help im stuck

[mat8739]

please help ,,i have been a course and shore fisherman for donkeys years and go away a fair bit in our touring caravan so can not take a boat with us .when we are at the seaside it costs me around £25-£35 for about 4 hours boat fishing,,i was wondering what these inflatable ribs with slats are like ,and would a little electric motors be ok for uk shores.the rib i was thinking about must be the type to go in a bag..any help wil be gratefully received

[Poly]

Mat,

Firstly welcome. You'll see a distinction on here between Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boats (RIBs or RHIBs) and what you describe - which most people just call an "inflatable" but on ribnet is known as a SIB (Soft Inflatable Boat) to make the distinction. There are several days of good reading on SIBs here and you will see that even within sibs there are variations - aluminium deck, wooden deck and air deck.

A SIB in the caravan is certainly a sensible option but you will see plenty of people suggest that assembly / dissassembly can be a pain and so towing is preferred! If that happens I wonder if you could strap it to the back of the van - where people sometimes mount a bike carrier?

As for the engine - have a wee search. There was a thread not so long ago on electric engines. I doubt many people on here would encourage you to take an electric engine to sea. VERY close to shore it might be OK, but a small petrol engine is probably a better bet.

[mat8739]

thanks for your speedy reply polwart im so excited about maybe goin out wenever i can,,i start reading about sibs ,the only reason i suggested an electric motor is that i dont have mess around with smelly fuel lol,,thanks again i will start reading on sibs.

[Poly]

No "smelly fuel" but you will have a great big heavy battery (unless you are rich and go "torquedo") and will need to provide a means of charging during a weekend away. Batteries are full of "nasty acid" and give off "explosive hydrogen" when charging so its not as 'clean' as you might at first think.

Regarding the fuel, a 12L fuel tank (thats a small one) will give you a day on the water with a small sib (9 HP or less). If you are mostly fishing and not motoring you will get a whole weekend. A good fuel tank shouldn't really be smelly - but I can see you might not want to leave it in the "van", and if I've had mine in the car and spilt a bit of fuel down the side at the petrol station it can be a bit wiffy. Might be possible to modify to fit in your van's gas locker?

[9D280]

Or if you donlt want to go miles out, get a 4 or 6 hp with an integral tank, then you can keep a couple of the bog standard 5L plastic cans - they will surely fit in the locker? (possibly along with the outboard?)

Also with the battery, as Pol says you have to charge it.... and presumably your car is already dealing witrh the caravan battery....

[mat8739]

thanks i think a 4 sounds the best for the outfit i want to build ,,i dont want go out far of the shore,,just out a bit to fish ,,are 4 engines normally heavy ,,and will i be safe fishing in somethink like a waveline dinghy.

[frankc]

We are campers also and tow a trailer. We have used an Avon Rover with a wood floor for years and now have a Zodiac Cadet with the air floor. Either type would serve you well, but the slat floor would limit you to a low horsepower engine only. That would be my last choice for your needs.

We purchased one of those platforms which mount on a trailer hitch attached to the trailer. The last trip we put the fuel tank for the motor on the platform which eliminated gas fumes in the trailer. If you have an external mount for propane bottles, you may be able to carry a small outboard motor fuel can there.

I am assuming your caravan is a trailer and not a driveable unit, so sorry if I am giving you bad information. Since being on this site, it is obvious that English English is a little different from my redneck English

[mat8739]

thanks frank will look up a avon rover and a zodiac cadet ,,thanks,,i looked i like the zodiac ))

[frankc]

Hoped you would be happy with one. Pump the air out of the boat and floor before putting it in the carrying bag, and it is a fairly small package. Just measured ours and it measures 1'-3" X 2" x 3' - 6" plus the oars, seat, and pump. For a 9 ft boat that is not too bad.

If you go with an air floor, consider one of the high pressure pumps. We just got a Bravo to take care of the high pressure without a struggle.

You can use a variety of horsepower motors depending on your use and not be limited to a small engine only.

We have a trip coming up shortly and hope to put a fish or two in the Zodiac.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by frankc

. Since being on this site, it is obvious that English English is a little different from my redneck English

Frankc - in one thread we seem to have clearly highlighted the differences between British and American English! But your advice is sound...

In the UK:
Caravan = A trailer with a big box on it and some beds inside.
Campervan = what you guys call an RV (except usually a bit smaller that your american ones!) - i.e. what you get if you crash a caravan and a small truck!
Gas (in a caravan context) = Propane (or butane)
Petrol / fuel = "gasoline"

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by frankc

Since being on this site, it is obvious that English English is a little different from my redneck English

Your redneck English is different than American English...

jky

[Zagato]

Electric engines are still regarded as too low in power for the sea/estuary etc with a decent 5 knot tide. OK on a lake but have you seen the price of them. I have a new 3.5 HP Tohatsu engine and a 10' fishing GRP boat I use as a tender. You wouldn't want to go lower in oomph than that in a 5 knot tide just in Chichester Harbour let alone the sea - 10ft is too small anyway to go out, the guys all have roughly maybe 15'+ boats around here

Reminds me I need to put the engine and boat up for sale

I shove mine in my little trailer on a folding launching trolley if that idea helps! Very light to tow behind...

[frankc]

Thank you, Polwart. I am really enjoying learning the difference between our expressions and yours, but I worry that I will give a wrong answer due to not understanding well. Be patient and help me if I go off on a tangent please.

We have used inflatables for about 30 years and really enjoy them, as the capability of those boats is impressive. The waters around here contain a lot of oysters, so we only use the inflatables during trips to Florida. With the dark water here, you don't see the oysters until too late at times.

It is good to find a site where inflatables are used for what they are good at instead of just a cruiser to shore taxi. Got into some really rough water at times, and they outperform a hard hull boat (as long as you can hang on and stay in the boat).

Zagato, you have a really neat rig there. It looks very well thought out.

[mat8739]

i have to have a boat in a bag lol ,,ps i love your landy ,,we got an audi ,,but i do like yours ,,ok gettin confused now ,will a small inflatable dinghy with an 2hp engine be suitable to fish around wales devon and cornwall close in to the shore ,,yes or no ???

[Poly]

Franc, I worked with a Canadian for a few years, so I consider myself bilingual now!

Mat, 2hp might be a bit borderline, look at 4hp as more sensible and 6hp+ as more fun

[frankc]

Mat8739, you said you planned to stay close to shore and you probably would never go out in extreme weather to fish, so you don't need a 15 ft. boat for your purposes. You need enough power to keep moving against the wind and tide, but you don't need a large engine to do that.

You would be surprised how fast a small engine will push an inflatable. Check out you tube videos and see. Also remember these boats float like a cork and handle seas a hard hull would have trouble handling.

[Rokraider]

Why not rig your caravan so you can tie the inflatable on the roof? It will allow you to get a good size SIB and you can leave it inflated
If you get a good quality fuel can and remember to shut the breather valve, it shouldn't leak or give off fumes. I believe you can only transport 2 gallons legally in the car.

[LWman]

Very nice defender Zagato!

Id vote small inflatable with 4hp for you. Should work a treat. The 4hp's are lightweight, so no problem lifting & fitting. Enough power to push a dingy with you and fishing gear in on the sea.

[general123]

mat8739... I am new to SIBs and found the guys here very helpful in helping me choose. I went for an air-deck SIB (not collected it yet) for the convenience, and ability to take the thing away on holiday trips without trailering. One thing about the engine power though. I went for a 6hp outboard as it was the maximum power before the engine increased in weight ( I think)... however, if you plan to also use the SIB on rivers and lakes, check the licence costs. With the Environment Agency waters, it is about £66 with 4hp max, but this increases to about £235 if you go 6hp (say). Just something to bear in mind.

[Fenlander]

You're right 123... I use my sib on the ouse at Huntingdon and because it has a 15hp it cost £246 for the year.