Inflatable floor - planing question

bavmw · 31 May 2015, 14:34

I have a 10'2" AVON Rover circa 1996 in great condition, bought used, with an Evinrude 8hp 2-stroke outboard also in excellent condition. 8hp is the max rating for this boat with inflatable floor. I'm finding it difficult to get on plane, sounds like the motor is sucking air, as if the boat isn't rigid enough to make water flow underneath correctly.

Does anyone have any experience with this or advise, tips, etc? I wonder if I'm putting enough air in the floor? If not, how do I gauge the psi when filling up these tubes? Is there a meter I can purchase? Thanks for any help!

Fenlander · 31 May 2015, 14:46

Without a gauge it is unlikely you will reach the full pressure which can be quite a hard pump towards the last few psi/bar.

You can get an inline gauge which will show you the pressure as you inflate it.

Like this... Bravo Pressure Gauge | eBay

One or two up (as long as you're not too heavy) an 8hp should plane a small Rover.

bavmw · 31 May 2015, 17:21

Thanks for the info. What do you recommend about inflating in sunlight (I live in FL and it's summer time), so as not to cause heat expansion that would result in unintended "side effects"?

office888 · 31 May 2015, 20:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by bavmw

Thanks for the info. What do you recommend about inflating in sunlight (I live in FL and it's summer time), so as not to cause heat expansion that would result in unintended "side effects"?

Inflate the boat in the water in the midday sun, and you'll be fine. Just don't inflate it in a dark, air conditioned area then take it out in to the sun. Or inflate it at night then let it sit until the next day. 1 Celsius = 4 millibar of pressure change.

willk · 31 May 2015, 22:09

You'll need to determine precisely what the recommended floor pressure is. It could be something silly like 12psi. An electric pump would make life a lot easier: 12 VOLT BRAVO INFLATABLE BOAT RIB DINGHY AIR PUMP AVON ZODIAC | eBay

But a footpump from Mercury will work too, and it has a gauge: Ron Hale Marine Ltd - Quicksilver Double Action Air Pump

bavmw · 31 May 2015, 23:46

Is there an electric pump by Bravo or another company that uses a cigarette lighter instead of pos/neg battery cables? I don't have a battery nearby in a handy location when inflating the boat

Nos4r2 · 01 June 2015, 00:14

A cigarette lighter socket will catch fire or blow the fuse/car wiring if you plug in one of the high pressure pumps. They take way too much power. Extending your cables on the pump or making an extension you can clip onto would be the best way.

claretcass · 01 June 2015, 17:33

The Bravo 12 BST pump has a self contained battery that charges overnight from a 12v cigarette lighter socket. It also allows you to set the pressure required, for me on my 3D lightweight tender (2.9m) it takes about 6-10 minutes to inflate.
I set the dial to 3psi and inflate the air floor then the 3 tube compartments and as the correct pressure is reached the pump stops.
Then i set the dial to 9psi and inflate the air floor to its correct pressure then the pump stops. I have roberts halkey valves and simply hold the pipe with the correct adaptor in the valve and a bar on the adaptor pushes and opens the valve until the pump stops at the correct pressure, as i remove the pipe and the valve closes instantly with no pressure loss.
The pump also reverses and deflates the SIB.
The pump will inflate larger SIB's from a single charge as it is recommended up to 15 minutes of continuous use. It makes things a lot easier all round

Max... · 01 June 2015, 18:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by claretcass

The Bravo 12 BST pump has a self contained battery that charges overnight from a 12v cigarette lighter socket. It also allows you to set the pressure required, for me on my 3D lightweight tender (2.9m) it takes about 6-10 minutes to inflate.
I set the dial to 3psi and inflate the air floor then the 3 tube compartments and as the correct pressure is reached the pump stops.
Then i set the dial to 9psi and inflate the air floor to its correct pressure then the pump stops. I have roberts halkey valves and simply hold the pipe with the correct adaptor in the valve and a bar on the adaptor pushes and opens the valve until the pump stops at the correct pressure, as i remove the pipe and the valve closes instantly with no pressure loss.
The pump also reverses and deflates the SIB.
The pump will inflate larger SIB's from a single charge as it is recommended up to 15 minutes of continuous use. It makes things a lot easier all round

Not a good idea to inflate each tube to max then the next chamber to max etc. Do them all in turn to 50% then go round again to 100%.

willk · 01 June 2015, 18:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by bavmw

Is there an electric pump by Bravo or another company that uses a cigarette lighter instead of pos/neg battery cables? I don't have a battery nearby in a handy location when inflating the boat

As NOS says, the draw is too high for a standard socket. The very simplest solution is buy a 12v sealed lead acid battery (as used in alarms systems, UPS, etc) and bring that in the bag - then you can inflate wherever you want

I'm going to build mine into a plastic box with the battery and all the "bits" included - the pumps really don't like inhaling sand and guess what the seaside is covered with?

weimed · 09 June 2015, 00:44

I also live in florida and i own a 12ft inflatable also. Buy yourself an electric high pressure pump. 100 bux from seaeagle.com. Pump the air floor until you can stand on it without bending. You wont blow it up. I dont think Arnold in his prime could over inflate it. Draw is not to high, buy a 9volt adapter and 2 open wires pos and neg. attach them abd plug it in. Only issue is there is a fuZe in the cigg lighter adapter which can blow. Before i purchased a tiny dc battery i purchased really long jumper cables and popped the hood to inflate

beerbelly · 09 June 2015, 07:13

I just use a cheap car booster starter pack
12V 900A HEAVY DUTY CAR JUMP LEAD STARTER BOOSTER PACK BATTERY GUARANTEED NEW | eBay

Max... · 09 June 2015, 08:03

As Willk says go with one of these below or similar (many options on eBay), very cheap and compact and does the job same as the Bravo with built in battery:

12 VOLT 7AH BURGLAR ALARM BATTERY RECHARGEABLE BATTERY (12V 7AH ) | eBay

Biggy · 10 June 2015, 00:11

I have the bravo pump for my honwave, very little difference between the honwave gauge and the bravo gauge, so I'm happy to use the bravo knowing its correct.
I power it from a standalone 20ah small battery, or use my ring power pack depending on how long I'm out for I take the practical one with me.

blootac · 10 June 2015, 10:47

I just use a small 7AH Lead acid battery, £15 from rapid. The bravo BTP12's instructions say it's rated at 20A peak so that battery will last ~5 minutes, however in practice it lasts much longer.

Rapid also do one, just check the spec sheet of whatever you buy to make sure you're happy with the ratings.

Not sure how long the battery will live at that current draw but for £15 it'll do for me.

Just charge it over night when you've used it.