Sillinger inflatables?

[SBH2OMan]

I'm in southern California and have been looking for a 14 to 16 foot inflatable. I have run across several Sillinger brand boats that appear to be well constructed but all have been probably mid-90's vintage.

I've had only Avon RIBs up to this point but I know I want a hypalon boat with tiller handle and light weight for trailering to Baja and beach launching with a 4wd truck

Just curious if anyone knows a reason NOT to consider one of these Sillinger boats... Tough to find any info on them at all.

[chris123]

The RNLI use them at some stations here as boarding boats for getting out to their lifeboats on moorings.

From what I have seen of them they are good quality, similar to Avon.

Cheers

Chris

[kerny]

French make and are very good I believe.

[ynp]

The Royal Thai Navy bought a couple of Sillingers with the inboards and they are happy. Very well built, stable at rest and can be driven aggressively. Expensive.

[SBH2OMan]

Thank you. I just completed the purchase of a well-maintained 1986 465GT. It is a bit sun-faded, but there are no patches and all the glued parts were inspected and re-done a few years ago. It came with a freshly rebuilt Tohatsu/Nissan 40HP 2-stroke motor and a trailer, and still included the original owners manual for both the boat and the motor, original oars and pretty much every other fitting except for the front wind screen (though the dodger is still intact.)

The trailer looks like its never been in salt water. This weekend I'll be replacing the water pump since its been sitting a while, then giving it a good scrubbing and a rub-down with 303 protectant to get it ready for Baja, Mexico where I do a lot of spearfishing.

[kerny]

Enjoy

[office888]

I would recommend picking up a quart of Z-Cleaner concentrate. It should do a fine job removing that built up yellow oxidization.

[SBH2OMan]

Originally Posted by office888

I would recommend picking up a quart of Z-Cleaner concentrate. It should do a fine job removing that built up yellow oxidization.

Thanks. I have some 303 Cleaner and 303 Aerospace Protectant already in the shed that I was planning to try. Would you recommend this Z-cleaner over the 303 cleaner? Maybe I'll try a little spot.

[office888]

Originally Posted by SBH2OMan

Thanks. I have some 303 Cleaner and 303 Aerospace Protectant already in the shed that I was planning to try. Would you recommend this Z-cleaner over the 303 cleaner? Maybe I'll try a little spot.

303 Aerospace Protectant is pretty much the best stuff for post-cleaning protection.

However, think like a car or boat... it is a multi-tier approach.

Z-Tuff Cleaner is the best boat soap I've found in North America for inflatable boats, especially when combined with their scrubby pad. It is pretty aggressive stuff though. Make sure to apply 303 Protectant to the boat afterwards.

I think you can request a sample off their website if you want to test if it will work for your application?

It's the only thing I've found that removes diesel soot from hypalon in under an hour.

[Boatnomad]

Top class inflatables

Plenty on heavy duty work.

[SBH2OMan]

Thanks. I guess mine came with the porta-potty option instead of the 12.7mm machine gun...