Avon 620 how good are they

bedajim · 30 October 2006, 22:40

A neighbour of mine is going to change his boat from a Avon 4+m to a 620 Avon with a 115 4 st I think he said it would have a 100 litre fuel tank, I'd been in the pub for a while

The boat will be kept in Devon and used around the coast his is going to retire in the new year and one trip he would love to make is to Scotland via the west coast.(he doesn't have a time frame for the trip i.e. 4-6 weeks is fine)

He has been advised that the 115 4 st will be good on fuel any idea on l/nm and top end normally one or two adults with him

Also how good is the sea keeping of the 620 as I'm sure I've read on here that the hull is not a really deep "V"

Any advice good or bad would be great

We live in the center of england and the topic at the bar is ribs

James

Nauti Buoy · 30 October 2006, 22:45

Personally I think the 115 4stroke will be a little underpowererd, I used to have a 620 with a DF140 Suzuki and with 4-6 people on board it had to work hard.

Other than that it was an ok cruising rib.

Biggles · 30 October 2006, 23:00

Sorry,

But my experience with Avon other than Seariders is not good.

For the money he's going to spend why not look at an XS RIB or a RIBCRAFT. I would also consider a Humber or RIBTEC before Avon leisure boats.

Granted he has to get a 4 stroke for the economy when cruising (IMHO) but as for the actual RIB I would look a long way from Avon.

If he's got his mind set on the Avon you probably won't change it and at the end of the day it will do the journey he wants to do in the right conditions. I just feel the leisure Avons are aimed at the casual user market. When the waves are up I should imagine that Avon is going to give him a right knocking.

Personally I would probably go for a small Delta but even then you are talking big bucks.

Keep us posted. And if he has a game plan I wouldn't mind joining him on his West coast of Scotland cruise but its a few years before I retire.

Biggles · 30 October 2006, 23:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nauti Buoy

Personally I think the 115 4stroke will be a little underpowererd, I used to have a 620 with a DF140 Suzuki and with 4-6 people on board it had to work hard.

Other than that it was an ok cruising rib.

Richard,

I find that with the RIBCRAFT I bought from you. Its not only me then. Even with 140 horses and a light load sometimes it seems like the engine is making hard work of it. And yet on other times it sprints away. Is it because we are talking 4 stroke here ? Maybe a 2 stroke would sprint off the line.

Biggles · 30 October 2006, 23:17

And why wouldn't I recomend the Avon 620. Because I had a Avon seasport Deluxe. A very pretty boat and very fast. Just like a Jet when it took off. But I used it in the Solent and Force 6 plus and I killed it in a year. The hull and deck were two different mouldings that had fine GRP joins. Needless to say this moved about a bit when I hammered it and subsequently it all started to crack. Some of the mouldings which were quite intricate were only about 1mm thick. Granted it was repaired under warranty under a sub contract to a local boatyard that after 3 months told me it was sorted only to for me to find that nothing had been done to the boat other than cover it in grott from other boat work. I waited another 3 months for less than satisfactory repairs. I must admit I was naive enough to think Avon would do the repairs even when they said they had a modification kit for the model of boat I had (To me that means lots of problems with lots of boats), but no it went to a yard that worked on 50 foot plus boats. Obviously mine was just an inconvenience. Thats the way I felt when the gaffer said it would take over 30 man hours to effect a perfect repair.
But seariders they are built like Brick S__t houses. Probably too heavy to be a fun boat but you can abuse them and not worry. And the main down side if you want side by side seating you need a massive Searider at massive bucks.

codprawn · 30 October 2006, 23:41

Avon's leisure range are totally different to the commercial boats. Last time I spoke to someone at the factory they said the GRP work for the leisure boats was done in France by Zodiac and then Avon had to buy them back and fit the tubes!!!

The commercial boats are proper Avon's through and through!!!

Andy Moore · 31 October 2006, 10:25

We are very pleased with our 620. It performed well enough in the serious chop of the Solent the other weekend, and it is fast and dry.

I think our choice of Mercury 135 was spot on.

Before this purchase I had no experience of RIBs, but we have found the learning curve pretty easy. We find the Avon easy to trim and -so far- has not done anything unexpected.

To sum up, it has been plain great fun every time we have been out this summer.

Pete7 · 31 October 2006, 11:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by bedajim

He has been advised that the 115 4 st will be good on fuel any idea on l/nm and top end normally one or two adults with him

There is a few on Boats and Outboards at the moment so he should take one for a long test ride preferably in choppy conditions. However the tubes are superb heavy duty material and you do sit in an Adventurer rather than on giving a very secure feeling. Worth having a read though this post which Bruce started as it gives a good idea of fuel and speed from different combinations of ribs,

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?...highlight=fast

The one with the Yam 150 seems to have an interesting history that you would want to check out before buying. http://www.rib.net/forum/archive/index.php?t-4221.html

but its 1-1.5 lpm, (they all are for some odd reason) even smokey old diesels which means the lastest 4 strokes are producing as much polution as Old Spice

right were is me flak jacket

Pete

Millermob · 31 October 2006, 15:07

We have an Avon 620 powered by a Honda 150hp. We've cruised along the South coast of France from Port Grimaud to Hyeres encountering some Mistral type weather, the North West of Scotland from Mull up to Loch Torridon & frequent trips around Anglesey, Menai Straits etc.
I've always had every confidence in both the boat & engine. I am told by my eldest son that a Ribcraft 750 Sport or a Scorpion should be our next purchase, primarily for greater range & comfort, however we've had plenty of fun with the Avon & I wouldn't hesitate in recomending it to future purchasers.
(I have no affiliation with or to Avon or Honda - I just like their product).

paul tilley · 31 October 2006, 15:35

pete what is this superb heavy duty tube material avon are using ?

Pete7 · 31 October 2006, 16:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul tilley

pete what is this superb heavy duty tube material avon are using ?

The stuff they use to make tubes from ? don't know, I am just a fussy customer. They just feel so much heavier than run of the mill rib tubes you see around the Solent. It might just be down to the weight of material and quality of finish on the Avon tubes,

Pete

codprawn · 31 October 2006, 17:35

From what I have seen of the commercial Avon's is that they use heavyweight fabric followed up with massive rubbing strakes that almost cover the whole tube. No wonder they last forever if they are encased in thick rubber!!!

Tomas · 31 October 2006, 19:22

Yup..my 4.7 SeaRider has triple fabric in the bow section and the rub strakes which go from the topside of the tube to the waterline must be 3/16 inch/5mm thick. I did have some minor delamination of the strakes in the lower aft section but just stuck the loose material back on.

v666 · 31 October 2006, 20:21

If it make any odd's to anyone Avon are launching a new deeper V at the London Boat Show.

Andy Moore · 31 October 2006, 22:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by v666

If it make any odd's to anyone Avon are launching a new deeper V at the London Boat Show.

Where did you hear this?

Biggles · 31 October 2006, 22:24

I've never had a problem with Avon tubes. Its just their intricate fine internal mouldings don't seem to lend themselves to being hammered in the Solent chop. Thats my experience and I'm not prepared to spend £20000 to find out otherwise. I spent £8000 and found that Avon isn't all it's cracked (pun) up to be.

If your spending that sort of dosh do some careful research and possibly/probably look elsewhere unless you know of an Avon leisure boat that has been used in those conditions a lot and can prove me wrong.

I don't mind being proved wrong. I'm just passing on some info that I have to try and help someone else.

Andy Moore · 01 November 2006, 11:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggles

I've never had a problem with Avon tubes. Its just their intricate fine internal mouldings don't seem to lend themselves to being hammered in the Solent chop.

What intricate mouldings? The Avon Adventure series are delivered as 'bare boats'. Its then up to you -or a dealer- to choose & fit 3rd party consoles etc.

Biggles · 01 November 2006, 17:07

Andy,

I had the Seasport Deluxe. looked nice and if the Adventure had the same setup i would be very worried. It even turned out on my boat the the floor and hull were laid up seperately. That caused flexing and little bits around the join cracked up and also a fine crack showed itself around the console where it fitted to the floor.

Just pointing out that it might be worth looking at how the Adventurer is actually put together. If you've had no problems with yours then thats a good sign and I'll shut up now.

As for the Searider I had that was excellently built.

OtherBusiness · 01 November 2006, 17:20

Hi, I have an Avon 620 which is used in the Solent and am very pleased with it. It has a Yamaha 150 TRP. It certainly handles the Solent chop without too much fuss. I currently have it on the market as upgrading to something bigger (see here http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/F115406/).

I think some companies have used poor quality fittings for consoles and things, as Andy said, the Avon Adventurers come "bare boat" (the guy at the boatyard where I keep mine mentioned that he had seen self tapping screws for securing a jockey seat to the deck, and that they were often repairing these shoddy installations!!!). I have had no problems with the fittings on my boat.

Andy Moore · 01 November 2006, 18:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggles

I had the Seasport Deluxe. looked nice and if the Adventure had the same setup i would be very worried.

At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, an Aventure is not a SeaSport Delux.

With the SeaSports, I imagine Avon are tryiing to capture a chunk of the superyacht tender market.