newbie questions

[scruffy]

First of all hello to everyone,Just bought a QS 310 air deck with 6hp 2 stroke tohatsu motor, loads of questions to ask but here are just a couple,bearing in mind I have not had a boat before, I am 280 lbs if or when I fall out of my sib, if I try and climb in using a ladder that I am going to set up, don't laugh but being such a slim build will the boat not tip up or over, no matter where I position the aluminium ladder? I have read that with a 6hp that it will not plane, so I am thinking of putting a 20hp on even though it says 15hp max, but I will see what the 6hp goes like first as it is practically new, and seems a shame to part with it yet, my next ? is -- to get a sib to plane if I read right it says put weight up front till on plane, but I thought to plane meant that the front end lifted up, so if you put weight up front, does this not make getting on the plane harder? or have I misunderstood?
I intend going on my sib wednesday in the sea at Blackpool, not very far out just to have a play, the man up the road has a mirror boat and only has a 6hp motor and goes in the sea here so I should be ok ( shouldn't I ?) is seafishing from a sib practical? what is the chance in popping the sib with a hook? I must say I have read a lot on this site and found out a lot, I was supprised to see that you only need a small weighted anchor, thanks for any answers, Don't forget I may sound a thicko, but I was told ask and you will learn, cheers

[jyasaki]

Boat will most likely not tip no matter where you put the ladder. SIB's are pretty stable.

Personally, I wouldn't overpower, especially not if you're a new boater. There's a couple of things to worry about on doing so: additional weight of the motor (and you've already admitted you're not a small guy), stress on the boat structure, voiding insurance, etc.

As the boat begins moving, you displace water equal to the cross section of the submerged part of the hull. Eventually, as speed increases, the bow starts trying to ride up over the water the hull is displacing, and the aft portion of the hull pushes forward, still displacing water (at this point, your boat is bow-high). When you get enough power into the hull, the entire hull rides up over the displaced water, and begins riding on top (on plane, and a lot flatter than before.

Putting weight forward (or balancing the load) essentially helps to hold the nose down as you try to rise up on plane. The weight there acts as a counterweight to the pilot and motor (which are usually towards the rear.)

Don't know about your waters, so I can't comment on suitability for going out in them.

jky

[scruffy]

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer,and now I understand how to plane,the 20hp motor is now removed from my thoughts, and if after using the 6hp for a while I will upgrade to a 15hp as that is max for the 310, life jackets arrived this morning, roll on wednesday,forecast is good, feel a little bit nervous, not of being in/on the sea,but actually putting the sib in the sea to set off, after launching a few times this should not be a problem, the fun factor will outway the nervous factor I'm sure, just a shame it's Blackpool sea and not the sea around Corfu , cheers

[codprawn]

Even with 2 very hefy blokes the Quicksilver 310 will do 24mph with a 15hp 4 stroke. Try to get a 2 strokes as they are lighter. I have a wood floor model which is probably a better bet than the air floor. Maybe you can convert?