sasuage keel SIB 3/10 in 'capability comparison' and the Aerotec 8/10. When it gets really rough it would be a different story maybe but for now this is one brilliant boat.

[The Bass Stalker]

Glad you are pleased with it. Sounds a great boat. I would be interested to try one and compare to my 430 quicksilver in chop. The thing is I suppose is one man's chop is anothers flat calm. I know if I'm going 20 knts in mine over chop your arse gets airborne and it hurts, mostly if you are in the front half, but then I guess thats why ribs have jockey seats.

The type of chop also makes a huge difference. For instance it was mirror flat the other day and I cut across the wake of a big sunseeker and it didn't blink. Was really no bother especially since I now have tubes up to full pressure.

Really I want a bombard as well as mine just for when touring around so I don't have the hassle of trailering. And I could just stick the 30 on the back. Its 52kg which is easy enough with a sack trolley. Bet that would be scary quick. I should have bought the one on ebay last week which went for 900 and sold the 25hp selva that came with it.

[Landlockedpirate]

[QUOTE=I should have bought the one on ebay last week which went for 900 and sold the 25hp selva that came with it.[/QUOTE]


Or used it as a spare anchor

It was really cheap, he had tried to sell it 3 or 4 times, I was going to have a bid myself but he kept changing the year of boat and something didnt feel quite right.

[Max...]

Again as per the 'sticky' always buy a used package and sell on unwanted bits, hard to believe this one below linked in the same 'which Sib' sticky got no bids yesterday, engine is a 2006 and would sell on alone here for £1200 many times over, boat is a cracker:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Quick-Silv...c#ht_63wt_1340


Nice package here too, again sell on the engine and trailer and the boat will come out virtually free in all likelihood:

Bombard Aerotec 380 Inflatable Rib With Suzuki Outboard Motor And Trailer | eBay

[stray]

It's the same boat Max, he must have re listed it.

If anyone's thinking of bidding and want to know how old the boat is, just ask for the Hull identification number, (the small plate on the back of the Transom), last 2 numbers denotes year of manufacture.




Mine's 03, so was manufactured in 2003.

[Maclures]

That Quicksilver is so much different to mine guess mines way older version

plate on mine is NE636886B So is that a 1986 year ?,

Cheers

[Landlockedpirate]

Originally Posted by Maclures

That Quicksilver is so much different to mine guess mines way older version

plate on mine is NE636886B So is that a 1986 year ?,

Cheers

It could be, but the ageing of boats from the last 2 digits on the serial number didnt really start properly till the 90's and wasnt compulsory till 97.

[Maclures]

Cheers mate

[Big Al C]

Very interested in the matting idea (been looking at doing the same), have looked into the yellowing situation.
As we now know its the rubber that turns things yellow (Google) and the fuel speeds it up, over time I think the rubber with the fuel may fall apart? .
Have looked at other suitable mats/matting and are having some samples sent to me to try out.
Its PVC, its what the boat is made from,,,,, different colours, patterns (grip/texture) and thickness. So should not turn things yellow and is fuel resistant.
So well post findings back here by the weekend.

Company supplying samples is on ebay,,,,, loads of helpful info,,,, Coruba is their trading name.

[Fenlander]

Glad it seems to suit so well Max. Now if someone would develop a 26kg 15hp motor it might make a good "retirement" outfit for us!

Your enthusiasm for it does take me back a bit to my new Zodiac Fastroller 3.6m which was similarly light and very lively with a 15hp.... obviously not so good once the waves went over a small chop... and seemingly not as well built as the Bombard because there are many 10yr old Aerotecs in good order.

[Max...]

Originally Posted by Big Al C

Very interested in the matting idea (been looking at doing the same), have looked into the yellowing situation.
As we now know its the rubber that turns things yellow (Google) and the fuel speeds it up, over time I think the rubber with the fuel may fall apart? .
Have looked at other suitable mats/matting and are having some samples sent to me to try out.
Its PVC, its what the boat is made from,,,,, different colours, patterns (grip/texture) and thickness. So should not turn things yellow and is fuel resistant.
So well post findings back here by the weekend.

Company supplying samples is on ebay,,,,, loads of helpful info,,,, Coruba is their trading name.

Will be very interested to see how you get on and how the material compares. Important point is to get the right thickness and flexibility so it conforms to the general floor shape but still smooths out the transistion of the inner V and is not too slippery when wet.

I don't think the rubber will disentegrate, it's just the fuel turns slightly yellow and this stains the PVC - if you notice a fuel spill like I did you will probably wash it off right away and if not presumably it would happen just before launching or near the sea when you can again wash it out.

For me it was carelessness with the flexy tanks which are a PITA to move about with fuel in being so floppy and I loosened the cap to check something then let go and 'splodge'...

I've learnt my lesson and will now only remove the cap and refill outside the boat.

I originally planned to make the floor just like I did in a Land Rover 10 years ago, making a sandwich of 10mm closed cell camping mat foam contact adhesived to the underside of the same rubber flooring, this was mainly for sound proofing on the cab floor. This would mean that any fuel sitting under the mat would not be so likely to leach the colour out of the rubber.

Regardless, for me the rubber floor transforms it so much I'm happy to live with the stain issue - not much I can do TBH as it has already happened!

BTW, I did a test yesterday with some spare white PVC material/rubber/petrol - nothing will remove it - acetone, bleach, household cleaners...

[Max...]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Glad it seems to suit so well Max. Now if someone would develop a 26kg 15hp motor it might make a good "retirement" outfit for us!

Your enthusiasm for it does take me back a bit to my new Zodiac Fastroller 3.6m which was similarly light and very lively with a 15hp.... obviously not so good once the waves went over a small chop... and seemingly not as well built as the Bombard because there are many 10yr old Aerotecs in good order.

Thanks!

Where we usually launch it is a bit of a sod as the beech is typical East Sussex coast - two or three very steep short banks of shingle/pebbles with flatter sections inbetween. I have made a rope bridle that clips to the front side bridle rings with a 3 ft length of 2" PVC piping and this too sits under the main front ring so spreading the load, two people can pull together up the beach, still a struggle though even with the boat empty bar 15 kilos of fuel.

The 26kg 9.8 I could struggle with myself but with the heavier 36kg Mercury manhandling it is just a bit too much, not getting any younger or stronger. So I have made a new stand with 10" pneumatic wheels and again a wide bar for two to pull up together - this was a doddle.