sportboat vs dinghy

[rdowns]

Hello, my first post. I have narrowed my choices down to an Avon Sportboat or an Avon Redshank. They are the same length about 10'. The sportboat has a wooden floor. Both appear to be in good condition. I believe the sportboat is circa 1981 and the Redshank is about 15 years old. We are looking for a unit to carry in an RV and hold 4 people to go out in lakes and bays. Just exploring, speed non essential. I wonder what would be the advantage of one unit over the other.

[m chappelow]

The redshank is a great boat and if you only have a small engine and not bothered about getting up on the plane and going fast they are ok ,good point is that it will stow away smaller ,bad points is that you are limited to small engines and speed ,and the boat will flex a bit more than the sport boat,
the sport boat having a proper transom will cope with much larger engines and the boat is desinged to go fast and will be more sea worthy and have a drain hole/plug ,, the down side is that when delated and stored rolled up it will take up more room than the redshank and will be heavier ,but the floor will be better ,and will take a few minuites longer to inflate and set up the floor .
one advantage with the redshank is that it can be folded or rolled up more ways than the sportsboat ,,that is unless you can fold the wood transom,,lol

[rdowns]

Thanks for the excellent feedback. I am trying to educate myself, but it is a bit of a crash course!.
Does the advice still hold if the sportboat is older than the redshank? The owner says he took it to a shop that works on inflatables and had its patched redone, and they looked it over and said it was in excellent shape. The redshank has been stored in a garage inflated for the last 10 years.

[chris123]

Generally the old Avon inflatables last very well.

If the condition of the Sportboat is in good condition as you say, I wouldn't be too worried about the age. If you look after it, it should have plenty of life left in it. I don't know how well you know the seller, but it might be worth a word with the boat shop to get a second opinion and confirm what the seller has told you.

Whilst speed is not important, the Sportboat would be a more capable boat - I assume you are talking about large lakes and bays where you may get a bit of choppy water. The Sportboat will cope better with this, and whilst I would not recommend going to the maximum power the boat will take, a 10HP or similar outboard on the Sportboat will give you a bit more power and control, particularly with 4 people on board. This can be useful if the weather starts to change. With 2 people on board the Sportboat will go very nicely, whilst the Redshank will still be chugging along.

Cheers

Chris

[rdowns]

I have read some on here about valves, is there something specific I should look out for?

[chris123]

Originally Posted by rdowns

I have read some on here about valves, is there something specific I should look out for?

There are a couple of different valve types. A 1981 Avon may have the older A4 valve



or the newer A-7 valve:

[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Chris/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.png[/IMG]

The A4 valve can be a little problematic and may be best replaced with a C7 valve if it leaks. The A7 valve can be rebuilt.

I wouldn't worry too much about either type of valve - a very slow leak is not a problem (particularly if you inflate / deflate every time you use the boat). If you want to be sure, brush some soapy water over all the valves - any bubbles will indicate a leak.

Cheers

Chris

[rdowns]

Thank you again for the information. I am hoping to go see both boats this weekend. I certainly wish I had one of you with me!!