Hello everyone

[Hrv2k18]

Hello everyone had enough of paying huge mooring/maintenance costs on my boat so decided to sell it and buy a sib. Most of my fishing is within the helford and fal estuary in Falmouth got my engine fishfinder radio flares and life jackets now deciding on what sib quite fancy an excel but going to search the forum and see what’s reccomended cheers Adam

[Fenlander]

Hi Adam and welcome to the forum, nice part of the world to be based.

Are you thinking of buying a new SIB? Which 15hp have you bought?

[Hrv2k18]

Hi thanks yes sticking with a new one, I have brought a 2003 fully refurbished mariner 15hp 2 stroke, ex rnli it has a couple mods I’ve not seen before a quick release tilt button on the side and a carb drain valve under the hood I’m guessing incase of capsize and water ingress ? Also amazed at how quiet it is for a 2 stroke.

[Limecc]

Excel and Honwave are very popular and have good resale value, but have you given consideration to a f-rib? Worth the extra expense to get a portable yet proper rigid hull that's not going to skate around and slap on the water. Will make the most efficient use of your engine and sea trips will be drier and less tiring - allowing a higher cruising speed as well. Search for some posts by the Gurnard, he upgraded to one. Here's a link:

http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/frib-a-...ard-79828.html

I would suggest if you still decide on a SIB then from experience the Excel would probably be the better choice for quality and can be lightened by putting the air floor into a second bag, not possible with Honwave.

[Fenlander]

>>>f-rib? Worth the extra expense to get a portable yet proper rigid hull that's not going to skate around and slap on the water. Will make the most efficient use of your engine and sea trips will be drier and less tiring - allowing a higher cruising speed as well.

Hmm... well... in the review The Gurnard gave in the link you posted he comments that being a fairly flat hard hull the Frib is uncomfortable in a chop and will rattle your teeth... that an air floor can be more comfortable in such conditions. There are a couple of other forum members who've owned Fribs alongside a SIB and made broadly the same comments.

The Frib of any comparable size costs about 3x that of a Honwave SIB so you need to be very sure there is some specific attribute you really need** to justify that. I'd be very wary of advising one as a first "SIB" type boat.

**And that is why The Gurnard has one... after experience of several smallcraft he does have a tight set of criteria for his very specific use and his Frib matches that perfectly.

To give any further advice really need to know if you will go out solo or with crew and if you have a SIB size in mind. Also will it be carried in the car and inflated daily or kept on a trailer... if the former have you decided on an air floor or would you offset the extra set up hassle for the flat stable surface of an alloy floor given you are using for fishing?

[jeffstevens763@g]

hello Adam

i did similar to you and downsized my criteria was a sub 4m inflatable with ali floor and heavy duty fabric i went PVC at 2/3rds the price of hypalon & welded seams was the next spec i ended up with a mercury 365 XSHD and very pleased with it to backup my decision i have been on a few trips with gurnard who has also got the same boat spec although labeled quicksilver & 4.2m which is about 14 years old and looks like new.
his boating is split into two really the f-rib for his easy access to launch anywhere & and the quicksilver for the wild camp adventures in company where we all lend a hand to launch.
not going to sway you to buy anything but look close at what you want to do before buying.
last point i've never regretted downsizing in fact i enjoy it more good luck with your choice

[Limecc]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

>>>
Hmm... well... in the review The Gurnard gave in the link you posted he comments that being a fairly flat hard hull the Frib is uncomfortable in a chop and will rattle your teeth... that an air floor can be more comfortable in such conditions. There are a couple of other forum members who've owned Fribs alongside a SIB and made broadly the same comments.

Personal preference, but I would sooner have a rigid hull over an air floor SIB that is more comfortable under certain conditions yet under others buckles even though the air pressures are correctly set. Like you said, it depends on the use to which it is being put, boat length and loading etc. If going for a SIB with alloy floor then because of extra bulk and weight to carry and effort to assemble this defeats the portability. May as well get a trailered deep V RIB instead. I have no regrets doing exactly this, for me and the missus, a SIB proved to be costly mistake because we purchased new and it didn't work out after the first year of ownership.

[Fenlander]

Yep of course it's all down to the OP's preferences and circumstances. That's why more info needed if he seeks any guidance... although he may have already gained a fair idea from reading threads and have a good idea what he wants.

Re air floor...

>>>under certain conditions yet under others buckles even though the air pressures are correctly set.

Did this happen to your Excel?

[jeffstevens763@g]

if i was going to swap i would be going for one of these

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLKZWlSFBkQ

[Limecc]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Yep of course it's all down to the OP's preferences and circumstances. That's why more info needed if he seeks any guidance... although he may have already gained a fair idea from reading threads and have a good idea what he wants.

Re air floor...

>>>under certain conditions yet under others buckles even though the air pressures are correctly set.

Did this happen to your Excel?

Yes and I read about it happening with larger Honwaves as well. There's obviously a limitation why air floor designs are not available in sizes above 4m. It only became apparent when loaded with heavy gear and with four adults and even then under the right conditions. Probably wouldn't have happened with only 15hp. I reckon 3.65m is the largest SIB to buy unless it has an alloy floor.

I made sure all pressures were correctly set taking into account cooling effect of launching and I made sure that the engine was mounted so that the cavitation plate was 50mm below the hull which had a surprisingly big improvement on top speed. Even though I never really got to find the optimum trim settings and engine height we realized continually hauling a heavy boat uphill through soft sand was not the way to go. Put us off using it!

Trailered launching is bliss! Our gear, Mrs Limecc and dogs all launch in the craft and there's always a slipway somewhere we can use.

[Fenlander]

Your story is quite common for a longer "flat" air floor with sausage keel once you try to drive them hard. In truth the Honwave air floor design is less likely to suffer although some of their owners comment on it.

It's a shame you had to suffer that disappointment with the Excel but many of us rarely get the right smallcraft first time.

Until 21yr old daughter leaves home gaining us one parking/garage space a trailed boat is out of the question. But once that happens we may consider it and it would open up a lot of options. I'm sure Mrs F... willing SIB helper that she is... would like being launched!

[Limecc]

I feel we had disappointment because it was a SIB rather than because it was an Excel. I carefully chose it over a Honwave (and others) and don't believe I made a wrong choice of manufacturer but it proved to be a wrong choice nevertheless.

Launching and setting up effort aside, the boat was extremely capable, any limitation being seagoing fear-factor of my wife. Level 2 powerboat course gave her more confidence as has the new boat where we sit higher on a jockey seat rather than being at wave level. The rigid hull glides through the water and there's less chance of a dog being 'bounced' out of the boat lol. They are far more settled.

We can actually go more places now as greater comfort brings a higher cruising speed and more distant destinations become reachable. There's a higher degree of safety. Overfalls happen off headlands in otherwise calm seas and can be quite dangerous to smaller vessels and the unwary.

It was impossible to cut down on our safety gear and other stuff we needed on our trips. What a faff unpacking and setting up. I would rather give up boating and bring the kayak out of retirement rather than go back to a SIB but only time and bitter experience gave me this realization. Physical effort setting up, launching and retrieving was actually enjoyable when it was all a new experience! When that wore off after the end of a long day it was no fun at all pulling our arms out the sockets and struggling for breath (tide depending) hauling it back. Only just a few years behind you Fenlander, not getting any younger!

[Limecc]

Originally Posted by jeffstevens763@g

if i was going to swap i would be going for one of these

Wow! Looks to be great fun!

Catamarans make much more sense and are more stable by design than any monohull. In displacement they are also faster through the water size for size.

If I didn't have a RIB I'd consider a Boston Whaler.