DIY SIB improvements ?

[Squid Boat]

Good on ya mate.

Cheers, Squid

[petethebass]

bloomin fantasidobi posts sir gurnard ,you are a genius ,im lovin i

[The Gurnard]

Thanks for the kind comments guys and Im delighted you found it of some interest.

Of course, my DIY improvements are not just confined to my boats.

The 4x4 car got some DIY mods too. Nothing too drastic as I didn’t change or remove anything from the car but I thought it would be more useful for my needs as a kind of mini camper.

I made a wooden side panel with various pockets and holes in it so it provided better storage for a 5 gallon water container. The rear seats fold forward but stick up from the floor about a foot, so to get six foot sleeping room, I built a bed along the other side which is high enough to be over the folder rear seat. This was the first attempt.




This is my DIY sleeping platform mark 2. Its built on a large drawer that also has excellent storage and its a bit more robust than the first one. Everything is removable. The rear seats can be used and the sleeping platform fits in the back. I use the space between the platform and the side panel to transport my 2.6m seago inflatable and 3.3 mariner outboard.





Im now completely mobile and self sufficient for weekends away. After work on a Friday..I head for the north west .. park up for the night with the seago and outboard outside under the trapaulin.




Then after breakfast on the Saturday morning.. I go exploring in my inflatable ..or hill walking if it is too windy. I go home Sunday evening to get ready for work on the Monday.

Yup..its a hard life living on my own ..and semi retired :-D

[kerny]

Thats amazing, you should be on the telly hosting a DIY program

You certainly get about mate, glad to see that you are living life to the max

[mick]

Have you thought of getting a roof tent bit warmer than sleeping in the car

[petethebass]

i did similar sort of thing in my peugeot van ,put a false floor in so everything could be stored there ,with a rod rack for 6 rods up above ,also placed a removable stand on the back doors for my cooker ,i could do a full english breakie no probs ,then beggared off down wales every friday night till sunday ,broke my heart haveing to sell that van ,i even had a wine rack in it lol

[The Gurnard]

Originally Posted by kerny

You certainly get about mate, glad to see that you are living life to the max

Yup..I certainly get about in my small boats..and go many places that should only be for the big boats.

But know what you are doing.. pick the weather well.. and have an adventuresome spirit.. and you can get there too.

Some of my recent highlights were going along the Duirinish coast of North West Skye in my small harshell boat .. it is only 12ft long and little more than a rowing boat. Power is a 4hp engine but I always go to sea with two engines.. after all.. I don’t like taking chances.




Ailsa Craig ....looking down on the lighthouse and my little hardshell boat anchored off the point. Its a 10mile open sea crossing to get there.




Circumnavigating the Islands of Gigha and Cara ..of the Mull of Kintyre in my 2.6m Seago SIB



Circumnavigating the Summer Isles in my 2.6m Seago SIB. It got surprisingly bouncy later that day. When it gets too rough..I just land and sit it out.




Now that I have the 4.3 meter SIB and a decent engine ... well ... the world is now my oyster :-D

[Squid Boat]

Your a king mate, that image with the water and car is cool.
Great posts.

Cheers, Squid

[rossymtb]

Your defiantly right having 2 engines is a good choice.

But any ideas how I can get my 2 engines onto my boat?
X1 25hp Johnson
X1 mercury 3.3hp

The transom doesn't seem to be wide enough. Sometimes I just carry it in the front also adds ballast

[The Gurnard]

Originally Posted by rossymtb

Your defiantly right having 2 engines is a good choice.

But any ideas how I can get my 2 engines onto my boat?
X1 25hp Johnson
X1 mercury 3.3hp

I have never had a problem trying to fit an Aux engine to the SIBS. But Its mostly small light two strokes that I have ..so four strokes may be an issue ..both with weight and size ?

I think its best to have the aux engine on the transom..if the combined weight of Aux plus main does not exceed the manufacturers recommendation on engine weight. It keeps it out the way..but if you need it.. it is just a case of dropping her down and starting it up. I wouldn’t like to try fitting an aux in a little boat in a bouncy sea, near rocks if the main stopped working.

So saying.. in all my years boating..I have only used the aux once. That was when I snapped the sheer pin on the prop when it hit a huge jelly fish just below the surface. I guess the jelly fish had eaten something more substantial that plankton for it to be firm enough to sheer the pin.. or perhaps the pin was ready to go anyway ? Do any of you change the sheer pins in your small aux outboards at the end of the season ? I have found that they have a tendency to weaken with time. Strangely enough.. the manuals don’t suggest changing them.. but for a pound .. it gives me peace of mind..and I always carry a spare sheer pin.
On The Gurnard, I had to unglue part of the “triangular patch of PVC” at the corner of the transom. I then rolled the loose end up and tied it off with a cable tie. This allowed ample room for the Aux engine. I couldn’t see the triangle of PVC providing much strength to the transom tube fitting and presumed it was only there to stop splash back from the main engine. I didn’t have any splash back, so it is not a problem for me rolling the patch back.



On the small 2.6 Seago..I made a small wooden mount for the Aux it fit on. Its tight with space but by keeping the tiller handle of the Aux turned away from the main engine..they don’t bind. The aux is not fitted in this photo..so you can see the lighter grey wooden mount on the transom where it will attach... at the correct angle too.




Of course if you use launching wheels..they cause all sorts of problems ..including where to fit the Aux engine. I don’t use launch wheels as I consider them expensive fashion items for SIBS. They are a damned ugly accessory too but that is only my opinion, so you are free to disagree. The Gurnard came with a set and they were the first thing that I removed. Ok I appreciate they make life easy launching or recovering the boat .. so what do I use ? Roller boats :-D

They are inflatable rollers that you roll your boat over. Deflate them and they will fit in a small space out the way. They roll over both rough ground and soft mud with equal ease. But best of all..they are a fraction of the cost of Launch wheels. Google “inflatable roller boats” and you will find them for 20 squid each. You can see a roller boat at the rear of my hard shell boat. Its best to have two so you can roll the heavy SIB on top of them.



I always know the state of the tide when I land as I don’t want my heavy SIB stranded on the beach without any means to move her on my own. Its no problem if the tide is rising..cos it cant get stuck. But if it is falling..then I either land in deep water..as in the photo below, or I throw an anchor out before landing. The anchor will be attached to a long loop of rope..so I can land ..get off the SIB .. tie the sib onto one side of the loop rope ..haul it into deeper water by pulling the other side of the loop rope and then secure the loop rope to the beach..if that makes sense .



Doing all that means you don’t necessary need launch wheels..after all ..larger boats don’t have them .. and having an Aux fitted is far more important ..IMO

[spartacus]

Cracking pictures.

[rossymtb]

Was just about to go and test fit my aux then realised that i fitted launching wheels. Doh

[jwatson]

As I have no tie downs I use a simple rope & carribina set up to keep things in the boat!

[jwatson]

Also working on making another seat with storage beneath, and incorporating rod holders into the back seat.

[jwatson]

outboard stand made from left-over decking carcassing!

[Mikefule]

Originally Posted by The Gurnard

Im easy to recognise in the Quicksilver Portnahaven.. and I have had many a good night in Tobermory. I was there last week.

Immediate pang of nostalgia - I did several trips on a dive charter boat, the MV Harry Slater, in which we spent nights in Tobermory. Night dives off the slipway with phosphorescent plankton making sparks fly from our finger tips. Evenings in the Mishnish. Trips out to the other islands and dives on wrecks. Thanks for posting the picture.

[The Gurnard]

Originally Posted by jwatson

As I have no tie downs I use a simple rope & carribina set up to keep things in the boat!

Hi Jwatson ..I found these marine eye plates from screwfix great for holding stuff in the SIB
http://www.screwfix.com/p/marine-eye-plates-6-x-mm-pack-of-2/22320

Just bolt them through the floor and cover any rough edges of the countersunk bolt head with epoxy to save it chaffing the boat bottom. 5 squid for two stainless steel ones is a great price :-D

Thanks also for digging up this old thread..I made the mods last season and we have now gone through another SIBBING season.. so how did they stand up to use ?

Not a single problem.. even my iron seat brackets protected with rubber tape are still going strong, and I have made no other alterations to the fish box furniture.. it still all serves it purpose well.



Even with the mods there is still plenty room left in the boat for full camping gear and supplies. Yup in this photo..its well laden down but you wouldn’t know it. I disappeared into Loch Nevis in June.. and when no mackerel were being caught anywhere else off the west coast of Scotland.. I was cathing and eating big beauties in there ..none of them wee joey things from the Clyde caught later in the season.



My cameras kept dry in the open easy accessible shelf in the centre console which also houses my fish finder and ex golf trolley battery which powers it for a week. The heavy duty rubber matting came from screw fix too and stopped me slipping on wet fishy floors.



Plenty of room for three adults to fish comfortably too.. the home made seat for less than ten squid paid dividends.. and as mentioned earlier nothing fishy about its fixings either.



Yup.. my DIY mods turned the SIB into my ideal boat.

OK..it needs the trailer as it is no longer dismantled.. but it is light enough for me to launch and retrieve over any kind of beach launch ...on my own...and Im a frail old age pensioner :-D
That is what I wanted from my SIB and it serves me well

[jwatson]

These are the current plans being put into motion for mine ...

[The Gurnard]

Good idea about the storage space under the seat Jwatson..I like it :-D

It was a great year with weather for the SIB this year and I had many memorable adventures in June and early July. Unfortunately my old mom was then taken into hospital and it was into August before she finally passed on. I spent that time holding her hand..so missed a lot of the season..but I have no regrets.. Hey and my mom was 86 and had a great life .. spending a lot of her time messing around in boats too.

Here are just a few memorable moments from this years adventures.
Because the SIB is now more like a conventional boat..its too heavy to drag up and down the beach every time I want to land. Its not a problem..its anchored from both front and back to keep it getting left high and dry by the receding tide...as shown here where it is anchored in Sandaig Bay in the Sound of Sleet.



It is a very seaworthy boat.. its weight and length of 4.3m ..which helps bridge across waves rather than fall into troughs .. keep it the driest and most stable SIB I have owned. I had great fun one evening at full steam ahead surfing the swell going round Garroch Head on the southern tip of Bute. Who said there was no tide in the Clyde ?



I had a few memorable cruises at very early o’clock on the Clyde..in flat calm conditions.



Rounding the Northern tip of Eigg very early in the morning. The rough bounds of Knoydart made the backdrop.




Yup..it was a good year for me .. but as the air starts to cool .. I now start my other main hobby to keep myself warm. Mountaineering.. I was getting myself fit last week running around the hills north of Ullapool .. and I cant wait until the snows come and I get ice climbing again.

Its great being retired :-D

[The Gurnard]

Hi Mikefule.. Im glad my photo of Tobermory brought you good memories...I have had a few good nights there too