Honwave 3.8 airdeck bulging

[ndwf64]

Hi, i recently bought a honwave 3.8 airdeck & while out on our first outing (2 adults 1 child) on flat water with a yamaha 20 2st short shaft motor i noticed the floor bulging to a high degree in the centre of the boat & the boat wouldn't plane very well.
also when on my own in the boat sitting on the left tube the boat was very unresponsive on turning to starboard and tended to crab to port unless i gave it more gas. the main tubes were pumped up to correct pressure and the floor was pumped up to .65 bar and not to .80 bar.(as was very difficult to achieve .80 bar with the foot pump. would the small difference in pressure cause these problems? Had a Zodiac with aluminium floor & inflatable keel before & it was brilliant!
I would be really happy for some advise & some thoughts as to weather i'd be better with a honwave with the ally floor & inflatable keel.
Nigel

[thestig1973]

I used to have a honwave t-30 which was great when correctly inflated, awful when slightly low pressure (ally floor)

I use a bravo on my futura airdeck and it was worth every penny

[benc]

Hi Nigel,

The difference in pressure will definitely make a difference. Does the foot pump you have have the higher pressure valve on it? It might take a while, but it should sort your issues out.

I would definitely recommend getting the bravo electric pump as mentioned above, as it pumps it up to perfect pressure every time!

[willk]

Airdecks - to paraphrase Conrad Hilton:

Pressure
Pressure
Pressure
______________

Airdecks - to paraphrase his Great Grand-daughter:

Blowing them up is a job
Blowing them up is a job
Blowing them up is a job

[longjohn]

Its definitely because the floor isn't at the correct pressure & the only way you'll achieve that is with a Bravo BST HP electric pump.

Good price here
BRAVO SUPERTURBO 12HP ELECTRIC PUMP 12V PUMP INFLATABLE | eBay

but for your boat the one with the built in rechargeable battery will be more convenient
http://www.rib-shop.com/product.asp?P_ID=436

[Max...]

Correct floor pressure is critical on an air floor SIB and the last 20% of pressure is the important bit! You don't need a Bravo to get up to pressure, any £10 double action stirrup pump from a camping shop will do it.

[longjohn]

Originally Posted by Max...

You don't need a Bravo to get up to pressure, any £10 double action stirrup pump from a camping shop will do it.

I beg to differ, I tried one of those first when I had a Honwave and the force you need on those cheap pumps breaks them as soon as the going gets tough. I broke the original bellows pump and a stirrup pump trying to get the floor pressure. The floor (& tube to a slightly lesser degree) pressure is critical as the boat floor will buck & wobble like a jelly when under pressure. And don't forget the effect the cold sea has on the floor pressure once launched (i.e. it reduces). A stirrup pump is pretty much impossible to use in the boat once launched.

Bravo all the way!

[Ribochet]

Originally Posted by willk

airdecks - to paraphrase conrad hilton:

Pressure
pressure
pressure

+ 1

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by longjohn

I beg to differ, I tried one of those first when I had a Honwave and the force you need on those cheap pumps breaks them as soon as the going gets tough . . . And don't forget the effect the cold sea has on the floor pressure once launched (i.e. it reduces). A stirrup pump is pretty much impossible to use in the boat

A Bravo is definitely good to have, but it's really not essential. Do get one if you can afford it, but don't worry too much if you can't. Just allow a bit more time to pump the boat up!

I don't know about a supercheap stirrup pump but the Quicksilver ones are about £20 and are well up to the job. I've never felt the need to use the pump in the boat either.

[bigscott]

A bravo pump is the way forward with out a doubt.

I use this one
BRAVO Inflatable Boat Rib 12v HP Air Pump Inflator BP12 | eBay


Its £75 and well worth the money. I use it to pump up my Bombard Aerotec 380. It turns off when it gets to the right pressure so no need to monitor the pump.

[Max...]

Originally Posted by longjohn

I beg to differ, I tried one of those first when I had a Honwave and the force you need on those cheap pumps breaks them as soon as the going gets tough. I broke the original bellows pump and a stirrup pump trying to get the floor pressure. The floor (& tube to a slightly lesser degree) pressure is critical as the boat floor will buck & wobble like a jelly when under pressure. And don't forget the effect the cold sea has on the floor pressure once launched (i.e. it reduces). A stirrup pump is pretty much impossible to use in the boat once launched.

Bravo all the way!

No reason why regular hand pumps should break unless they are perhaps really crappy Chinese models or misused - my original Zodiac foot pump is working great and gets to pressure for the floor fine as does the camping shop stirrup pump I bought last year (£6.99 not £10 ) - Bravo pumps are great if you want to go that route but by no means essential. People have been using HP floored SIB's for years before Bravos...

http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/bravo-b...tml#post407328

I keep my boat inflated through the season and throw it on and off the Land Rover roof - Bravo pumps are a nice luxury but not having the blow the boat up at all is best of all!

[Landlockedpirate]

I had a 3.2 as a tender, and I agree that the correct pressure is important. But even with all the chambers at correct pressure it still used to bulge at speed, which also slowed down performance. Spoke to quite a few people with Honwaves (V floor, all sizes) and most of them did the same when fitted with the biggest engine option.

My solution was a hinged piece of ply that I put on the floor and braced against the tubes, made it a bit better, but not perfect. The aluminium floored versions have no issues.

I think you have to put up with the downsides if you want the convinience of the air floor.

[clydeoutboards]

Have you spoken to your local dealer? if yiou have just bought it that is where I would go first.

As for pumps we use the one that comes with it and it has been fine and we use them 2-3 times a week. Dont get me wrong there are a lot better pumps out there and if you are either v short of time or a v heavy user of the honwave they are well worth the extra. If not you will need to make that judgement call yourself.

Dave

[ndwf64]

Thanks for all your input on this issue it has been very helpful. I have bought a Bravo electric pump, but have also decided to go back to a boat with an aluminium floor & inflatable keel as never had any issues at all with it in the past. am thinking about the honwave T35-AE. Any thoughts?
Many thanks to all of you for your help.
Nigel :O)

[thestig1973]

Originally Posted by ndwf64

Thanks for all your input on this issue it has been very helpful. I have bought a Bravo electric pump, but have also decided to go back to a boat with an aluminium floor & inflatable keel as never had any issues at all with it in the past. am thinking about the honwave T35-AE. Any thoughts?
Many thanks to all of you for your help.
Nigel :O)

I had a honwave T-30 AE, I liked it, performed well, buy a decent used one and they retain value well

[Fenlander]

Well I've owned 5 inflatables... currently with a Honwave 35AE I bought new. To be honest I can't fault the Honwave for the money, in fact it's hard to fault even comparing with makes/models costing 30%-50% more.

See my initial review after getting it delivered...

http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/honwave...iew-44366.html

If asked for any negatives the only one of any significance is its 160lbs weight compared to the 100lbs or less of a similar size air floor. To get round this we have gone over to using transom wheels all the time rather than trying to carry it and looking for hard slips where possible.