yo yo yo....

bigfatfool · 04 June 2018, 15:12

Hi All....

Since just before upgrading my old sib last summer I've been using you all as a wealth of info and idea - can't thank you enough.

So I thought its about time I started giving back as I've seen quite a few posts I think I've get enough knowledge to be out help with... so keep you eye's out for my hopefully useful and occasionally left of field ideas!

I bit about me, now 40ish ;-).... been sailing since I was small, taught myself to windsurf as a teenager... spent some time on a mates mini yacht a good few years back in Dartmouth and the bug bite again...

Got a mini yacht, a Jag 22, for £500 moured in Pill.... had a few adventures but realised, a, the Severn just ruins all my romantic ideas of being on the water, and b, I'm too impatient / lazy / spontaneous for yachting!

In the process of our yachting time, my lady hated our small tender, so I got an old Archemidies sib, about 3m, which we used the Jam 8 which we also used on the Jag.... long story short.... the SIB was more my kinda thing, whether exploring rivers, harbors and estuaries.

At some point I also got back into my windsurfing, and somehow got persuaded the SUPing isn't quite the pointless activity I'd been taking the piss out of for years!!!

Anyways - back to SIBing - Then I buggered the Jam doing a winter service - split the impelor housing - so we were without a boat for a couple of years... and this left me feeling impotent whenever I was by the coast!!!

So I got looking - we were plannig on saving for my workshop landlords 'speed' boat, a bow rider with a 40 on the back... until Katie pointed out that towing on the back of our overly long van would just be a royal pain, and slips cost cash....

A quick tinternet search later and I found myself driving to Bournemouth and picking up the Wetline 450HD, alu floor, with a 1970s Mariner 20... all for £860!! We took her directly to Poole that arvo, got as far as Old Harry, loved it, but thought it could do with a bit more poke for fun times... but that would have to wait a year while funds were saved....

Next day I went to see my outboard repairs / spares man in Glastonbury for the broken bit for my old Jam 8A (thought it would make a good emergency spare if going out to sea see) long story short, he had a 8B, not an 8A... so I accidentally went home with a Mariner 40 for £550, again 70s, thinking - I'm sure BigRed can handle it!

She sure can - had a few adventures so far, been around Portland and back, been over to Lulworth Cove, tried a bit of wake-boarding in Portland harbor, and lots of chilling on the Avon and around Bristol Harbour.... plenty more to come I'm sure....

So that's us.... I'll stick my oar in every now and again, and might ask some questions....

Cheers for now.

Nic
Nic Smith

Fenlander · 04 June 2018, 16:19

Welcome to the forum Nic.

I'm half as old again and like you been on the water since a kid.... similarly in many different types of craft.

You have a monster of an outfit for a SIB... I assume trailed?? Those are early Mariners you have... the Yamaha design I guess?

bigfatfool · 04 June 2018, 17:24

Hi Fenlander....

Nope... the whole point was maximum boat without a trailer!!

The boat is a bit of a faff with the alu floor.... but so nice and solid if the sea comes up I think its worth it - although I'd love to try a 4m ish air floor for comparison. Once rolled up, I strap her up and use a sack truck - pretty easy really, can be done single handed.

As for the 40, yup, I think its the old Jam design, think the marines and rnli have used them in the past. It is a brute, and I can only just lift and maneuver it single handed... but I've made a wooden cage for it that again uses the sack truck for wheels. Its done so the transom clamp faces out, so once the boat is rigged and floating, I can wheel the engine around the back, and 'simply' tip it off with the clamps landing where they should go. Reverse for taking it off. Its very rare I have to hold the full weight of the engine. Plus, to be fair, it 'only' weighs 73kgs.... I think quite a few 20hp 4 strokes are about that!!!

One beauty of the wetline is the width.... I believe she is quite a bit wider internally than the honwaves et al....

Fenlander · 04 June 2018, 18:38

All credit to you managing that as a daily setup!

Only 73kg... good grief you can lift. Best as you do to trolley it as far as possible though.

20hp 4-strokes getting far lighter now... my Suzuki is just 44kg.

bigfatfool · 04 June 2018, 19:23

wow - 44kg.... thats 9kgs lighter than my old 20!

Hopefully as I get older the engines will get lighter :-) I've just purchased a set of transom wheels, which should make things easier - next to get is an electric pump....

For now I love the big stable sea worthy platform that BigRed gives us. Not to mention the budget fitted!!! I'm guessing your setup would cost double ours second hand?

What kind of seas are you happy with in your set-up? Do you think you could use it for wakeboarding? And doesn't having a v floor get a bit annoying?

Fenlander · 04 June 2018, 19:36

We go for family pleasure days out with wife, usually dog and often early 20s daughter... so we are not seeking challenging sea conditions but sometimes get them dished up. We've never had a moments concern that the current outfit would let us down when that happens.

As a guide Aerotecs with 20hp and just a few years old have sold around £3000-£3500 recently.

V-floor not an issue for our use... for a weeks expedition it would be... not ideal for fishing either.... doable but not ideal.

bigfatfool · 05 June 2018, 08:49

as I thought - out of our price range, probably for a good few years to come!

Nice to know your confidence level in them though - I've seen many people respect your opinions greatly on here, and I did have a good look at the aerotecs before buying ours.

It's going to be 'interesting' to see how the transom wheels handle my set-up, and what kind of gradients and surfaces are possible.

I do have a plan to use my set-up for the odd camping trip, maybe over to the Isle of White... I'm thinking a simple A-frame tent (a pole at each end, with the fabric tied down to the outside of the tubes), a sleeping mat and a sleepingbag and we're good to go.......

Have you got any experience with electric pumps? I'd like something with a battery so we're not tied to the van, and that can happily do 15psi so we can use it for the SUPs as well....... I'm guessing that air floors require a similar pressure....

Fenlander · 05 June 2018, 14:57

In truth if you are willing to manhandle a 4.5m alloy floor SIB and go through the setup each trip with a 40hp you are probably looking for something much more roomy than an Aerotec.

Re elec pumps your choice would be wider as you don't need the high pressure ability for a HP air floor... but to cover the SUPs as well then you are down to a few types.

This is the dial version of the digital readout one I have. Note many folks have found Bravo quality a bit flaky...

https://www.marinescene.co.uk/produc...inflation-pump

Sevylor so much cheaper. One thing to note that will probably be important to you... The Bravo has an initial turbine pump that does the whole tube fill at a far greater rate than the secondary piston pump that swaps over and takes you to the full high pressure. The Sevylor and such clones do all the pumping on a piston so they have a far smaller fill rate (less than half). Could be a real factor with the volume of air in your 4.5m.

https://www.leisureoutlet.com/pumps-...SABEgJXC_D_BwE

Oh yes there is this one that Duggie on here seems to like… but again I would think its low flow rate would be to small for your circumstance.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/0-15-psi...SABEgIjY_D_BwE

Duggie's report on it... http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/decathl...ump-78487.html

Re the battery... have a look at this thread...

http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/bravo-1...ues-78536.html

Do bear in mind whichever make you buy blowing up your large SIB and immediately a couple of SUPs could take these little pumps beyond the max operating time where motors are at risk of burning out and/or plastic moving parts melting with friction.

Stevie Bill · 05 June 2018, 18:51

Re camping... Big All pitched over his Sib on the Oban outing last year using his oars for the tent poles... Seemed to work very well. Brief glimpse of it in this video of the outing from Gurnard...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sCJJ5Pmis4

. His other videos of the trip also worth watching just for relaxation!

bigfatfool · 06 June 2018, 10:39

Mr F.... many thanks for your advice... I've decided to bite the bullet and get the new Bravo 20... I like the idea of an all in one solution.... the reviews are good.... its a lithium battery... and if / when I change boat it will stay with me. I'll let you know how it goes.

As for 'manhandling', as I man I find it hard not to go about life like this ;-) But seriously, its just more faff rather than man handing... as the floor is separate, rather than being heavier its just a couple of extra trips from the van to the shore, and the new wheels should make that trip much shorter generally!! And as for the engine... I find anything over a 2hp a bit of a pain ;-) so it just ups the anti and requires my cage and sack truck arrangement....

In return we get loads of affordable power, the large surface area for moving about, friends, wkaeboard stuff and plenty of picnic stuff, wet weather gear (we only like setting out in glorious sunshine but it doesn't always last!) etc, plus she just feels very safe. I can deny I sometimes wonder if its worth it... until we set 'sail' and then it all makes sense again! Reading a couple of your posts last night re your space limitations esp with the v floor I think I'm more than happy for now! It's like we're got a proper real boat, but can still 'stuff' her in the back of the van.... by her I mean the boat obviously ;-)

bigfatfool · 06 June 2018, 10:44

Hi Steve,

Thanks for showing my that.... inspiring!!! I've been looking at simple set-ups from go outdoors and decathlon.... looks like I can get a very light packable thing that looks similar but a bit more 'pro' for a nip over £20! Still got plenty of other bits and bobs to sort before a camping mission.... but its great to know it can / will happen :-)

Did he sleep in it? Or just use it as a cover? Did he trust his wheels with the extra weight? I was thinking I'd have to scavenge some sort of chocks and release the wheels once settle in position for the night......

oh - and thanks also for the inspiring (read green faced) video!

Fenlander · 06 June 2018, 12:19

>>> large surface area for moving about, friends, wkaeboard stuff and plenty of picnic stuff, wet weather gear

Yep definitely no Aerotec for you... you'd need a towable toy as a trailer!

bigfatfool · 06 June 2018, 12:39

haha... its on the list... although it will probably be my lady that ends up in it!!!! ;-)

Stevie Bill · 06 June 2018, 14:46

He slept in it... In fact had a bit of a lie in when the rest of us were setting off... Wheels took weight no probs. Only issue was pile of gear beside boat overnight (fuel tanks, food, stove, anchor, waterproofs, electrics etc....)... But it certainly looked snug and comfortable.

The Black Pig · 06 June 2018, 20:40

“ 6th June “

Happy yo yo day!