Any experience with rotomoulded plastic boats?

cptsideways · 15 July 2013, 11:08

Looking at buying a new boat & the rotomoulded plastic boats appeal to me - why you ask well I hate fibreglass & wood in boats full stop, bloody awful stuff

Anyway the likes of the Funyak rib style boats, Rigiflex, Samboats etc appeal, has anybody any expereince or advice, we currently have a 16ft dory sports boat twin seater console which is very very practical sizewise, easily seats 5 & with a 90hp does 40+mph if required. However it weighs 1000kg so is not light.

These poly boats appear to be light, so fuel savings with a smaller engine would be good, just wondered what they are like to live with etc

Yes they make ones that look like ribs

miccheck1516 · 15 July 2013, 11:16

We have several Funyak 3.9m boats at the yacht club I instruct at. They have 15hp 4 strokes on the back, but only just get up onto the plane and really needs someone sat at the bow to keep it down. Would probobly be much better if they had the small centre consoles on them but I guess that would eat into deck space....

They sure are hard wearing, and they are indeed nice and light, im just not sure I could justify the 1800quid for one.....

cptsideways · 15 July 2013, 11:19

I would like something in the 14-16ft range, as that fits in my garage, would have to be centre consoled.

cptsideways · 15 July 2013, 11:44

Oooh just found this, looks about spot on for our needs - No pricing info though...

Pioner 17 Supersport | Sands Marine

Swain Marine · 15 July 2013, 14:51

There is a Funyak on eBay at the moment item# 251299587178

ALANT · 15 July 2013, 14:55

Have a look at this looks like a rib and a vee hull don't know the price but seen one at Caley 2 weeks ago and looked good

Pioner - Pioner 17 Touring - the rigid boat with space, safety and stability

SPR · 15 July 2013, 15:06

poly on hear has funyak with 15 hp I believe, I seem it out playing and looks good and pretty fast and easy to launch and recover

jyasaki · 15 July 2013, 15:23

I remember Triumph (Trophy - same company I think) used to have a rotomolded PE sport fishing boat; heard they had a lot of problems keeping hardware bedded in the material. Don't recall hearing anything after the first couple of years of production; that could be good or bad, I suppose.

jky

Poly · 15 July 2013, 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPR

poly on hear has funyak with 15 hp I believe, I seem it out playing and looks good and pretty fast and easy to launch and recover

Its a 20HP 2 stroke, with centre console. Will get on the plane no problems even with 4 adults on board. Max speed 22 knots - but for its size that's fine.

Internet not great here - but I can get photos etc. of it in action this week if it helps.

Paul Glatzel · 15 July 2013, 19:18

I run 4 Logic Marine (also known as Triumph) 17ft dories as hire boats (RYA Powerboat Training Courses) and frankly they are pretty amazing boats. They are worked really hard and are pretty much indestructable. (search triumph or logic boats and watch them welly them with sledgehammers and tow them around behind a truck but not on a trailer!!) We have 15Hp on the back but they are rated to 90Hp which i think would be pretty scarey. We haven't had much issue with fittings and have never used the moulding materials/tools we have to fix them. Depending on the 'job' they can be a really good option

Regards, Paul

Nauti Buoy · 15 July 2013, 20:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Glatzel

I run 4 Logic Marine (also known as Triumph) 17ft dories as hire boats (RYA Powerboat Training Courses) and frankly they are pretty amazing boats. They are worked really hard and are pretty much indestructable. (search triumph or logic boats and watch them welly them with sledgehammers and tow them around behind a truck but not on a trailer!!) We have 15Hp on the back but they are rated to 90Hp which i think would be pretty scarey. We haven't had much issue with fittings and have never used the moulding materials/tools we have to fix them. Depending on the 'job' they can be a really good option

Regards, Paul

That's very impressive testing!!

Sent from my iPad using Rib.net

RMR2ENG · 15 July 2013, 21:34

Also check Pioner - Pioner - the best rigid boats for work or leisure

Poly · 15 July 2013, 22:11

if you search my posts you will find some that list the main rib style rotomolded boats (as at a few years ago). As paul says they certainly fill a particular use when you want low maintenance / robust etc. i also wrote a long pm or email to someone a while back that i can probably unearth if you are serious.

jky rightly mentions that fixing things to PE hulls is different from normal although good suppliers should be able to advise the best options (nothing factory fitted has come loose on mine, and I've had more issues with cheap 'not really stainless' screws than anything i have fitted.

if you are in Scotland at all feel free to drop me a line and you can take mine out to see if it does what you want. It has bench seats (only option at the time) but a jockey variation is not available.

BogMonster · 16 July 2013, 00:09

I was very tempted by a Mac before I bought the Vipermax.

kubcat · 16 July 2013, 11:51

I had rented a 4.8? Polycraft a few years ago on the Great Barrier Reef. Pretty indestructible apparently but it was strange watching the floor flex like on a SIB.

http://www.polycraft.com.au/model-ra...by/frontrunner

Sunstreaker · 16 July 2013, 12:03

Plenty of examples of sit on top kayaks having gear added, hatches, fish finders, rod holders etc. may not have the same forces applied to having a ski pole added though.

Ashton · 23 July 2013, 21:32

Does anyone know if the Whaly 370 or 435 are self draining? Does anyone have any experience of them?

ShinyShoe · 23 July 2013, 21:57

Looking at a picture of the 270

it looks like there is a through transom bung simillar to the FunYak. When underway you can pull it out and it should drain. They are only about 1" diameter so they do get clogged with sh1t. Think minature elephant trunk. BUT an elephant trunk can be raised while on the plain with a string from the console. Much harder to get bung in when underway and as soon as you stop and move to the stern to fit it you push the back down and it floods a wee bit....

Poly has a bilge pump fitted.

Poly · 23 July 2013, 22:02

Ashton, to be genuinely self draining the internal deck would need to be above the water line at rest, fully loaded (with engine on etc). I think that is unlikely (based on my Funyak and most ribs). Looking at the pics online it appears the whaly has a (approx) 25 mm drain plug in the centre of the transom. The funyak is similar (as are many smaller ribs/sibs) and if you remove the bung once moving (ideally) on the plane then the boat drains really quickly - although the Funyak drain is a bit bigger (40mm?); [I've stuffed properly once and 12"+ of water drained in probably 90 seconds - and I had come off the plane whilst I recomposed myself!]. I have added a small bilge pump for use when not moving (although actually its more useful when I am moving in some waves and don't want to go back and remove the bung).

I think with the transom design on both the whaly and funyak you couldn't add elephant trunks easily - as you would need to cut through the hull (and reseal it) not just the solid part of the transom to get them at the level you want. You could probably add something like the duckbill or ping pong ball type self bailing valve - but they aren't renowned for sealing properly.

Ashton · 23 July 2013, 22:15

Thanks Poly,

Im looking for something that i can leave on a swinging mooring without it filling up! I believe the Pioner Multi fills to just below the false ply deck with the bung out. We have a Rigiflex Cap 400 (Great durable boat), however its difficult to remove the bung when you get out to the boat on a swinging mooring.