Which One Do I Go For

[Willwors]

At SIBS today. Was looking at a SIB/RIB around the 3.5 metre mark. Which of the following is the best deal

Honwave 3.8 Air-V with Honda BF15 £2600
Zodiac Cadet 340S with Johnson Fourstroke 15 £2280
Suzumar 365 with Suzuki 15 Fourstroke £2200
Quicksilver 340S with Mariner 15 Twostroke £2039
Quicksilver 340S with Mariner 9.9 Fourstroke £1849
Bombard Aerotec 3.8 Yamaha 15 Twostroke £2900

Any suggestions? Many thanks.

[Richard B]

Depends on how you want to use it.

I would recommend the air floor type, unless you particularly need a solid floor, and 2-stroke engines are easier to transport than 4-stroke as the sump oil in a two stroke means you have to keep it a particular way up.

Zodiac and Quicksilver make very good quality products, however I would suggest taking a look at Lodestar as well. They are on stand D047.

[Hugh Jardon]

you are looking at some very different boats here

i have a quicksilver 340 aerodeck i think, well it has the inflatable floor and keel, and have a yam 15 two stroke

my advice

think what you want the boat for, how you will transport it

my boat weighs around 37kg and the engine is similar too, not sure on actual weights but there abouts anyway

when it is packed into the bag i can lift it just about ok on my own, and it will fit in the back of a td5 landy just nicely, the engine is superb, does not use much fuel and on a 340 i would go to the biggest pitch prop you can as it will easily drive such a small boat

dont get a boat with inflatable thwarts, they waste space, on mine the 5 gal fuel tank fits under the wooden thwart

think about the following considerations
fuel economy is not an issue as even the 15 two strokes only use a sniff of fuel
get the coarsest prop you can if getting a two stroke, my recommendation is two stroke personally
think of how you will transport it, can you lift it when packed
if on a trailer then is a different story but trailers cost
if you are going to inflate or deflate then get an electric pump, the cheap yellow ones for around 7-8 quid do the trick and pump it up most of the way and then you finish it off with a hand pump
think of the boat when you are sitting in it with all your stuff, they always look bigger leaning against a wall empty
get the biggest engine you are ok lifting that the boat will take, consider having to lift it in your car if you are transporting it that way
i recommend quicksilver, but not the bombard 340 aerodeck as had one of those before, i prefer quicksilver, (had two bombards before)
if you want to fit wheels to it for transportation then get the expensive ones with a curved leg so the wheels fit under the boat but click upwards when in the water, they are bigger and far better than cheap alternatives, can send pics of mine if that helps, cost around 120, i can walk with mine for quite a distance with comfort, as boat is balanced,

if you need anything further then just say but hopefully some of this has givben you food for thought

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Willwors

At SIBS today. Was looking at a SIB/RIB around the 3.5 metre mark. Which of the following is the best deal

Honwave 3.8 Air-V with Honda BF15 £2600
Zodiac Cadet 340S with Johnson Fourstroke 15 £2280
Suzumar 365 with Suzuki 15 Fourstroke £2200
Quicksilver 340S with Mariner 15 Twostroke £2039
Quicksilver 340S with Mariner 9.9 Fourstroke £1849
Bombard Aerotec 3.8 Yamaha 15 Twostroke £2900

Any suggestions? Many thanks.

Easy, Quicksilver with 15 Mariner 2stroke. Quick, fun and good residual. Don't really see the point of small,heavy 4strokes. The 2strokes are lots more fun and the fuel saving isn't worth worrying about. In my opinion.

[bogib]

No question my point goes to QS 340 Sport with the 15 hp two stroke

Bogi

[Willwors]

there was just one thing i didnt like about the quicksilver. On the inflatable floor model, the floor seemed to be very high. meaning there wasnt very much depth inside the boat, and there wasnt as much bow rise as on the suzuki. has anyone got this boat and can comment on that?

[Hugh Jardon]

Originally Posted by Mollulnan

Easy, Quicksilver with 15 Mariner 2stroke. Quick, fun and good residual. Don't really see the point of small,heavy 4strokes. The 2strokes are lots more fun and the fuel saving isn't worth worrying about. In my opinion.

i have posted a few threads on here trying to gauge fuel consumption on optis etc cos they can use 19 gals per hour

but a 15 yam 2 stroke uses hardy anything and is a lot of fun, i am sure the mariner is the same.

i have raced quite a few similar ribs (big kid i know buy my 5 yr old insists) and none have beaten it which is probably down to the prop

also consider a tiller extension handle and by god always use the kill switch lanyard as on full chat it is quite twitchy but soooooo much fun.

[bogib]

I was under the impression you where thinking of the S model which is the one with wooden floor, airdeck version is on other hand something I don´t like so look further to the sport model.

Bogi

[Willwors]

yes the s was the one i was leaning more towards but they didnt have one on display. only an airdeck and i thought the floor was too high. I like the new fourstrokes because they are so quiet and refined. and when you are a student who likes to go fast fuel consumtion can matter...

[Hugh Jardon]

Originally Posted by Willwors

there was just one thing i didnt like about the quicksilver. On the inflatable floor model, the floor seemed to be very high. meaning there wasnt very much depth inside the boat, and there wasnt as much bow rise as on the suzuki. has anyone got this boat and can comment on that?

forget bow rise on those things, dont think it is an issue at all, when you are singing along it is not even a consideration,

as for depth inside and floor, never presented an issue i must admit and none of my kids have pinged out of the thing yet!!!

think of weight, lifting, transporting etc,

a guy down at meva had a honwave 4 m or some similar size with a honda 8hp fourstroke, looked lovely but zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz and bloody massive and heavy packed

all the votes are for 2 stroke and QS, go for it

[Richard B]

Yes, as the guys say, check out the weights of each. If you're going to be handling the boat out of the water, this will be one of the most important factors.

[codprawn]

I have a Quicksilver 310s wooden floor with a Suzuki 15hp 4 stroke. In the manual it states you can only go upto 10hp with the air floor version - it may be harder work but you get a stiffer boat with a more heavy duty floor.

It takes 2 of us about 20mins to set the boat up and about 10 mins to put it away again.

Go for a set of transom wheels - they are BRILLIANT!!!

I have seen nearly 30mph on the GPS on flat calm water - also uses only a tiny bit of fuel.

I agree that on engines of this size a 2 stroke would probably be a better bet although I am very happy with the 4 stroke - it does smoke for about 5 seconds on startup due to it being laid flat - it has been in the boot of the car since I bought it - about 3 weeks now.

Look out for S/H bargains - picked mine up for £1050 used 3 times!!!

They are very stable and great fun - have been out in 4 foot waves no problem - longest trip so far about 5 hrs covered about 60 miles.

Really only wanted the engine as an aux but got a boat with it - intend to take it to Spain/Gibraltar Chriostmas time - may pop across to North Africa!!!

[codprawn]

I have posted these before but to save you looking.....

[Hugh Jardon]

Originally Posted by codprawn

I have posted these before but to save you looking.....

come on codders lets have a race..... will pop mine in the boot for when i am next down your neck of the woods.........

[Hugh Jardon]

Originally Posted by codprawn

I have a Quicksilver 310s wooden floor with a Suzuki 15hp 4 stroke. In the manual it states you can only go upto 10hp with the air floor version - it may be harder work but you get a stiffer boat with a more heavy duty floor.

It takes 2 of us about 20mins to set the boat up and about 10 mins to put it away again.

Go for a set of transom wheels - they are BRILLIANT!!!

I have seen nearly 30mph on the GPS on flat calm water - also uses only a tiny bit of fuel.

I agree that on engines of this size a 2 stroke would probably be a better bet although I am very happy with the 4 stroke - it does smoke for about 5 seconds on startup due to it being laid flat - it has been in the boot of the car since I bought it - about 3 weeks now.

Look out for S/H bargains - picked mine up for £1050 used 3 times!!!

They are very stable and great fun - have been out in 4 foot waves no problem - longest trip so far about 5 hrs covered about 60 miles.

Really only wanted the engine as an aux but got a boat with it - intend to take it to Spain/Gibraltar Chriostmas time - may pop across to North Africa!!!

as discussed the extra keel length makes the 3.4 a bit better in the solent chop.........

forget blatting around in anything too rough as the keel is so shallow it gets quite uncomfortable and it is not really shaped for cutting thru the water, but if you hold on tight and dig your feet in so to speak it is amazing how fast you can go in fairly difficult waters....but are best on a nicer calm day....great for surfing up and down nice big swells, chasing bigger boats that can only go a bit faster !!, jumping their waves, never gps'd mine but it does blat along, have a gps coming soon for it (handheld) so will be able to check out the speed.
i would say the slatted ones are probably slightly stiffer but when you are blatting around on an inflated rubber baloon they all give a fair bit anyway so given the choice i would stick with inflated floor for ease etc

now one issue i have had with the 15 yam is it sprays up at the back a bit over the tubes so i raised the engine 1 inch with a bit of wood and it is fine now,

also make sure they are selling you the latest model, the one with the tubes that taper down like in codder pic at the back so more tube is on the water. white with blue rope is nicer than grey but might get dirtier if left out

have fun

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by Chris Hartley

as discussed the extra keel length makes the 3.4 a bit better in the solent chop.........

i would say the slatted ones are probably slightly stiffer but when you are blatting around on an inflated rubber baloon they all give a fair bit anyway so given the choice i would stick with inflated floor for ease etc

I would say mine is very stiff but could do with a bit more length..........

[Hugh Jardon]

Originally Posted by codprawn

I would say mine is very stiff but could do with a bit more length..........

nice one......the mrs can be cruel cant she!!!

[prairie tuber]

This thread might also be helpful.

http://www.rib.net/forum/showthread....8&page=1&pp=10

[Willwors]

the weight of the boat is not really an issue because i will trailer it and order a winch. i cant be bothered to dismantle and deflate the thing every time. I am now leaning towards a Zodiac 340S. Its a great looking and well made boat. I just cant decide on an engine but im leaning towards johnson or suzuki 4 strokes. any thoughts?

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by Willwors

johnson or suzuki 4 strokes. any thoughts?

AFAIK they are the same engine.