s.i.b anchor box and electrics box pod

[m chappelow]

some sibbers having had thoughts about having somewhere to mount the fishfinder /gps/ and vhf radio ect ,even the anchor ,,looking at what from the rnli d class s.i.bs are now using ,i thought a i would post a few pics to give some ideas that a few out there could perhaps make or use for themselves, mart

[kelson]

That is a great post. Are the long orange tubes on the inside of the boat flexible fuel tanks? Interesting application. I'm also stoked to see the placement of the elephant trunks on the transom. I haven't installed mine on my zodiac yet. For some reason I was thinking they should mount at the floor level, but I'm going to go with a lower install point like the one pictured that will drain water from under my aluminum floor too. Doh! So obvious. Where does the lifting bridle attach to the hull? It looks like the straps are going to the inside of the tubes, are there d rings installed at the floor level there? Is there an advantage to having inner lift points? I have mine running to the transom and to two outer d rings on the tube exterior. Looks like all of the d ring attachment points on this vessel are on not exterior placements. Is this a safety issue or just to keep the tubes as nice bumpers with nothing to scratch or dent another vessel? Always looking to learn more about how the professionals set up.

[chris123]

Hopefully Mart won't mind me butting in

Yes the orange tubes are fuel tanks.

There are 4 eye bolts inside the boat for lifting. Two are mounted on the transom. You can see the metal backing plates (diamond shaped with 4 black plastic nut covers) in the last photo. The other two are mounted on the forward corners of the main floorboard.

The D class is a weighty beast - lifting eyes on the tubes would put a big strain on them.

Cheers

Chris

[m chappelow]

of course i dont mind chris,lol thats what forums are for ,but your right with regards to the lifting strop eye bolts on the inside i think is down to the fact that regulations require a davit launch /recovered rescue boat ,be able to be strong enough to support the boat and crew should it be needed ,with the earlier d class boats the starboard front lifting eye was also used as a strong point for anchoring using a short rope strop about a foot long and a climbing rope[ figure of 8]decender to pay out the anchor line through ,,,.the D rings on the after end of the sponsons are used for towing or when a beach launching trolly is used ,for holding/stopping the boat sliding off ,as the boat is trailed bow first regards mart,,,pic of the old anchor strop ,,and another lower pic of the trunks for mr kelson ,regards mart

[palehorse]

anyone know where to get the fuel tubes in the USA or Canada? I need some

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by pale horse

anyone know where to get the fuel tubes in the USA or Canada? I need some

I would also like to know if they can be obtained at a reasonable price. What is the capacity of those tubes?

Great post by the way. I'd like to see a few more pictures of the anchor rigging & how the 8 descender is utilized. It looks like with the electronic screens that far up front, they are specifically meant to read by someone other than the operator. What type of battery is used to run the electric stuff?

[J S]

Avon produce them, http://www.avon-workboats.com/page/flexfueltank

James

[chris123]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

It looks like with the electronic screens that far up front, they are specifically meant to read by someone other than the operator. What type of battery is used to run the electric stuff?

Yes, they are - the D class typically carries a crew of 3, one or both of the guys up front will look after the plotter and VHF.

The pod electronics are powered by a lead acid battery in a separate compartment in the pod, charged from the outboard's alternator. Not sure of the battery capacity - it will be a reasonable size as this model of D class (IB1) has an electric start on the outboard.

Cheers

Chris

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by J S

Avon produce them, http://www.avon-workboats.com/page/flexfueltank

James

Thanks for the link James. Those Avon tanks look to be excellent, but the North American distributor wants over $ 900 CAN (~ 450 Brittish pounds) for them. Definitely not a reasonable price, especially since I typically carry at least 80 liters of fuel for most outings.

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by chris123

Yes, they are - the D class typically carries a crew of 3, one or both of the guys up front will look after the plotter and VHF.

The pod electronics are powered by a lead acid battery in a separate compartment in the pod, charged from the outboard's alternator. Not sure of the battery capacity - it will be a reasonable size as this model of D class (IB1) has an electric start on the outboard.

Cheers

Chris

Thanks Chris,

What would the total weight of one of these boats when fully kitted (sans personnel) be?

[m chappelow]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

Thanks Chris,

What would the total weight of one of these boats when fully kitted (sans personnel) be?

hi p/t, the older D class with the 40 hp engine on excluding crew weighs in at 338 kgs or 745 ibs,, not too sure about the new version with the pod as it now has a bigger 50 hp engine too ,

[prairie tuber]

Obviously not a SIB that will roll up & fit into the trunk (boot) of a car!


With these SIBs fully decked out, the difference in weight between it and a similarly equipped RIB of the same length would probably be relatively small. Why a SIB rather than a RIB? I can think of a few possible reasons, but would be interested to hear from you ILB guys about this.

[m chappelow]

hi p/t just phoned up the i.l.b main base where they are built and spoke to the top man and he says the latest i.l.b D class weighs in at 443 kgs- 50 hp engine ,fully fuelled and ready to go ex crew ,the floor board is now a composite honey comb as is the transom sheathed in g.r.p instead of one piece ply wood which makes it lighter ,couple of reasons the rnli have still kept to s.i.b.s for the smaller inshore lifeboat is flexibility,, lol,, inflatable keel can be deflated for really shallow water and less damage to keel if constantly bumping into rocks ,,,,ps ive had an old one in my car with the board on the roof,, just ,mart

[prairie tuber]

Thanks Mart. That makes total sense. That is why I specifically wanted a SIB rather than a RIB. The hull of a RIB (fiberglass or aluminum) would get irreparably damaged if it were run up some of the rapids that I've taken my SIB up. If I were to do anything different, I would have gone with the 5.3m version of my boat rather than the 4.7m version, just for that extra bit of space in case I need it, but have no complaints about what I currently have.

[chris123]

As Mart says, the D class is great for getting in and out of awkward places (shallow water and surf). There are some better images about, but here are some of the best I can find at the mo:

http://www.rnli.org.uk/who_we_are/pr...g=South%20West

http://www.rnli.org.uk/who_we_are/pr...video&listing=

http://www.rnli.org.uk/who_we_are/pr...ting=Lifeboats

http://www.rnli.org.uk/who_we_are/pr...ting=Lifeboats

Cheers

Chris

[kelson]

So what the heck is the RNLI doing running their boat in the surf right next to surfers? Maybe in the case of a rescue, but for training purposes that is an unnecessary risk. (see the second link on the previous post) I have to stay a hundred feet away from surfers and swimmers and that seems reasonable to me.

So the front attachment points for the lifting bridal go to the floor? Is this a one piece floor? Is it attached to the tubes by more than compression from the tubes? Zodiac advises that all lifting points should be on the tubes or transom rather than the floor. I don't necessarily trust the glued on d rings and would appreciate any advise regarding attachment to the floor.

[m chappelow]

Originally Posted by kelson

So what the heck is the RNLI doing running their boat in the surf right next to surfers? Maybe in the case of a rescue, but for training purposes that is an unnecessary risk. (see the second link on the previous post) I have to stay a hundred feet away from surfers and swimmers and that seems reasonable to me.

So the front attachment points for the lifting bridal go to the floor? Is this a one piece floor? Is it attached to the tubes by more than compression from the tubes? Zodiac advises that all lifting points should be on the tubes or transom rather than the floor. I don't necessarily trust the glued on d rings and would appreciate any advise regarding attachment to the floor.

must admit it looked a bit close ,,,yep the lifting eyes made from bronze are bolted through on the one piece floor with a back plate ,rnli stopped using multi boards within the first few months of using inflatables in the early 1960s as in big waves they either broke/ cracked / popped out of posistion they are not held in except by the sponsons, they were tightened by bottle /turn screws so doing away with thrust boards,,ill take a pic of the lifting eye bolts tommorow of my y class which is just a smaller version of the d though there may be one on rib net that i posted a while back , ,mart

[m chappelow]

pic of bronze lifting eye /pad/backing plate,,,,,yeah i know they need a clean ,lol

[kelson]

Thank you for the follow up post. The rnli boat definitely has me thinking about how I have my lifting bridal set up. Zodiac recommends the exterior lifting points on the tubes because the floor could conceivably come out from between the tubes. But I can see that a well fitted floor on fully inflated boat isn't likely to go anywhere and is probably a more reliable lift point than a d ring on the tube. Certainly I load a lot of weight into my boat and the strain on the the fabric floor and tubes can't be a good thing. What really concerns me is the possibility of having a glued on d ring release. I have a straight sling strap that I run from the shackles and d rings on the sides under the boat just to cover such an possibility, but it is a pain to install and remove when not on the lift. Switching to inner attachment points on the floor with maybe an extra strap to one of my inner d rings would definitely be more supportive of the load and just as well restrained as the exterior attachment point. Having a tube slip down wouldn't be as catastrophic as losing a d ring attachment point. Though my aluminum floor isn't one piece it is definitely rigid and strong. I think I will give it a try and see how the floor sections handle the load. Thanks for posting the images! Here is a shot of my first lift test, before I added backing plates on my transom. Interestingly enough lifts around here require made in USA shackles since so many Chinese shackles are over rated due to poor manufacturing standards.

[Channel Ribs]

Originally Posted by kelson

So what the heck is the RNLI doing running their boat in the surf right next to surfers?

That was quite close, the guy just pops up from under the engine!