Thoughts on Excel 390s?

[John McOmie]

Hi, Just wondering if anybody has experience of Excel SIBs? I'm picking up a Suzuki 20hp SS 4 stroke, this week and thinking of matching it with one of the Excel 390s. Useage will be rivers and inshore fishing. Thanks in advance for any feedback

[Brinormeg]

https://www.rib.net/forum/f50/my-exc...far-86557.html

The above thread was from the start of my journey...good and bad!

The Volaire 390 is a bulky heavy beast, but ok if you are fit and strong or use a device for moving it around. Me and my small built teenage son struggle to carry it any real distance but that is partially down to the originally bag it comes in not being fit for purpose.

Steve and a few others can comment on the Volante as it is a bit lighter I believe and the air floor can be seperated which should cut down on weight and bulk.

[TmMorris]

Morning. I suspect a lot ultimately depends on how you plan to transport and launch your SIB.

I have a Volante 390 and really like it. It's stable, seems well made and generally performs well on open water. Like many air floors it seems slight susceptible to a bit of air cavitation under the hill if you don't ensure the keel is properly inflated but I've really enjoyed using it.

For its size and weight it is at the absolute limit of what I am happy to lug about and launch solo. I always use a slipway and launch wheels on the transom. Putting the boat in is easy, hauling it up a slippery slip at the end of a long day, in the later afternoon sun can be a bit of a graft but it's doable.

For transport, I can lift it into the boot of the car but it does require one of the rear seats to be folded. It's easier when I use the to hitch carrier as there is much less lifting and easier still when I use the trailer. I don't launch with the trailer as it's quite logistically complex when a slip is busy, the pontoon is a bit of a distance and you're also looking after two children so I just push it off the trailer by the slip, go and park the car with everything packed away and then hand launch.

When I considered engines I wanted a 20 4s and if they had been readily available I would have ended up with one but in hindsight I am glad I didn't as the weight would have added an extra complexity to recovery at the end of the day. Instead, I opted for a 15 2s which is 10kg lighter, if not more and easy to lift in and out of a car, easy to lift on and off the boat and ok to leave on when recovering.

At the same time, the 15 2s has enough poke to play around in the Solent with kit and children. It doesn't lack power.

My personal thoughts on your proposed set up from my perspective:

If I were to have a 20 4s on the back of the Volante 390 then I would definitely use a trailer for transport and launch. Set it all up in the comfort of home the night before and dismantle it all in the luxury of home the day after. And I would launch and recover using the trailer. At which point I would almost certainly find myself questioning why I'd bought a SIB and not a RIB.

If I were just using it on rivers and inshore then I would also focus on the outboard. A 10hp 4s being lighter and probably better for river use anyway. When I use mine on a river I don't use the 15 but a 4hp 2s that pushes the boat along very happily, doesn't foul and weighs almost nothing.

If however, there will always be two of you to launch and recover and stow away than pretty much all the concerns over a 20 evaporate.

In short, I guess what I am suggesting is that if you want to build your setup around a 45kg 20 4s then whichever boat you use it will be very similar, the Excel boats tend to be a little heavier and bulkier when stowed but the general usage experience will be pretty set but the real key is to clearly understand in advance how you will be using your setup. Single handed and doing everything on site, on your own and you may find you're very close to the limit of what is fun and what is a bit of a ballache that makes you hesitant to seize moments to use the boat. The simpler and lighter the whole set up is the more you'll probably use it.

In addition, the 360 is arguably a better boat as it has less flex in the hull. I only went 390 because I wanted the children to have as much space as possible. That extra foot really isn't necessary and does add to the work load.

Something else to consider is that it's quite wide and while I can tow it, even at 6'2" I'm aware that it's a bit of a stretch and not the most ideal set up for ease and performance in that regard. This may or may not be of any importance but I enjoy rowing and this is a boat that isn't optimised for that as the blades are too short for the width.

[TmMorris]

A final note about the Excel and this may be a factor with all SIBs but I was slightly surprised by the wash it creates off the plane if you want to move along at a river's speed limit. It can feel a little anti social to the point that going a few knots quicker, up on the plane produces far less wash but then you obviously feel anti social for speeding. My guess is that all SIBs do this just because of the big tubes sitting in the water.

[Lemonbonbon]

Have a look at the Honwave T38IE 3 Much lighter and very good boat I feel

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by John McOmie

Hi, Just wondering if anybody has experience of Excel SIBs? I'm picking up a Suzuki 20hp SS 4 stroke, this week and thinking of matching it with one of the Excel 390s. Useage will be rivers and inshore fishing. Thanks in advance for any feedback

Excel Volaire 390 build thread
https://www.rib.net/forum/f50/excel-volaire-390-build-thread-82696.html

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by John McOmie

Hi, Just wondering if anybody has experience of Excel SIBs? I'm picking up a Suzuki 20hp SS 4 stroke, this week and thinking of matching it with one of the Excel 390s. Useage will be rivers and inshore fishing. Thanks in advance for any feedback

Hi John, firstly I'll ask a question - why a 390? Will there be 3 or more of you at any one time? Do you need space?

Don't get me wrong, my heart will always say Volaire 390, but I'm pleased that my head over ruled my heart when I bought my SD360 because it is just that bit easier to handle. A Volaire or Volante 390 is a big, heavy lump to manoeuvre.

An SD360 coupled with your Suzi 20hp will be a nice, big, stable and relatively fast setup.

A couple of threads and videos to give you an idea of the SD360.

https://www.rib.net/forum/f50/excel-sd360-and-mercury-efi-15hp-review-84423.html

https://www.rib.net/forum/f50/redneck-does-pembroke-87079.html

[909]

Get something smaller and lighter

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by 909

Get something smaller and lighter

Constructive!