Greetings From Toronto, On

[TorontoDiver]

Hi all,

Came across the forums as part of my research, and would like to say hi to all; thanks for the info already (yes ... am qualified to operate the search button ) and in advance for your guidance.

I'm looking to get into my first boat; primary use will be diving, but would like to get wife and daughter out for some local sightseeing. Have a few friends here with boats rigged purely for diving (tillers, no centre console), but don't know anybody trying to strike balance between diving and family use.

Any guidance from the group on appropriate size boats/configurations would be much appreciated. From a diving perspective I would ideally like to be able to carry 4 tech divers (doubles + 1 - 2 deco bottles). From the family perspective, any suggested configurations that work well for wife/kid(s) & comfortable cruising?

Cheers,
Neil

[RIB-Teccie]

Neil.

Love Toronto, great city!

Not sure what is available there from "local" Rib/Sib manufacturers. You may need to be more specific. Do you have space to store a RIB. Can you be bothered inflating and deflating a SIB. Where do you dive??

Etc Etc.

From experience of assisting divers, a good 15ft inflatable is a good platform, think Zodiac with 30 Hp 2 Stroke. Great fun on a budget and will do both jobs. Only thing is you are stuck to calmer days with lower wind speeds.

For a RIB, start looking at dive RIBs from 18ft and 90Hp 2 Stroke (Yamaha). Make sure you look at a craft with a good beam. You'll get similar benefits to the SIB and can have fun in the rough stuff.

If fuel consumption is a concern then it's a four stroke outboard or a two stroke ETEC Evinrude you will need.

[TorontoDiver]

Originally Posted by RIB-Teccie

Neil.

Love Toronto, great city!

Not sure what is available there from "local" Rib/Sib manufacturers. You may need to be more specific. Do you have space to store a RIB. Can you be bothered inflating and deflating a SIB. Where do you dive??

Etc Etc.

From experience of assisting divers, a good 15ft inflatable is a good platform, think Zodiac with 30 Hp 2 Stroke. Great fun on a budget and will do both jobs. Only thing is you are stuck to calmer days with lower wind speeds.

For a RIB, start looking at dive RIBs from 18ft and 90Hp 2 Stroke (Yamaha). Make sure you look at a craft with a good beam. You'll get similar benefits to the SIB and can have fun in the rough stuff.

If fuel consumption is a concern then it's a four stroke outboard or a two stroke ETEC Evinrude you will need.

thanks for the feedback!

Main weekend dives will be down on lake ontario. we have a couple wrecks that are in deco dive range (135 ft and 165 ft) that are within a 1 km radius of boat launches. Also will be doing longer trips down to Kingston, which are more exposed water, so having something to handle the rougher weather would be great.

storage wise I've got a 2 car garage, but its only 18 ft deep, so think that is going to end up my main restriction. Ideally would like something that just stays inflated and park in garage when done.

Local shop to me is Home | CO2 Inflatable Boats, they've got Zodiac, Highfield, AB. Only one I've got any experience with are zodiac though.

[willk]

Welcome to RIBnet. Search for Highfield RIBs on here, seems no-one has a bad word to say about them...

[jyasaki]

As I recall, Peter_C does doubles off his little SIB (I assume 2 divers; you can PM him to verify his loads.) Not something I'd recommend, having dived off a 14' SIB for several years.

For 4 fully rigged techies, you're going to want deck space (not just for storage while underway, but also for kitting up/down, having lunch, etc.) Assuming you have no other restrictions (boat storage, tow vehicle, etc), I'd be looking in the 16' (minimum) to 19 or 20' range, ideally with the helm towards the back (opens up the front deck space.) More beam means more deck space. Smaller means you're going to uncomfortable crowded while doing anything but cruising (some people are willing to make that tradeoff - I know an instructor who dives 4 or 5 guys from a 17.5' hull. My limit is about that with pure recreational divers on a very similar hull, though I can squeeze another one or two on if I need to.)

Also, think about the wider diving view - buying a boat to hit 2 sites within a mile of the dock doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

FWIW, tiller vs console won't really impact family fun. 3 people out for a joy ride or cruise can go on just about anything. You arm may get tired on longer trips with a tiller though.

jky