Honwave T38 IE

[benhben]

Hi,
Am looking to change my Quicksilver 330 sib for something a bit larger and easier to inflate. Love being out on the sib but after the last couple of times I cant cope anymore with trying to get the metal side slats in the wooden floor. They are a pain in the ass to get in, especially alone. My knuckles are red raw!

The boat is folded and transported in the car boot along with a 15hp Tohatsu, so easy inflating and deflating is important.

Ive been looking at either an F-Rib 360 or a Honwave T38 IE with the inflatable V floor.

Anyone got any experience of the Honwave inflatable V floor? Does it handle well? I havent had any experience of an inflatable floor. Slightly concerned it will feel like a bendy lilo after a wooden floor. Its half the price of an F-Rib however!

Thanks
Ben

[Max...]

Not owned one myself but it's often discussed on here:

https://www.google.com/search?q=honw...hrome&ie=UTF-8

[benhben]

Another option I have seen is a Sunsport ARIB 350. looks the same design as the Honwave T38 but slightly smaller.

Not seen much info on the quality of Sunsport SIBs.

[Max...]

Generic Chinese SIB without the Honwave name. What you gain in £££'s at purchase you lose at resale is maybe a cynical way of looking at it.

[benhben]

Originally Posted by Max...

Generic Chinese SIB without the Honwave name. What you gain in £££'s at purchase you lose at resale is maybe a cynical way of looking at it.

I ended up going for a Honwave T38. It was more or less the same price as a Sunsport. I really wanted an F-Rib but couldn't justify the price at almost £3000 for the boat alone.

Will keep an eye out for a wonky floor!

[Fenlander]

I hope it suits your needs. The setup process will be loads easier and that can be life changing after a difficult alloy floor. Regarding floor flex it seems to be to a different amount depending on individual combo of load weight & distribution... outboard power... sea state where you use it etc. Also some folks are not bothered by a degree of flex... others more so.

I fully agree you need to be totally committed to knowing an Frib is 100% right for you to spend around 2.5x the amount of the Honwave. Also the Honwave is always popular and an easy resale with minimal loss due to its low initial price.

I bought our Aerotec new almost five years ago and while not as expensive as an Frib at the time it still cost about twice that of the Honwave. They only way I could be sure it was the right decision was to buy a really cheap old used one... give that a trial and then order the new one after that experience.

If I were in the market for an Frib I could only consider one after having a good on the water trial in the usual sea states I operate in.

[benhben]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

I hope it suits your needs. The setup process will be loads easier and that can be life changing after a difficult alloy floor. Regarding floor flex it seems to be to a different amount depending on individual combo of load weight & distribution... outboard power... sea state where you use it etc. Also some folks are not bothered by a degree of flex... others more so.

I fully agree you need to be totally committed to knowing an Frib is 100% right for you to spend around 2.5x the amount of the Honwave. Also the Honwave is always popular and an easy resale with minimal loss due to its low initial price.

I bought our Aerotec new almost five years ago and while not as expensive as an Frib at the time it still cost about twice that of the Honwave. They only way I could be sure it was the right decision was to buy a really cheap old used one... give that a trial and then order the new one after that experience.

If I were in the market for an Frib I could only consider one after having a good on the water trial in the usual sea states I operate in.

An F-Rib is still a long term goal (dont tell the mrs!). But for now, for what we use it for i.e. plodding around the lakes and fishing with a couple of friends on board i think its more than enough. Should we really catch the bug and want to go further a field more regularly an F-Rib might be worth saving for.

By far the biggest criteria was something quick and easy to inflate and get on the water and pack away at the end of a day. I cant bring myself to even contemplate putting in the metal side slats on a wooden floor again!

[warder54]

Hi don't worry about the floor feeling bendy, when fully inflated I could turn mine upside down and stand on the hull - really solid. Get yourself a decent 2 stage pump (Like a Bravo) the supplied foot pump will do it if you have the weight and strength of an Elephant!! lol

[Fenlander]

>>> the supplied foot pump will do it if you have the weight and strength of an Elephant!! lol

Yes I found the Honwave footpump not quite as good as the Bravo ones supplied with modern Zodiacs... but both were totally eclipsed by a Bravo 12v HP pump... I'm just replacing my Bravo 12v after 9yrs as its a bit flaky on pressure settings. Even if I threw it away costs only works out at £11/yr which is a bargain for the ease of inflation.

Benhben I think you have the right attitude to this... as the solid floor was a right hassle best to move on and the Honwave is a great value stepping stone to an Frib eventually. You never know the Honwave might do all you need anyway.

[GuyC]

Don't bother with that Bravo rubbish - you need an Itiwit

Ahh - those were the days.

[Fenlander]

Funnily enough dithered over an Itiwit at their low price when ordering last night... but thought the Bravo had done OK at 9yrs service so I'd keep to what I know.

[benhben]

Ive got a Bravo GE BP 12v pump. Seems to work ok. Very noisy though. Almost feel like apologising when using it in the lake district.

[Fenlander]

Fully agree re noise. I sometime just warn folks if they are on seats eating ice creams nearby that there will be 15mins of noise. Yours is single stage as well so is noisy from the start... the twin stage pumps have a much less intrusive turbine first stage.... and then they go full machine gun at the end.