Avon Adventure 400

[tacker]

Can anyone tell me where I can get info on the Avon Adventure 400, in terms of owner's manual, when production began/ended, what warranties applied to new boats, and who supplies spares like consoles, seats, covers etc ? Any tips appreciated.

[thomas]

I know someone with an Adventure 400 and they have a manual for it, if there is something in particular you are after I can ask them to scan it for you. BHG marine used to sell them.

With regards to consoles, I may have a 2 man jockey for sale taken off a 2010 Avon .

[tacker]

Originally Posted by thomas

I know someone with an Adventure 400 and they have a manual for it, if there is something in particular you are after I can ask them to scan it for you. BHG marine used to sell them.

With regards to consoles, I may have a 2 man jockey for sale taken off a 2010 Avon .

Thank you - I'm researching buying one at the moment rather than an owner, will check out BHG.. Meanwhile if there are other A400 owners with tips of what to look out for in used boats (2006-7), any appreciated.

[thomas]

Avon were taken over by Zodiac then I think they were wound up. Not sure when they stopped the A400 but if you find a 2006/7 boat then it should be spotless but have a look for any joins in the tubes coming unstuck. I had one for a bit, had a 50 2 stroke on the back which was too heavy for the boat and never used at full power.

[Portholme]

Check to see if the console and seats are Outhill

[Devonmark35]

Hello

I have an 2005 Avon Adventure 4m with a 50HP Mercury 4 stroke. Its a great little package and it suits my needs which are primarily cheap to run, easy to tow, easy to work with, can launch on a sandy flat beach and fast.

The build quality I feel is good although others on here appear to have differing opinions on that but I can honestly say I have never had any problems with the hull. I seem to remember somebody having issues with gel cracks on the hull? Mines fine.

Bad points are that if the water becomes even slightly choppy then you're in for a bumpy ride almost to the point where you have to just troll home. Most have 4 strokes fitted which is fine but I have to admit a 50HP motor is very heavy for the little boat and as such take offs will be very bow high. I fitted dole fins which helped a lot but the best, and cheapest, option I found was to put 40/35KG's of sand in the FWD locker.

I also reduced the prop angle from 15 to 13 which reduced my top speed by a little but helped keep the performance good when loaded with a few people on board.

One thing I really do not like and have looked into changing is the seating arrangement on the de-luxe model. It comes with the Outhill side by side seats which means it is difficult for passengers to hold on if the ride gets lively. Also means putting passenger weight forward is difficult etc as they will just need to sit on the tubes. I think 3 people is the max for comfort really otherwise it gets a little cramped.

The best thing about this great little boat is you can run around for hours and 25 ltrs of fuel lasts ages - all day if just messing around. I went from Crow point (North Devon) to Lundy Island and back which was around 28miles and still had enough fuel to last for 30mins of messing around in the estuary.

You just need to remember its no Searider but then again its much better looking .

Have fun - thats what they were designed for - nothing more.

I noticed you said you were looking for a 2006/7 4m? I thought the newer models were 410 not 4? I may be wrong.

Pete M has a great Adventure 4m with a Yam 50 on - give him a bell and ask him what he thinks. I think he has used his on some trips with some bigger boats for back up/company. I aim on keeping mine for a long time especially since fuel became so expensive.

Best of luck with your search. There was one recently on ebay but vanished halfway though the listing - guess it was sold outside ebay?

[Ribshop]

One thing we have seen a few times on this model is cracking around the inside of the transom, worth looking out for as it’s not cheap to put right.

[tacker]

Originally Posted by Ribshop

One thing we have seen a few times on this model is cracking around the inside of the transom, worth looking out for as it’s not cheap to put right.

Thanks - how old were the boats you've seen the cracking on? ( how long were A400 produced for?) was it caused by weight of engine? Have always been under the impression that Avon are top build quality, so a bit surprised to hear it...

[tacker]

Originally Posted by Devonmark35

Hello

I have an 2005 Avon Adventure 4m with a 50HP Mercury 4 stroke. Its a great little package and it suits my needs which are primarily cheap to run, easy to tow, easy to work with, can launch on a sandy flat beach and fast.

The build quality I feel is good although others on here appear to have differing opinions on that but I can honestly say I have never had any problems with the hull. I seem to remember somebody having issues with gel cracks on the hull? Mines fine.

Bad points are that if the water becomes even slightly choppy then you're in for a bumpy ride almost to the point where you have to just troll home. Most have 4 strokes fitted which is fine but I have to admit a 50HP motor is very heavy for the little boat and as such take offs will be very bow high. I fitted dole fins which helped a lot but the best, and cheapest, option I found was to put 40/35KG's of sand in the FWD locker.

I also reduced the prop angle from 15 to 13 which reduced my top speed by a little but helped keep the performance good when loaded with a few people on board.

One thing I really do not like and have looked into changing is the seating arrangement on the de-luxe model. It comes with the Outhill side by side seats which means it is difficult for passengers to hold on if the ride gets lively. Also means putting passenger weight forward is difficult etc as they will just need to sit on the tubes. I think 3 people is the max for comfort really otherwise it gets a little cramped.

The best thing about this great little boat is you can run around for hours and 25 ltrs of fuel lasts ages - all day if just messing around. I went from Crow point (North Devon) to Lundy Island and back which was around 28miles and still had enough fuel to last for 30mins of messing around in the estuary.

You just need to remember its no Searider but then again its much better looking .

Have fun - thats what they were designed for - nothing more.

I noticed you said you were looking for a 2006/7 4m? I thought the newer models were 410 not 4? I may be wrong.

Pete M has a great Adventure 4m with a Yam 50 on - give him a bell and ask him what he thinks. I think he has used his on some trips with some bigger boats for back up/company. I aim on keeping mine for a long time especially since fuel became so expensive.

Best of luck with your search. There was one recently on ebay but vanished halfway though the listing - guess it was sold outside ebay?

Thanks - I take your points about the ride. I'd be mainly river pootling in the Dart with a bit of Start Bay for a blast and round to Salcombe, so not expecting heavy weather use - F3-4 or less. We're used to trolling home in our sailing boat at 4kn so no worries there!

Re the seating - one boat I am looking at has bench at back, and a console with an additional back-less seat built in beside it - the console including 3rd seat is width of boat. Plus a bow cushion seat. . Does Outhill just refer to the rear bench seat? Did you find that replacement consoles are available?

I know Avon still exists in Llanelli but only for milpro boats so am guessing the A400 is no longer supported for such spares.

[thomas]

When you say 'spares' the only thing Avon are the tubes, which can be repaired or replaced by rib repairer, and the hull which can be fixed by any GRP expert, everything else is just third party parts that are the same on many other boats and can be picked up anywhere.

[cgoing]

I've had two of them . I had a 98 and a 2007. in my opinion the 07 was a much better built boat. I had a yamaha 40 four stroke on it and trimmmed out I got a little over 40mph out of it on GPS. I'd of kept it if it weren't for a growing family. They are great boats.

[PeterM]

Yep - got mine in Dec 2006 rigged with a 50 yam on it . Purposely wanted the seating layout to allow more comfortable slow crawl up the river at 4 knts.

Never had any issue with build quaility - but they are in now way close to the solidity and handling of an SR4. Anything like a 'sea' and its all wet and slammy.

Great for fun off the beach burning not much gas and easy to tow and launch and keep on a drive/ garage. Designed and built fun only !

[Devonmark35]

Originally Posted by tacker

Thanks - I take your points about the ride. I'd be mainly river pootling in the Dart with a bit of Start Bay for a blast and round to Salcombe, so not expecting heavy weather use - F3-4 or less. We're used to trolling home in our sailing boat at 4kn so no worries there!

Force 4 no way would I take mine out in a force 4 - as Pater and I said - fun only. That would be some horrible ride and any passengers with you would not thank you for that. I use mine around the Dart also. Have gone round to Salcombe several times but once got caught out when the weather turned F4'ish. It took hours to get back and quite frankly I would not do it again

I know Rib Shop said he has seen some cracking and I cant comment but mine has the max size motor and has now clocked quite a few hours up and its fine - feels very solid to me

get one for the right reasons and you will be very happy...

[tacker]

Originally Posted by Devonmark35

Force 4 no way would I take mine out in a force 4 - as Pater and I said - fun only. That would be some horrible ride and any passengers with you would not thank you for that. I use mine around the Dart also. Have gone round to Salcombe several times but once got caught out when the weather turned F4'ish. It took hours to get back and quite frankly I would not do it again

I know Rib Shop said he has seen some cracking and I cant comment but mine has the max size motor and has now clocked quite a few hours up and its fine - feels very solid to me

get one for the right reasons and you will be very happy...

Thanks again - just thinking about seaworthiness, I don't know if this is a daft question - but how might the A400 compare with Zodiac Pro Classic 420? Are they pretty similar? I don't know ribs at all but have always assumed the Zodiac would be up to rounding Start Point in f3-4. Is the Zodiac also a fun only' boat (with 50hp)?

[thomas]

The Zodiac will be much better suited to rougher conditions, it has a deeper hull and the extre length will help too. I've been really impressed with the quality of Zodiac ribs.

[alexmcrobbie]

Hi tacker,

Just to throw my 2pence in, I've got the slightly larger version of the A400, an Adventure 450. I really must agree with the others and say its not a great boat for rough weather. I had mine out this afternoon for safety at a regatta in about 40knots and it was so slammy, wet and generally uncomfortable. Another bad bit to mention about the little adventure ribs is that they drift really quickly downwind by comparison to most ribs due to the lack of hull underneath.

Bad bits aside, it's a fantastic little boat. I've got a honda 50hp on the back and it'll go faster and outmanoeuvre just about any other boat on a flat day. You've just got to remember that it's a leisure boat, not suited to the rough stuff, as I was reminded of today... ouch

[tacker]

Originally Posted by PeterM

Yep - got mine in Dec 2006 rigged with a 50 yam on it . Purposely wanted the seating layout to allow more comfortable slow crawl up the river at 4 knts.

Never had any issue with build quaility - but they are in now way close to the solidity and handling of an SR4. Anything like a 'sea' and its all wet and slammy.

Great for fun off the beach burning not much gas and easy to tow and launch and keep on a drive/ garage. Designed and built fun only !

Thanks Peter; can I ask you about valuing? The one I'm looking at is similar to yours - it is in excellent condition (from pics) and has a 2006 Mariner 50 with 200 hours. Garaged, covered... Asking £7500. Seems high to me.

[thomas]

Seems very high, that set up would have been in the region of £8,000 new - Going rate seems to be about £5k for a clean one.

[lakelandterrier]

I would would agree with others - an A400 with rear bench seat & side console seat with no back is not a good sea boat - although fine for pootling around rivers & estuaries.

I had one for 3 years with a 40HP kept on the Dart, and I found that it was was not really suitable or comfortable for going outside in anything other that really flat conditions.

Remember the Range and Start Bay can get very choppy and an A400 hasn't got the hull or weight balance to punch through an sort of sea.

If you're staying in the river fine, I wouldn't recommend it as a sea-going hull though

LT

[tacker]

Originally Posted by thomas

Seems very high, that set up would have been in the region of £8,000 new - Going rate seems to be about £5k for a clean one.

Thanks; there's a 2006 (same year) with 2001 Mercury @ £6100 and a 2007 with Yam 50 @ £6750 but haven't seen any as low as £5k with engine - do you have links to any examples?