Hello & Your Advice Needed

[sbunker]

First of all Hello - this is my first Ribnet post although I have been lurking around here for sometime. Anyway I am looking for some SIB advice if I may?

Basically I am looking to take the plunge and buy my first SIB, in fact my first boat. My main requirements are:

Able to cope with 4 adults
Used on Rivers, in the Bristol Channel which is quite literally on my front doorstep and Fishing.

I am happy to trailer the boat around.

Above all I want something that is fun, relatively comfortable and easy to handle.
I am drawn to the Zodiac classic for some unknown reason! Are these any good?

I have about £5k ish as my budget.

Any advice/experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Simon

[9D280]

Hello, and welcome to ribnet!

I can't give a lot of advice with regard to the Bristol Channel, but I would think for 4 adults you would be needing a 4-ish M SIB or a 5-ishm rib (Console takes up space)

I would guess at 20 Hp minmimum for that kind of load on a SIB.

What I would suggest is get on a course first. If nothing else, they should have a varierty of boats and you can get a better feel for what might suit you. Alternative is keep an eye on the "cruises" section, people are sometimes looking for crew, again, you will get a feel for the different craft out there.


I happened to trip oer a couple of Avon SIBs on Ebay this morning, one was down your neck of the woods. Type "Avon Inflatable" into the search box to get an idea.

[Downhilldai]

As you're happy to trail it, 4 adults would be a lot happier in a RIB than a SIB, particularly out in the Bristol Channel.

£5k will buy you a decent second hand RIB around 4.5m

[sbunker]

Thanks for you help on this so far.

I am thinking that a RIB might be a better way to go.