german sib?

[John-B]

Hi all,
thought I would try and get some ideas from you more experienced ribbers.
Been trolling through fleebay and the usual places looking for ideas for a sib when I came across this listing

Inflatable Dinghy River Boat Tender w/ Aluminium Paddles & Flooring Family Size | eBay

obviously it'll be some form of chinese copy but just wondered if anyone on here has heard/seen anything from this source before.

regards John

[Nos4r2]

Looking at their ebay shop I'd be wary-as you said, it'll probably be a far East built boat, but they don't appear to be anything to do with any other marine products so probably won't have a clue about any potential problems.

Might be worth a punt at that price though, IF you don't expect it to last forever.
I'd prefer an old Avon though-it'll last longer.

[John-B]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Looking at their ebay shop I'd be wary-as you said, it'll probably be a far East built boat, but they don't appear to be anything to do with any other marine products so probably won't have a clue about any potential problems.

Might be worth a punt at that price though, IF you don't expect it to last forever.
I'd prefer an old Avon though-it'll last longer.

Ha, something like this

Avon Inflatable Boat | eBay

which I have an eye on.
Would the wood floor not make them a heavy boat when returning from spray then soaking up water.

[Landlockedpirate]

I have to be honest, I have never understood the love for old Avon sibs.I understand they are very well put together and made of Hypalon so they last for ever but apart from that ??

We had a Zodiac Z31 in the early 80's, which was 'upgraded' to a Avon 3m sportsboat, we all felt the Avon was actually a step backwards, being so well made it was heavier, but the tubes were smaller (lots of wet bums) and it wasnt as rigid as the Zodiac.

Having said that, people have some stunning old Avons on the forum, that look like they have just come out of the show room.

Back to the OP's question, yep its a generic Chinese sib, no better or worse than any other. Price seems very good for a 3.2m aluminium floor but my biggest concern like above is warranty issuesand its also going to have a limited resale value.

If I had £500 to spend on an air floor sib, my money would go into a used brand name boat like http://www.rib.net/forum/f21/two-ver...ale-61993.html
I have no connection or personal experience of this, but it looks a really nice, well cared for boat.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by John-B

Ha, something like this

Avon Inflatable Boat | eBay

which I have an eye on.
Would the wood floor not make them a heavy boat when returning from spray then soaking up water.

Avons are heavy, but the floor shouldn't soak up water at all-it should be varnished and sealed. If it's soaking up loads of water, it's rotten.

I was thinking more of something like this:-

avon inflatable dinghy | eBay

[Fenlander]

>>> never understood the love for old Avon sibs.I understand they are very well put together and made of Hypalon so they last for ever but apart from that ??

Well that's a hell of a good start and these are the main reasons I chose one for our "downsizing" SIB in the recent thread... http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/avon-ro...zed-62054.html

They're not all actually that heavy either and that was a major decider for us. The 3.4m version of our Avon is only 97lbs for boat and floor... our Honwave 3.5m was 160lbs. The Avon's actually getting down closer to air floor weights.

In our circumstances that 63lbs saved is enough to keep us on the water due to the ease of handling.