First inflation Elling KB350

[Oldman2]

So Amazon turned up yesterday with my 20mm thick polyethylene chopping board, I had a measure up and then with fingers crossed went to cut strips off it with my woodworking table saw. The board had a radius all round so I had to cut that off first. I found setting the saw cut to just clear the 20mm and fed through quick quickly was best if you didnt want to melt the plastic.
Once to size it was glass paper laid flat on a sheet of glass to get the saw marks out of the plastic.
So 2 spacers now made and drilled ready for transom drilling today.


Now this boat has a pressure relief valve in the bow tube, so im guessing that if an over pressure happens on any of the 3 tubes it will try to balance out through the bulkheads joining the 3 tubes, do the PRV have a tell tail so you know its been activated? Going to be very hot here today and the boats pumped up in the sun on my lawn. I could let some pressure out but I need it up for fitting the wheels.

[Grayskull]

The relief valve is only for the bow section. Just let a little pressure out if it's going to be sat in the sun.

[Oldman2]

Originally Posted by Grayskull

The relief valve is only for the bow section. Just let a little pressure out if it's going to be sat in the sun.

Really? So why would 1 section of tube be given a PRV and the other 2 major tubes not have one?
I am happy to be proved wrong, but the way I thought it worked was if you over pressure one tube thats not got a PRV then the diaphragm between it and the next is forced outwards into the correct pressured section raising that ones pressure to rise, same with the other side tube, if the bow one then goes too high the PRV activates.

[chipko]

You’re quite correct in that the baffles will deflect and equalise pressure. It seems to be a cost saving exercise sib manufacturers do to only fit one. It works but not as foolproof as one per chamber, however better than none at all.

With regards any indication they’ve let any excess pressure out...no but you would hear them hissing if close.

[Oldman2]

Thanks chipko for the confirmation, I did find this thread with a pictorial explanation too https://www.rib.net/forum/f50/storin...tml#post806261


As to being aware that the PRV has actuated, I wondered if it was like auto life belts and once popped it required a replacement, but it seems not, they just relieve at a set pressure. Must look to see if its stamped on the PRV.


Ive given up for today, much too hot to work outside, but I do have wheels on and without cutting any splash webbing, it just gets bent a bit


my wheels on.jpg

[Sibfisher]

Its looking good

[Oldman2]

So I hung the Suzuki DT8 outboard on the transom for the first time. I had already measured to see where the cav plate would come and it lines up perfectly with the bottom ribbing on the sausage keel.



My problem is with the rake adjustment for the motor, on pin hole 1 the motor rubs quite hard on the sausage!
Pin 2 clears but only by 10mm.





The outboard is standard as is the transom, Ive had this motor on GRP planing hulls and pin position 2 is usually best but in this situation I can see it possibly fouling the sausage if the keel flexes.
I have made made an inquiry via the supplier as the sales picture viewed from directly above doesnt show the sausage sticking out beyond the transom.
Have I got an extra big sausage


I really dont want to have to add more chopping boards to the boat to space back the transom mount, I already had to use one to space the wheel mounts out.



I just tried adding 20mm to the outside of the motor clamp plate thickness, cant add much more than that or it will be too fat to fit the outboard!
Pin in 1 still hits the sausage
pin 2 clears by 15mm which may be enough depending on how much flex there is?
Pin 3 is ok.


I am also intent on putting some sort of mat on the air floor to protect against fishing accidents! I have some industrial conveyor belting which is very strong but only 2mm thick, I wonder if its ok to "trap" it between floor and tubes or should I just trim to sit on top.

[Notebook]

Hi
Looking at one of these. Would be interested to find out how it went. Any info appreciated. ��

[Oldman2]

Originally Posted by Notebook

Hi
Looking at one of these. Would be interested to find out how it went. Any info appreciated. ��

There are a couple of other members who can give real on the water info on the 350, for me its become a bit of a wait to get it wet which considering im only 10mins walk from the sea is strange but true.
It appears my quite old but low hrs Suzuki 8hp is not well suited to the elling with very little leg to transom keel clearance.
I have now added a 20mm block to the motor mounting plate which gives me just enough clearance from 2nd pin position on outboard rake.
I am now waiting for some transom fittings to arrive before I seal the wheel mountings, so still not getting wet anytime soon.

[Sibfisher]

Glad you sorted the outboard out in the end it looked like the wrong shaped for the Elling, you will soon be on the water.

Notebook I am a new comer to sibing and have been out quite a few times in my Elling KB350 as like you Oldman I have a ramp on the river where live.
As to what I think of the Elling KB350 so far impressed and it is a very good boat and I am enjoying it very much.

It is well balanced and handles well when going along it plans very easy then settles down when I reach around 10mph then shoots along reaching a speed of nearly 20mph with my Orca 9.8hp on the back, it is also stable and I don’t think I will need to take the sea sick pills as much as I thought, feels great.

Has for a fishing platform being a trimiran I have found it very stable to stand on , I have put a foam type carpet tiles that I bought out of Lidl to protect the air floor and also it makes it more solid they are none slip so pleased with them. With all the Borika mounts that it has it is a perfect boat for fishing.

I have my Elling on a bunk trailer permanently so it is just a matter of hooking up to the car and off I go it makes it very easy and quick to take it out every time so I use it often also to clean it after every trip it easier on the trailer.

What I think with its two seat it is a good boat to take family of friends out and also with all the mounts that comes with it makes it good for the fisherman also there are many attachment you can buy that are very good quality and fit securely.

[Notebook]

Thanks. Good idea with the floor. ��

[Oldman2]

I need a bigger boat!
I thought a dress rehearsal was needed in the garden while the boat is still inflated to see how much room I have after loading all my kit aboard.
From the front, 1 bait and 1 tackle box, small petrol tank, fishfinder & battery, toolbox with first aid & flares, anchor box with bruce, 3mtr chain & warp. 2 rods attached, lifejacket, coolbox with lunch and room for the catch, hand held radio & lastly a big tub for unhooking fish in. I dont think I've gone overboard on what I have with me but it does seem to eat the floor space up.



inventory.jpg


I also found it very hard to lift the bow due to the weight forward so its looking like beach launches will involve lots of walking to fill the dinghy once floated, unless I can get the heavy stuff near the transom, though that may cause my wheels to nose dive in the beach shingle.


bow floor.jpg


back of boat.jpg


Once I had unloaded the trial run kit I set about removing the wheels and deflating the boat. It had been suggested I pack the boat with the floor in place which seemed a good idea even with the 7 or so added kilo to the bag weight, plus the conveyor belting protection I had added. So I deflated it and then realised I had water hiding below the floor, the boat had appeared dry before deflation. A rain shower had sneaked in sometime in the week its been inflated in the garden.
Now this meant I couldnt pack the boat without emptying around 2ltr & drying it. So out had to come the floor and its covering.
So I cant see me ever being able to deflate & pack this away with floor inside unless you remove dry and refit before packing.


I also was a little worried about packing the tubes over the wheel fixing parts, so some pipe insulation covers the metalwork to protect the tubes.



I found a way of "cheating" to add a fixing point to a Borika mount for free using webbing strap with 4 holes punched and clamped with the 6mm borika fixings. The top fix point is left still usable.


bow fix.jpg

[Notebook]

Love the cheating bit. Good idea

[Fenlander]

Interesting post and pictures Oldman2. Our setup has been refined to the perfect "daily outing" arrangement that suits us and then you have Jeff and The Gurnard with their impressive trailed what I call expedition setups. I think you are going to be the fishing setup representative from now on.

I'm sure it suits fishing but the moment you use rigid storage in a small or medium SIB it really starts to take up space. I guess they wouldn't suit your use but everything in ours is in flexy dry bags or heavy canvas bags. They are the type where you can reduce their size by rolling the top down before clipping closed so they only need to be as large as their contents at any time.

Regarding nose weight when moving on transom wheels yes this can be a real problem with a fair bit of kit. If we set ours up ready for sea the bow is near impossible to lift for more than a very short distance. Previously we have loaded all the kit in the boat but put it at the very stern so the weight is over the transom wheels. The downside is it does load the wheels up so they need to be heavy duty and they will really crash into potholes.

So we have now added the extra refinement of a bow trolley as in image below so we can set up ready for sea and the trolley takes the weight... I'm just providing forward power.

We inevitably get water between outer hull and air floor when at sea. We just tip out the majority before packing in the car to go home. When I unpack at home to wash off I either take the floor out to dry before re-packing for storage or leave it upside down for a few hours to drain/dry. We always have the floor back in for storage so it's ready fitted at next use.

[Oldman2]

Thanks for the reply Fenlander, I am in my 70's so really need to keep the weight manageable, I think I may well need to introduce the boat with just the outboard & fuel attached to the shingle beach as a test run to see if its manageable & the wheels work on our shingle. If all goes well I can carry everything else to the boat, the only heavy weight is the anchor box.
Getting the bare boat and outboard back up the beach might be a sticking point on my own, I was considering something like a sledge with a rope so I could lay the outboard on it and pull it up, I really couldn't carry it up shingle.



If I do need to use slipways because the above is unrealistic, then I can stack everything transom end & rearrange once its floating.
So once the day is over, empty the boat, drain at the beach, pack, take home and part or full inflate? to clean the whole boat out, let dry then repack.

[Sibfisher]

Looks like your all set up ready to go at last and looks very organized.
Like the Strap on the Bow.

I am luck here that I have a few slipways I am able to put my boat into the river and when I do get round to sea there is one near the estuary.

When I put everything in the boat putting it into the water is not a problem but on some of the slipways pulling it up can be a struggle.

I have just turned 70 before I get too old. Like you I have treated myself to a boat and very please I bought an inflatable, as it is very manageable on my own plus I am very pleased with the KB 350 so far.

I Look forward reading your fishing adventures and you get on and maybe get a few fishing tips as that is what I bought my boat for.
So far not had much luck catching them.