Honwave 38 airdeck or Bombard aerotec 380?

69cmw · 31 August 2009, 18:51

I am away to get either a Honwave 38 airdeck model or a Bombard aerotec 380, is the bombard worth the extra money? and what are peoples views on both sibs? I will be using a yam 15 hp 2 stroke on which ever sib I get

Thanks

Craig

br1anuk · 31 August 2009, 23:07

I had the Honda t38, it's a big inflatable and seemed over buoyant with my Mercury 15hp 2 stroke. I'd upgraded from the Honda t32 which performed fantastically with that engine.
Oh and you can't fit transom launch wheels on the Honda unless you buy the very expensive special one's.
Don't forget your Bravo superturbo pump, getting that last 10% in is the real killer.
Brian

CJS · 02 September 2009, 14:45

I don't have much experience of other inflatables but I have got the Honwave 3.8m and personally I think it is an excellent boat. Well built, roomy for a small inflatable, deep adding to the feeling of security and very stable. It is heavier than many other boats in its range but that makes it feel more secure.

Without a trailer even on Transom wheels it does require two people to manouver it easily but there is generally always keen available crew.

With my 20HP Honda it has plenty of umph along with good fuel economy. My father in law and I took it from Keyhaven around the Needles - Isle of Wight to Alum Bay - we were running into tides and a reasonable swell - and back around to Yarmouth again and we used less than 6 quid of fuel for a good days sibbing.

Oh and I purchased mine with the Transom wheels that cost around 100 quid when I bought the boat.

All I can say is I give the Honwave 3.8 a 10 out of 10....

Nick Hearne · 08 September 2009, 15:04

I have the Bombard & a 15hp 2 stroke Yamie & it is a great package, light fast & the floor pumped up to the right pressure is very ridged & give a drier than most ride!
10 out of 10

matt h · 08 September 2009, 15:43

Bombard 380

tinker · 08 September 2009, 17:54

Bombard, it has a v type hull that gets a lot closer to a rib than any other SIB I know.

Wavesurfer · 08 September 2009, 23:48

I have a Bombard 380 and Honda 20hp. With the Bombard, the hull has a V-shape at the transom, whereas with many inflatables there is a V shape at the bow but the hull is much flatter at the transom. Construction and materials appear to be similar to Zodiac inflatables, and the Bombard/Zodiac transom wheels work well.

longjohn · 13 September 2009, 13:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wavesurfer

I have a Bombard 380 and Honda 20hp. With the Bombard, the hull has a V-shape at the transom, whereas with many inflatables there is a V shape at the bow but the hull is much flatter at the transom. Construction and materials appear to be similar to Zodiac inflatables, and the Bombard/Zodiac transom wheels work well.

Gotta Honwave 380ie airdeck with 20hp Honda outboard - great little boat thoroughly recommend the combo.
Here's my first attempt at aquatic video (not the most exiting) yesterday having a little fun with the race of Old Harry rocks. Actually there were some quite big waves - the boat is stable enough to allow steering with one hand and filming with the other!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FENvm2CvxTU

CJS · 13 September 2009, 20:40

Hey LongJohn

I have the same boat, same engine, same bow bag and was in the same place at roughly the same time yesterday.....pity I never spotted you.

We left Baiter in Poole and headed out for Swanage but as you stated there was a fair swell off Old Harry. The boat handled extremely well though....maybe see you out there some time?

DryFlyFishing · 21 June 2010, 09:51

Honwave 380 and 20hp - how fast does it go... looks very slow in the video...

in flat calm would you scare the bejesus out of yourself or would the boat just plain and feel safe?

would one be better putting the 20hp 4 stroke honda on a 320 honwave??? to get more speed / agility ?

longjohn · 21 June 2010, 10:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by DryFlyFishing

Honwave 380 and 20hp - how fast does it go... looks very slow in the video...

in flat calm would you scare the bejesus out of yourself or would the boat just plain and feel safe?

would one be better putting the 20hp 4 stroke honda on a 320 honwave??? to get more speed / agility ?

was fairly slow in the video as I was helming with one hand and videoing with the other. In the right conditions was good for 26MPH or so (I think is was MPH & not knots when I was measuring).

In flat calm - just straight on the plane and stable. quite bouncy in a chop but able to cope very well. lol.

xchsurfers · 14 March 2011, 13:07

Hi Can someone please shed some light on how to stop the floor on my t38ie2 from curving up from midway to the transom when it is up on the plane. When it rises the boat slows down very quickly and the engine starts to cavitate.Have tried moving the passenger around,tried it on my own, altered the trim pin I have a honda 20hp s/s fitted.All tubes and floor are pumped up to correct pressure, even over pressurised to see if that would help. Spoken to Honda UK. they basicly told me to go away they have never had this problem before,To me it seems that the boat is to long for an airfloor. I liked to hear if anyone has come across this.
ps. A local boat yard had one of these in as a p/x he also said that they do not perform very well.

xchsurfers · 14 March 2011, 13:09

Hi Can someone please shed some light on how to stop the floor on my t38ie2 from curving up from midway to the transom when it is up on the plane. When it rises the boat slows down very quickly and the engine starts to cavitate. Have tried moving the passenger around,tried it on my own, altered the trim pin. It`s fitted with a honda 20hp s/s. All tubes and floor are pumped up to correct pressure, even over pressurised to see if that would help. Spoken to Honda UK. they basicly told me to go away they have never had this problem before,To me it seems that the boat is to long for an airfloor. I liked to hear if anyone has come across this.
ps. A local boat yard had one of these in as a p/x he also said that they do not perform very well.

azzurro · 14 March 2011, 17:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by xchsurfers

Hi Can someone please shed some light on how to stop the floor on my t38ie2 from curving up from midway to the transom when it is up on the plane. When it rises the boat slows down very quickly and the engine starts to cavitate. Have tried moving the passenger around,tried it on my own, altered the trim pin. It`s fitted with a honda 20hp s/s. All tubes and floor are pumped up to correct pressure, even over pressurised to see if that would help. Spoken to Honda UK. they basicly told me to go away they have never had this problem before,To me it seems that the boat is to long for an airfloor. I liked to hear if anyone has come across this.
ps. A local boat yard had one of these in as a p/x he also said that they do not perform very well.

I do not own a high pressure hull Honwave, mine is an Alu floor.

But the problem is the same for each and every high pressure hull doesn't matter the manufacturer.

High pressure. Are you getting the right pressure? You mean overpressurized: How much pressure are you talking about? How do you get that pressure, and how do you measure it?

At least that's what I've read in a thousand of posts.

Regarding performance, I believe it's the same for high pressure hulls. They seem to perform much better than air keel boats.

Me, I prefer alu floor, but this is just because of my requirements.

rob peters · 14 March 2011, 20:01

I have a suzumar 350 airdeck and that's does exactly the same. I have pumped it over pressure and the floor stll distorts. Waiting to upgrade.

Nick Hearne · 15 March 2011, 16:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by azzurro

But the problem is the same for each and every high pressure hull doesn't matter the manufacturer.

Not if you have a Bombard aerotec 380

xchsurfers · 17 March 2011, 00:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by azzurro

I do not own a high pressure hull Honwave, mine is an Alu floor.

But the problem is the same for each and every high pressure hull doesn't matter the manufacturer.

High pressure. Are you getting the right pressure? You mean overpressurized: How much pressure are you talking about? How do you get that pressure, and how do you measure it?

At least that's what I've read in a thousand of posts.

Regarding performance, I believe it's the same for high pressure hulls. They seem to perform much better than air keel boats.

Me, I prefer alu floor, but this is just because of my requirements.

Hi
Thank you for your response. Regarding ( How do you get that pressure), I`m lucky enough to own one of those very handy rechargeable BST Bravo pump which will take the floor to 11psi (.8bar) and beyond, this is the pressure for the floor. The pumps comes with a adjustable limiter which can be set to your required pressure. I also checked the pressure with two, yes two gauges to make sure, all read the same. I even went up to 13psi no difference.
When you say you you have read thousands reports and they all say that these air floors bend, please advise where I can read them for my self.

uny1965 · 17 March 2011, 23:06

hi xchsurfers, I had the t32-ie honwave with the inflatable floor/15hp outboard and had exactly the same problems.
It was great when the water was a bit choppy as the boat didnt seem to have complete contact with the water and performed brilliantly.
On a calm sea it was a different story, the front of the boat where the floor has more of a "v" was fine but middle to rear seemed to arch up and slow the boat down no matter what i did, ie: shifting the weight, pressure of the floor and trim of the outboard.
I got fed up and bought a bombard 380 aerotec which seems to have more of a "v" down the whole length of the floor, also the floor is inflated to 11 psi compared with the honwaves 8 psi (if i remember correctly).
All sibs no matter what the manufacturer seem to have their own unique problems, its the nature of the beast i'm afraid.
The honwave is a great sib. Quality build, more roomy and IMHO a bit of a "drier" ride than most inflatables of the same money.

xchsurfers · 19 March 2011, 00:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by uny1965

hi xchsurfers, I had the t32-ie honwave with the inflatable floor/15hp outboard and had exactly the same problems.
It was great when the water was a bit choppy as the boat didnt seem to have complete contact with the water and performed brilliantly.
On a calm sea it was a different story, the front of the boat where the floor has more of a "v" was fine but middle to rear seemed to arch up and slow the boat down no matter what i did, ie: shifting the weight, pressure of the floor and trim of the outboard.
I got fed up and bought a bombard 380 aerotec which seems to have more of a "v" down the whole length of the floor, also the floor is inflated to 11 psi compared with the honwaves 8 psi (if i remember correctly).
All sibs no matter what the manufacturer seem to have their own unique problems, its the nature of the beast i'm afraid.
The honwave is a great sib. Quality build, more roomy and IMHO a bit of a "drier" ride than most inflatables of the same money.

Hi uny1965 thanks for your reply, The honwave is great if you sit on the floor just in front of the transom (holds the floor down) bit tricky trying to steer.I think I will do the same as you and move on to something else. Please tell me more about the bombard 380,also can I use it with my honda 20hp short shaft, does the floor move on rough and calm seas

uny1965 · 19 March 2011, 01:17

hi xchsurfers, Don't get me wrong, honwaves are great boats and the only reason I got rid of mine was because of the floor bend.
The shape of the bow gave a very dry ride and any water that did get in you could see, different story if you have an aluminum or wooden floor as you can't see under them to see how much water you have taken on board. (also a lot heavier)
A mate of mine had a yam 330s inflatable with plywood floor and we had to keep coming ashore every 15 mins to bail her out. (very low in the water and the bow wasn't as pronounced as many other sibs)
I moved on to the bombard aerotec 380 with 18hp tohatsu 2 stroke (short shaft) and have found the floor a lot more rigid and have not noticed any bend due to the more pronounced "v" shape along the whole length and the extra psi, but as i mentioned in the previous post, every sib seems to have its own little problems.

The bombard manual says short shaft outboard so you should be alright with your honda 20hp, but you will probably find that you have to pack the outboard up on the transom about 35-50mm with a block of wood (refer to pics in previous posts). It will take up to 25hp outboard.
Also I must mention the bombard only comes with silly little telescopic paddles that aren't attached to the boat unlike the honwaves that are fixed to the tubes.
All in all I have found it to be a great sib, quality build and fairly light weight.
We use ours for fishing and towing ringos and even with the 18hp its quite nippy.

Good luck and hope this helps. Regards. Paul.