Hello from Thanet

[shamstar]

Hi all,

Picked up a Avon inflatable Dinghy yesterday, ex RNLI with 2 stroke 8hp Yamaha engine. This is my first ever boat of any kind and I brought it so I could get more involved with the children, who love swimming in the Margate Sea. Sadly I can't swim, and will be relying on buoyancy aid and making sure I never venture out too far. Interestingly enough, the chap I brought it from couldn't swim either!

I took it out yesterday as soon as I got it back from West Sussex. Was quite the effort and needed the Mrs and eldest 2 children to safely carry it to the beach. The floor is 2 part hinged 1" thick and looks to be teak wood. It took a while to get it to sit flat, but we got there after some pulling and tugging. I didn't bring out the outboard as have yet to do 100:1 mix and just wanted to get a feel for the boat using oars.

It was a fab afternoon in the sun and we stayed within a walled swimming pool with other kayaks and swimmers.

I noticed the twin elephant bailers let water in whilst in the closed tied up position. After a couple of hours, I brought the boat in opened the bailers and and lifted the front up to displace the excess water. This did the job and a closer inspection showed silicon used to create a seal was coming away in places. I'll get it sorted in the week as just want to get another days use in the water whilst the weather is sunny and the sea calm

It would be great to hear from others who have a similar boat, (so I know who to target for help advice!)

[willk]

Originally Posted by shamstar

It would be great to hear from others who have a similar boat, (so I know who to target for help advice!)

Welcome to RIBnet. You appear to have scored yourself an RNLI Y-class tender. You should do a search for "Y-class" from the menu above. Any minute now, Max... and Fenlander are going to spot this thread and get really excited.

[shamstar]

Thanks for the tip Willk, I'll do that now.

[Harrys Game]

Shamstar, please dont take this as all doom and gloom but the North Kent Coast like most places can be very deceiving, at all costs avoid the Swale the tide does rip through there at 6 knots plus and you can be off Whitstable before you know it.Seasalter is a good place to launch from tide goes out miles so its relatively shallow for a lot of the time. Go on the Thanet Councils site and look up North Kent Water users (Google is your friend) you can purchase a key that lets you have access to a lot of the coast line under Thanet Council. Above all make sure you get your safety gear sorted out it appears you have purchased a cracking bit of kit so good luck. Regards Jim

[shamstar]

Hi Jim,

I checked forecast for today and all is calm. I never intend to go out more than 20 metres with the engine running. Buoyancy aids have been ordered for all and I'm the only non swimmer. I'm only launching from Margate beaches and there are plenty of others in the same waters; mostly Jet skis.

I appreciate your excellent advice and will look into getting a key in case I try other launch sites in the future.

[Max...]

This was the one listed on eBay a while back:

RNLI inflatable boat | eBay

Shame about the bow dodger and it needs a bit of resto but a good price.

Useful topic on the Y Class here:

http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/rnli-y-...ase-42803.html

[shamstar]

Yes Max, that's the one. I had no idea about 'bow dodger' as this my first ever boat.

I paid the extra £150 for the 8hp yamaha on sellers recommendation. I should have asked to see it running as after my first outing, I ran fresh water through it and found no telltale stream. It's taken me 3 days to actually find the location of the telltale hole, so now need to see if I can find where the blockage is.

I've read through the show and tell thread and found it very informative. If you know of a good pictorial thread showing cleaning of water chambers on mariner/yam engine, let me know

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by shamstar

a closer inspection showed silicon used to create a seal was coming away in places. I'll get it sorted in the week as just want to get another days use in the water whilst the weather is sunny and the sea calm

FWIW, it's best to try and stay away from silicone sealant for marine use. It doesn't stand up to the constant wet conditions. Use a decent grade marine caulk and it should be a one and done permanent fix.

Welcome to the forum;

jky

[shamstar]

Hi JKY,

Yes, I have been looking at marine grade sealants and will definitely use them on the rib.

I've been out of the water after 5th outing and trying to get as much info as poss on clearing out the water channels to ensure good telltale stream, as presently there is none at all. Engine is early 80's 8B Yamaha and I'm trying to get as much info as poss before delving in.


I hope to be back in the water within a few days, just in time to receive key from Council for local launch sites. Being in the water is very addictive and I can't wait!

[Spongie]

Well done! I was due to travel down and collect it but you got there before me!

[Fenlander]

>>>Max... and Fenlander are going to spot this thread and get really excited.

Only just spotted this thead. Well done shamstar. May need a bit of tidying but what a great start to sibbing. I've not had an ex RNLI boat but I have owned older grey Hypalon Zodiac and Avon models... built so well they seemed they'd go on forever.

How are you getting on with the outboard pee stream?

[shamstar]

Originally Posted by Spongie

Well done! I was due to travel down and collect it but you got there before me!

Ah bless. The chap selling didn't leave much of a window to view and buy due to his work pattern. It came with an awkward to patch hole in the keel, which he mentioned as not very important to him. I have since managed to get it airtight. The patch repair to the front had to be taken off and redone properly. The elephant bailers have been wrapped in pvc material as they had numerous pin size holes in them letting in water.

It's not the easiest bit of kit to lug around weighing in around 70kg and the floor can be a bit of a pain to install, but overall for my first RIB, I'm happy with it and look forward to varnishing the floor and getting round to painting the tubes.

What did you end up buying or are you still on the hunt?

[Spongie]

Still looking for a Y-class as it was to go on out charities ex RNLI all weather lifeboat. Personally I have a D-class I'm about to start refitting

[shamstar]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

How are you getting on with the outboard pee stream?

Thanks for asking Fenlander,

I filled the barrel with more water and stream is there when engine is revved, not at idle though.

I changed the gear oil and noticed it looked a little on the milky side to me. I refilled and noticed no washers on either the fill or overflow bolt. I've put 2 replacements on from my plumbing toolbox and will see if that helps. I stripped and cleaned the carburettor and on reassembly I have a leak from the washer on the float bowl. Just waiting on delivery tomorrow for new washer, but it did fire straight back up until the leak made it cut out.

Engine is old from 1981 and I'm hoping to get a newer (90's model) 25-40hp one next summer. Until then I won't be going out too far without oars on board! I managed to bag a pair of original 2 piece Avon ones from fleabay, so shouldn't get caught out.

I should get kill switch lanyard come through this week too and hope to have it back in the water for the weekend. I'm guessing after the weekend new oem washers are going to be needed on the lower unit and probably new gear seal(s). All good fun!

Have you managed to get plenty of sea time yourself? I imagine you use your RIB for fishing as most people seem to?

[shamstar]

Spongie, that looks like a nice little project to undertake. I knew nothing about Y class as all I wanted was something safe to use. Brought the one I did thinking, 'well if it's good enough for the RNLI, then it should do the trick' and it does very well, so a good choice.

If I come across another for sale, I'll be sure to let you know.

[Daniel]

There's a really good rib repair guy in Thanet called Darren. He's pretty busy guy as he has a day job too but he's the man for tube work if you can't DIY.

He's booked to do a few bits for me Monday night.

Smart first boat.

07743 392599

[shamstar]

Cheers for that Daniel. The tubes are airtight after the remedial work I did, but I'll make a note of Darren's number in case I do come across something beyond my capabilities.

[Fenlander]

>>>Have you managed to get plenty of sea time yourself? I imagine you use your RIB for fishing as most people seem to?

No not fishing...

I've tried to get interested and have a rod/reel/box full of lures/hooks/weights here but discovered I've no patience. I've been going on the sea in one type of boat or another since a child 55yrs ago and a SIB has proved the perfect way to get on the water with something that tucks away on a shelf in the garage and is easily carried in the car.

I had an 8hp Mariner brand new on a 17ft trad style fishing boat around the time yours was made but have forgotten its details. It doesn't by any chance have the pee outlet after a thermostat? The 1990/2000s Mariners I've owned of 10/15hp have this arrangement and there is hardly any stream at idle which is how they are supposed to be.

[shamstar]

No patience for fishing here either. I can understand why people take it up as it does look quite relaxing and a good way of catching up with like minded friends.

Your Mariner would have been the same engine as my 81 yama model.

Pee stream at idle is what's showing in the following vid I came across online:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAmPp1WME68

Stream showing at idle, so definitely something up with mine.

Having looked at EBSCOhost Login
Username - marshall
Password - public

It looks like getting into the lower unit is straightforward and might shed some light on the issue. I'll have a look after the weekend, unless weather is poor in which case it'll become my weekend job!

[Harrys Game]

Hi Shamstar, it seems your getting on pretty good which is good news. I can also recommend Darren (hes in Birchington) Removing the bottom leg on the Yam is pretty straight forward and if you have gone to that trouble replace the pump rubber as they are not expensive. Been trying to get my Rib out all year but im just so busy. Regards Jim