Help me sort out my ideas

[Amukinado]

Hello everyone!

So this is the second summer since I bought my sib and it's been awesome so far. The sib, a 15 year old Suzumar 320 with wood floor, though it's been a loyal companion, there have been times that it left me thinking about buying a new sib.

Keeping in mind that I use my sib mainly for spearfishing, cruising and sometimes some angling, is it viable to think about an air deck?
I have been trailering the boat so far but right now I live in a flat and I don't have a garage so I have to keep it at my parents', which is 100 km away from my place...

What sibs do you suggest? I want something from 320 to 380 to keep it light and I want to be able to mount some beachmasters with the removable pins.

Cheers

[Fenlander]

If you gave up the trailer could you store the packed SIB and the outboard at the flat because I guess that is an important deciding factor?

If so could you just use the same inflatable for a daily inflate? I know it's a bit more trouble with an alloy floor than air but if you otherwise like the inflatable it saves spending out.

Or do you just fancy a change?

If you think you need an air floor for certain then it's easily divided into types.... any of the flat air floors by Zodiac, Quicksilver and others... or one of the V types like Honwave 3.2ie/3.8ie or Aerotec.

Some random thoughts...

If you appreciate the stability of your current alloy floor I wonder if you would find a flat air floor a little wobbly at the times when you stand... and what about risk of damage from your fishing kit?

There are loads flat air floor models... I've only owned Zodiacs in 3.4 and 3.6 sizes. They were very easy to set up and very easy to carry but they would seem a little light in build quality after your Suzumar with its lovely varnished Transom and seat.

The V air floors are of course more rigid but would you be OK with the angle?

The Aerotec can feel a bit small inside for its length. It doesn't have much more interior space than the 3.2ie Honwave... the 3.8ie Honwave is more roomy.

Weight wise the 3.2ie Honwave is the lightest by 5kg... the Aerotec in the middle and the 3.8ie Honwave 10kg more than the 3.2 model.

If you are set on those Beachmaster wheels they won't fit the Honwave air floors because of the way the air floor continues way past the transom... you have to get the special curved leg Honwave design transom wheels.

I think they would be OK with any of the flat air floor types.

I don't know if they would fit an Aerotec but you'd have to look carefully because of the "V" shaped transom you might need some with longer legs.

There is another option....what about renting a place to keep the boat much nearer to your flat?

By the way what size outboard did you end up buying?

[Amukinado]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

If you gave up the trailer could you store the packed SIB and the outboard at the flat because I guess that is an important deciding factor?

If so could you just use the same inflatable for a daily inflate? I know it's a bit more trouble with an alloy floor than air but if you otherwise like the inflatable it saves spending out.

Or do you just fancy a change?

I do fancy a change.

The plan is to give up the trailer and pack it in my car. Outboard in the boot and deflated inflatable on the roof top. I could do it with my Suzumar but I was looking for something a bit lighter and faster to set up.

Originally Posted by Fenlander

If you appreciate the stability of your current alloy floor I wonder if you would find a flat air floor a little wobbly at the times when you stand... and what about risk of damage from your fishing kit?

Well, I don't stand up much in the boat these days because the wood floor is very slippery when wet.
I don't know how easy is it to damage the air deck but usually the only thing I have laying around the floor is my weight belt and flippers.

Originally Posted by Fenlander

If you are set on those Beachmaster wheels they won't fit the Honwave air floors because of the way the air floor continues way past the transom... you have to get the special curved leg Honwave design transom wheels.

I think they would be OK with any of the flat air floor types.

I don't know if they would fit an Aerotec but you'd have to look carefully because of the "V" shaped transom you might need some with longer legs.

That's the thing... I really need some decent wheels to push the boat on soft sand. Wheels that come off when I fold the boat.

Originally Posted by Fenlander

There is another option....what about renting a place to keep the boat much nearer to your flat?

Not a change. Too expensive and I just can't afford it.

Originally Posted by Fenlander

By the way what size outboard did you end up buying?

Ended up with a F9.9 which I'm open to swap for a 15 or 20 hp if I happen to get a bigger boat. For the Suzumar I find it very balanced and with 2 guys on the boat it really flies.

I really liked the Honwave 3.8 and it's very easy to get here in Portugal. The Aerotec is awesome but it's going to be a big gamble as I would need to import it...

Edit: Some months ago I was decided on a Heavy Duty but that thing is so big and heavy it probably needs a trailer and a big engine. Maybe I could consider a smaller HD like a 340 Seapro?

[Fenlander]

Well if you want to go self contained with a daily inflate and fancy a change to air floor I don't think you'd be disappointed with the Honwave 3.2/3.8 air floor models are made... they have a very similar quality to the Suzumar.

My only proper experience of air floors is several Zodiacs and Aerotecs so I'll leave it to someone who has a Honwave to reply about their performance and handling.

Are you going to buy new? If there are no dealers for the Aerotec in Portugal I wouldn't take the risk of doing a one-off personal import because you'd have no warranty backup. If buying used then... if you could sort out a carrier... I guess one from a trusted forum member would be OK.

You'll see if you search there have been quite a few threads on mats for air floors which should reduce potential for damage.

The wheels could be a real problem though. I have very little experience with soft sand because I avoid it but do know the weight of outboard and fuel can be enough to make normal wheels near useless... you end up having to take the boat and outboard/fuel/kit to the water's edge separately.

[Max...]

Do some research on the 3.8 airfloor Honwave first - read many a time on here over the years on people who complain they are floppy despite full pressure etc.

A 3mm rubber floor sorts any airfloor worries:

http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/bombard...ass-62326.html

[The Gurnard]

Hi Amukinado..IMO ..you will find that when asked for recommendations ... owners mostly always say their boat is the best and some even tend to rubbish all other brands ?... so my best advice is try to talk face to face owners of other brands of SIBs. Watch their boat’s performance with your own eyes .. and take some forum feedback with a pinch of salt. I appreciate that is difficult if there are no other SIBs in your area to watch or chat with owners on a personal basis.

I spent the weekend with the owner of this inflatable floor Honwave..and he is over the moon with it. He tells me it the best SIB out and handles the chop fine.. it has no air floor problems that he is aware of. I also attended the Scottish SIB outing organised by this forum and other airfloor honwave’s handled very rough water.. no problem. None mentioned floppy floors ?



I watched this Seapro inflatable floor at the weekend too..and it also looked a very good boat and handled the rough stuff magnificently. Unfortunately..the floor sprung a leak ..so watch for sharp objects in your boat..even sharp stones can damage them..and I don’t think that is just something that happens just to Seapro airfloors. Small sharp stones or other objects can work their way under mats and not be noticed. Something to be aware of with all airfloors ?



There is also the F Rib which is a relatively new boat on the block.. I watch it recently too and spoke direct with its owner. It packs very small..has a light fibre glass bottom..perfect for fishing.. it certainly held its own in the rough stuff..but it didn’t appear to out perform the other leading brands.. despite many U Tube videos of Russian Military type guys stating it was the only inflatable suitable for hard use and heavy seas.



Sorry ...I cant recommend or comment on the aerotec as I know no one personally who has one..and none have appeared at any of the outing I have been at.. so in Scotland at least..they are not as common as they may appear to be on this forum ? Research the forum on this boat and you will find some owners also admit they are not always the ideal SIB..but then no boat ever is.

The Honwave and Seapro ..in force 4 winds and waves in exposed Firth of Lorne.. they proved to me that they handle chop just fine..and neither boat took on any water over the side..kept on the plane 90 % of the time ..just throttling off to pass over the larger breakers. To suggest the aerotec is the only boat that handles the chop well ... is very inaccurate information.



As a parting note..also be aware that I am writing this through a forum and you don’t know me ..so take it all with a pinch of salt too.. if you wish.

What I do believe is true ... is its great having the boat bug..Im sure we all agree on that. Best wishes for your next boat.. whatever one it is.

[Max...]

Hmm, some strange generalisations there while at the same time appearing to dismiss other contributors comments (not for the first time), views or dare I say experience derived advice. What's the point of a forum other than to offer help and advice to others who cannot meet 'face to face'?!

I don't think anyone is rubbishing other SIBs or saying anything but the Aerotec is rubbish. Don't want to get into a petty argument about this but so many of us have tried numerous SIBs and equally a large number come down to the conclusion that the Aerotec perhaps offers one of the best compromises available. Not perfect but a compromise. Other SIBs are available.

Regarding the floppy floor thing this is only applicable to the longest airfloor models notably the Honwave 380 (and ironically the Aerotec 420) and has been noted many times over the years on here by various users of the 380.

[Amukinado]

Ahhhh.... another topic to debate the Aerotec!

Don't bother, really. It's going to be hard for me to get one as I need to import it brand new. I need the receipt with my name so I can legalize it here, so second hand is very tricky...

I really like the Honwave though but those extensions under the transom are a real nuisance. I'll have to see if I can find some removable wheels for that boat....

What other options are there with the same V type floor? I think I saw a Suzumar which also had it.

Another thought: in a normal air deck (non v type) if I have a problem I can just swap the floor for a new one, right? Shouldn't be too expensive I guess.

[Max...]

Originally Posted by Amukinado

Ahhhh.... another topic to debate the Aerotec!

Don't bother, really. It's going to be hard for me to get one as I need to import it brand new. I need the receipt with my name so I can legalize it here, so second hand is very tricky...

I really like the Honwave though but those extensions under the transom are a real nuisance. I'll have to see if I can find some removable wheels for that boat....

What other options are there with the same V type floor? I think I saw a Suzumar which also had it.

Another thought: in a normal air deck (non v type) if I have a problem I can just swap the floor for a new one, right? Shouldn't be too expensive I guess.

Hi Amunikado, what is the reason to change from the Suzumar? I remember your original topic and commenting on the good job you did, I had a Suzumar once and they are great SIBs - very practical wide open bow and a good solid transom and handy tube fittings.

If you do swap to an air floor and store it in the flat is it practical to lift it and the engine every time? If you have somewhere to store the trailer/boat/engine all ready to go then that advantage outweighs a fair bit the hassle of deflation/inflation/assembly/carrying/storage even if you need to travel to collect it?

The Honwave and Aerotec are the main choices with the V type floor but only the Aerotec has the deeper V that extends to the transom. If I did not want the handling advantage this offers I would look at the Zodiac HP range as well as the Honwave, all very good boats - thoughts in the 'Which SIB?' topic of course.

The HP air floor section is a very expensive part BTW. They are pretty tough and as above a covering of some type of rubber flooring or other matting protects them fine.

[Fenlander]

Those Honwave wheels do come off leaving a very short stub of tube on the transom.

I think there are several Honwave clones with the same air floor design... they look to me made in the same factory or at least with the same fittings. Like this Prowave...

Pro wave inflateable Rib with Engine | eBay

The Seapro in Gurnard's images above looks to be a V air floor type too.

The Honwave air floor (as with the clones) is part of the boat. With the Aerotec and flat air floor types the air floor can easily be removed leaving an outer skin in place. You could argue this does give an extra layer of protection to the air floor itself. The old Aerotec I have has a lot of scuffs to the outer skin but only one has been severe enough to cause a puncture on the air floor.

"If you have a problem"... do you mean a puncture? Air floors are actually quite easy to patch for normal size punctures. Swapping for a new one might be physically easy but they are rarely available used and very expensive new.

[The Gurnard]

No problem Amudinako .. I am not interested in the “My Sib is best” debate either.. That is why I generalized about three SIBs that I had the privilege to witness and go to sea with their owners .. over the weekend.

Max for clarification..I am referring to the Honwave 380 air deck. That is the boat in my first photo. I know some folk in the past have complained on this forum that the floor flops.. there are also many posts on this forum from owners who are very happy with the boat..and dont mention floppy floors. That is why I suggested to Amudinako to check with people face to face..perhaps that way he can get a ride in one to find his own facts about the boat. Do they flop or don’t they. That is also why I use a forum..to find out info .. then I do field research to see if what has been said is true or not...but only if Im interested in that boat.

I did make an error in my first post guys ..the second photo is not a Seapro airdeck ..it is in fact a Prowave airdeck. To me it looked very good and is basically the same design as the Honwave 380 airfloor. As such it has the same inflatable tabs on the transom. I appreciate your thoughts on them as I too wouldn’t like them. To difficult to carry my auxiliary engine on.

It did spring a leak and the owner found the leak after mentioning his airfloor was going floppy. The boat belongs to another member of this forum.. ..as is the owner of the Honwave in my first photo..so perhaps they will tell you their experience with their boats. I think air floors can be patched so don’t think you need a new one if it gets a leak. I have never had an airfloor so am not the person to offer sound advice on that matter.

I have seen some Mercury ..Zodiac .. and Seapro airfloor SIBS that don’t have the trim tabs ..so perhaps others can post on those boats as Im only aware of them..but no experience of them.

Hope that helps you some Amudinako. I do respect many members experience on SIBs who post in this forum ..including Max's views ..but I wont always agree with them... and I have no problem saying why.

[blootac]

The prowave in question (and in the picture, the red and black boat in The Gurnard's post) is mine.
I've been very happy with it.
I've not seen the floppy floor problem in mine either.
The honwave floor does seem to be quite a bit thicker than mine but neither had any problem at all and as you can see from the photo, the sea was anything but smooth!

[Fenlander]

Gurnard your experience and input to this forum is widely respected and I'm very much in agreement with ignoring the one-make hype often seen from owners if it's not backed up by proper comparison. But I'd just say keep an open mind that the Aerotec may indeed... even if only by a whisker over other V-shape air floors... have the best ability of any SIB to keep going with reasonable comfort in difficult conditions.

After owning a large variety of wood/alloy/flat air floor SIBs over many years in order to decide 100% if the Aerotec was the SIB for our current needs we went one step further than asking an existing owner face to face... we bought an old cheap one to trial for two weeks holiday based at Tayvallich before deciding to invest in a new/newer one for the longer term.

This test was alongside our 340 Acti-V air floor Zodiac... both were setup ready to use for the duration and often used on the same stretch of water immediately one after the other with the same outboard and loading.

The simple fact was that the Aerotec was able to keep up a cruising speed on the plane into challenging sea conditions with a degree of ease, comfort and stability way above the flat air floor design of the Zodiac where you had to hold on like a rodeo cowboy, the dog was in danger of being bounced out and our near 60yr old joints were feeling the stress.

In our home sibbing area this has been a problem this year in that the sea state has often been sufficient to stop us going round to other harbours/beaches because we can't stand the constant crashing of the flat floors and at displacement speeds which we were dropping down to you tend to ship water/spray and trip times are lengthened enough to mess up range within time tides. The Aerotec ability we've experienced in Scotland should overcome this and greatly increase the pleasure of our outings.

But I will end reinforcing what I think is the thrust of your argument... as long as your SIB (or any other boat) suits your needs and that of the conditions the most important and rewarding thing is just getting out on the water... regardless of what the name on the side says.

[blootac]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

as long as your SIB (or any other boat) suits your needs and that of the conditions the most important and rewarding thing is just getting out on the water... regardless of what the name on the side says.

Totally agree with that.

Depends how big your wallet is too.
Obviously the more you spend the potentially better result.

At £2,200 the aerotec 380 is considerably more expensive than the honwave T38-IE2, in fact more than TWICE the price, at only £1,049 (just the first two links I found selling them so prices could vary a lot.)

I'm by no means saying either is a bad boat or a good boat.
Decide you're budget, try and experience what you can get for your money, buy something and enjoy the water.

[Amukinado]

Originally Posted by Max...

Hi Amunikado, what is the reason to change from the Suzumar? I remember your original topic and commenting on the good job you did, I had a Suzumar once and they are great SIBs - very practical wide open bow and a good solid transom and handy tube fittings.

If you do swap to an air floor and store it in the flat is it practical to lift it and the engine every time? If you have somewhere to store the trailer/boat/engine all ready to go then that advantage outweighs a fair bit the hassle of deflation/inflation/assembly/carrying/storage even if you need to travel to collect it?

The Suzumar has been as nice project but it was just my way of getting into sibs with little money. The boat + trailer cost me 400€ and I'll probably get more than that when I sell it. Now that I have seen how it fits into my life, I just want something that I feel I can use more often.
I have been storing the boat ready to go in my parents' house, 100 km away from mine (that's 60 miles for you folks ). I am working weekends with days offs during the week so in my current life I can only sib during the holidays...

Well, that and upgratitis.

Right now I am just storming ideas to see how viable the air decks are. I never liked the "open space" under the wood floor because of the octopus incident and because I feel that there is always some water there that is slowing down the boat, so the V deck is really appealing to me. I just have to find the right one.

The Aerotec looks awesome and if I am getting something I really want, I don't mind the price. Problem is that I have never seen one here... I'll have to study my options with that boat because that looks like the perfect vessel for me.

Sibs are not that popular in Portugal. I have had the chance to talk to other sib owners but it is rare to find them. This whole summer I only met one guy with a proper sib (he had a Mercury Adventure 360)! The rest are just tenders... People here just go for ribs.

[Max...]

Originally Posted by Amukinado

....because of the octopus incident...

Tell us more...?!?

[Amukinado]

Originally Posted by Max...

Tell us more...?!?

I already did!

http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/never-l...sib-64059.html

[Nick Hearne]

Originally Posted by Amukinado

Right now I am just storming ideas to see how viable the air decks are. I never liked the "open space" under the wood floor because of the octopus incident and because I feel that there is always some water there that is slowing down the boat, so the V deck is really appealing to me. I just have to find the right one.
.

Aerotec will have the same problem as there is a gap under the floor open stern and bow with would make a great hiding place for octopus!

I do like the look of the Hondawave and it will not have the problem and a lot cheaper

Anther point do you not have Zodiac dealers in Portchagal as surely they could order you a Aerotec in as it is all the same company?

[Amukinado]

Originally Posted by Nick Hearne

Aerotec will have the same problem as there is a gap under the floor open stern and bow with would make a great hiding place for octopus!

I do like the look of the Hondawave and it will not have the problem and a lot cheaper

Anther point do you not have Zodiac dealers in Portchagal as surely they could order you a Aerotec in as it is all the same company?

The problem with the honwave is installing some decent wheels that roll on soft sand and come off when I deflate the boat.

I'll see if I can find a Zodiac dealer nearby and ask them about the Aerotec.

[blootac]

There are wheels for the honwaves that do what you ask.
Wheels down
Wheels up
Transom Mounting plate