First Time SIB Buyer

[Sib-Starter]

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to read my thread.

As the title says, I'm looking for my first inflatable boat/SIB for the summer months of this year.

I'm wanting to use the boat for:

• Fishing on rivers and out to sea
  
• Cruising around rivers/harbour's with friends
  
• Fast fun out to sea on calm/slightly choppy days
  
• Trips out with friends to local bays/harbour's & beaches, 10+ miles
  
• Diving/swimming out to sea

I'm looking for a SIB minimum of 3.4m to a max of 4.2m, ideally I’d like to buy second hand as cannot afford brand new for boat/engine + trailer or transom wheels etc...

The makes I have in mind so far are:

• Quicksilver/Mercury
  
• Honwave
  
• Zodiac
  
• Bombard

If I have missed any please feel free to state other manufacturers.

Engine wise, I'm looking for a fast SIB, it’s my first boat so looking for a smile on my face, I’d probably go for the max recommended HP for the transom, are they any down sides to this?

Looking for a dry ride, don't want to get wet from overpowered engine.

Do I go 2 stroke or 4 stroke? Pros and cons of the two please.

Also fuel wise, how much do these engines drink, for a small boat i really don't want to spend £30+ on fuel for a day out to sea.


I look forward to all your responses, happy sibing

[philpot]

Take a look at the post above this one, 'which sib'. I will add to the guide lines above to also ask you to consider the dry weight of the engine and of the boat, will you want to take the boat out on your own and if so take into account these weights and the ease of moving them on your own.

There is also quite often complete outfits to buy on ebay which may offer you a great start point

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Sib-Starter

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to read my thread.

As the title says, I'm looking for my first inflatable boat/SIB for the summer months of this year.

I'm wanting to use the boat for:

Fishing on rivers and out to sea ok
Cruising around rivers/harbour's with friends ok
Fast fun out to sea on calm/slightly choppy days ok
Trips out with friends to local bays/harbour's & beaches, 10+ miles Probably pushing it a bit
Diving/swimming out to sea


I'm looking for a SIB minimum of 3.4m to a max of 4.2m, ideally I’d like to buy second hand as cannot afford brand new for boat/engine + trailer or transom wheels etc...
Worth considering a small RIB-you lose the advantages of a sib once you get bigger than a Bombard Aerotec 380. You won't want to mess around deflating a 4.2m sib and it'll be very heavy.

The makes I have in mind so far are:

Quicksilver/Mercury
Honwave
Zodiac
Bombard
Suzumar
A lot of older Avons are still very viable-the Hypalon sibs last better than the current new ones.

If I have missed any please feel free to state other manufacturers.

Engine wise, I'm looking for a fast SIB, it’s my first boat so looking for a smile on my face, I’d probably go for the max recommended HP for the transom, are they any down sides to this?Try and get the lightest motor you can for the HP or it's going to be hard to move it around. Weights vary massively.

Looking for a dry ride, don't want to get wet from overpowered engine.
It's your hand on the throttle.

Do I go 2 stroke or 4 stroke? Pros and cons of the two please.
2 stroke louder, lighter, more 'get up and go'.2s is probably a better option if you want to carry passengers.4 stroke is heavier, quiet,uses less fuel.

Also fuel wise, how much do these engines drink, for a small boat i really don't want to spend £30+ on fuel for a day out to sea. Standard calculation is 10% of the HP in US gallons per hour at full throttle (or a simpletr version is 4 litres per 10hp per hour) so a 25hp will use 2.5 US gallons or approx 10 litres an hour




I look forward to all your responses, happy sibing

See my bold

It won't be a 'cheap' hobby unless you keep the motor size and boat size down, which will impact on your ability to carry passengers.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Sib-Starter

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to read my thread.

As the title says, I'm looking for my first inflatable boat/SIB for the summer months of this year.

I'm wanting to use the boat for:

• Fishing on rivers and out to sea
  
• Cruising around rivers/harbour's with friends
  
• Fast fun out to sea on calm/slightly choppy days
  
• Trips out with friends to local bays/harbour's & beaches, 10+ miles
  
• Diving/swimming out to sea

I'm looking for a SIB minimum of 3.4m to a max of 4.2m, ideally I’d like to buy second hand as cannot afford brand new for boat/engine + trailer or transom wheels etc...

The makes I have in mind so far are:

• Quicksilver/Mercury
  
• Honwave
  
• Zodiac
  
• Bombard

If I have missed any please feel free to state other manufacturers.

Engine wise, I'm looking for a fast SIB, it’s my first boat so looking for a smile on my face, I’d probably go for the max recommended HP for the transom, are they any down sides to this?

Looking for a dry ride, don't want to get wet from overpowered engine.

Do I go 2 stroke or 4 stroke? Pros and cons of the two please.

Also fuel wise, how much do these engines drink, for a small boat i really don't want to spend £30+ on fuel for a day out to sea.


I look forward to all your responses, happy sibing

talk to Laurence at barnet marine he will guide you in the right direction loads of boats competitive prices too contact via e-mail then give him a ring.
i spoke to him recently regarding a bombard c3 made in Europe @£2400 ish up to 40hp wood keel 98kg weight and the typhoon 4.2 ali Chinese built @£1540 ish up to 25hp inflatabel keel 95kg weight

[Max...]

I won't repeat all the info aimed at first time buyers and posted in the 'Which SIB?' sticky but good points from NOS too.

And as posted in the sticky and by Philpot above - just check eBay for a second hand rig to include 3.4m SIB, 15 hp 2 stroke and maybe trailer - easy to find a lightly used complete set up from the last 5 - 7 years for around £1800 or much less. Be patient, buy privately from a caring seller who looked after it, lots about - just inspect carefully and stick to a big brand for boat (Quicksilver, Honwave, Zodiac, Tohatsu, Bombard, Suzumar, Yam) and engine (Yamaha, Mariner/Mercury, Tohatsu, Suzuki, Johnson etc).

Look after it and you'll sell it for the same amount if it doesn't work out for you.

NOS - re' fuel consumption - I've always used the 10% of HP rule in gallons per hour but did not realise it was aimed at US gallons (ie 3.8 litres, not UK gallons of 4.5) - having said that I'm sure my 15 averaged out to more like 4.5 to 5 litres an hour last season.

[Chopperbill]

Been doing this less than a year. If I was to going to use a trailer I would go with a RIB. Inflatable bottoms in my opinion are big power robbers, slight change in pressure and performance changes. I don't want to use a trailer as we use ours mostly in our winter location an pull an RV. So if I could justfie the extra expense i woud get one of the new foldable RIBs. As it is we enjoy our 365 Saturn and I keep a close attention on the air pressures as it is an air floor and pressures are even more important on them.

[Biggy]

Agreed, some of the high pressure air floors seem pretty good, but for the ultimate, I'd be looking at an f-rib (foldable rib)
The strength of the honwave floor is remarkable, I can turn my honwave upside down and stand anywhere on the floor without it deforming.
However, nothing will match a solid hull for cutting through the water.
A rib would be utterly impractical for me ( Really Impractical Boat ) 😳 lol.
I need something that folds up as I usually caravan and SIB on the same outing, so a trailered boat is a no-no!
The engine size need not be as great with an f-rib, a 15hp seems more than enough to put it up against most small boats.
The highly acclaimed bombard appears to cut the mustard with many, I followed the reviews and nearly bought one.. It was only as I took a deeper look of the floor I realised it was no good for fishing.
IMO, if money's tight then a honwave etc is good, if money is no object then an f-rib has to be the way forward.

[dave3235]

Hi

Not to sure if I mist it, what's your budget.

[Ronaldj]

Taking care of an air floor is easy. All you need is a rubber mat or two and you are all set.
I go fishing and crabbing all the time and have never had an issue.
I love my Zodiac Fr325 with the activ-v hull
However
If I had it to do all over again I would probably get the Zodiac Folding Transom rib
The folding transom boat folds to about 1x7x3.5

[Biggy]

I too use the rubber mats in the Honwave, A cheap and practical solution.
Did you have a look at the f-rib ?
The 330 and 365 are very light, very portable, very capable and imo, tick all the boxes.

[Sib-Starter]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for all of your responses.

F-ribs are a little out of my budget, £2500+ for just the boat and no engine, I haven't got money like that.

Are there many second hand/ex display ones floating about ?

I like the idea of a rigid hull, somthing I could put in the back of my car with seats down etc...

what boat makes do small inflatable boats with GRP hulls, other than an F-rib.

I'm thinking 3 meter and upwards ?

[Ronaldj]

There is a Zodiac Cadet Compact 300
It has the fiberglass floor and a folding transom
It is a 3 meter boat
Cost is about 1500£
It folds down to about 7 feet in length, 2 1/2 feet wide, 1 foot high
It also weighs 79lbs
It will run off of a 5 hp outboard

[Sib-Starter]

Ok brilliant, that's a start, any more that are larger in size ?

[stevo]

hello and welcome I would keep a look on ebay and other to buy a good used sib just tonight a zodiac fast roller that looked in very good nick complete with jockey console went for £680 I bought a avon 4mtr sib with trailer in mint condition for £475 and a Yamaha 15hp 2stroke £590 so as I said there are good deals out there.

[Sib-Starter]

Hi Stevo,

Thanks for your response, wow they seem like great deals, are you able to post a link in this thread or PM me with the link to the page you we're looking at?

What did you type in the eBay search bar?

[Fenlander]

Searching Ebay for SIBs is a pain. For a start some are listed under motors, others sporting goods. They can come under key words SIB, RIB (even if incorrect), dinghy, inflatable, boat and then all the different makes.

I usually end up searching with all these words in many different combinations.

[Nos4r2]

Flatacraft Force 3 are car toppable if you can find a decent one.

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by Ronaldj

There is a Zodiac Cadet Compact 300
It has the fiberglass floor and a folding transom
It is a 3 meter boat
Cost is about 1500£
It folds down to about 7 feet in length, 2 1/2 feet wide, 1 foot high
It also weighs 79lbs
It will run off of a 5 hp outboard

It's a very shallow V though and not much good in a chop. It's also pretty unwieldy to move around ashore. Having owned one I'd say that it's less good than a comparable SIB unless you have a specific need for a hard hull.

[Nos4r2]

<note-the one that's on ebay at the moment for £430 is NOT a decent one, it's worth no more than about 75 quid>

[Nos4r2]

This is worth a look- it's Hypalon so will outlive most newer boats. Rated for 15hp as well so it'll go like stink with 2 aboard.

Avon RAB 3.11 Inflatable Boat Tender Dingy Rib | eBay