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30 December 2024, 17:57
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#1
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Member
Country: UK - Wales
Town: Newport
Make: Elling KB 350
Length: 3m +
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 269
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Polyethylene Boats
Apologies if it doesnt fit the category, but I know there is a wealth of experience in the forum.
Looking at plastic boats
Here is the list -
Whaley
Sea storm
Pioner
Poly craft
Kontra
Thinking around south Wales coast, also trip to Cornwall, poole etc.
Safety utmost importance - thinking max of 3 people doing a little fishing.
Any ideas?
Thanks
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30 December 2024, 18:27
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#2
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Member
Country: UK - England
Town: london
Boat name: Greninja
Make: Smartwave
Length: 4m +
Engine: 40hp Suzuki
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 3
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Another brand for you to consider, I bought a Smartwave 4200 in the summer, been loving it. Loads of people on the smartwave forum use them for fishing. They feel very stable in rough sea.
They are unsinkable and very tough, video here of them chainsaw one in half and both parts floating, also dropping from height onto concrete.
Bit more of a V hull than the Whaley that the kids sailing school used, not familiar with the others
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30 December 2024, 18:30
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#3
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Member
Country: UK - Wales
Town: Newport
Make: Elling KB 350
Length: 3m +
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 269
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Looks nice - will add to the list
Thanks
Quote:
Originally Posted by craigh
Another brand for you to consider, I bought a Smartwave 4200 in the summer, been loving it. Loads of people on the smartwave forum use them for fishing. They feel very stable in rough sea.
They are unsinkable and very tough, video here of them chainsaw one in half and both parts floating, also dropping from height onto concrete.
Bit more of a V hull than the Whaley that the kids sailing school used, not familiar with the others
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30 December 2024, 20:15
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#4
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Member
Country: UK - England
Town: Poole
Boat name: El Mono
Make: Ribtec 9M
Length: 9m +
Engine: Yanmar 315/Bravo III
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 906
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Poly on here has run a FunYak (I think) for many years so might have some good input.
The decent poly boats are fairly indestructible, although as above some are more suited to sea than others which are more inland oriented/flat bottomed.
In my experience with sailing schools often the fixings need some attention/modifications, especially the cleats, which on some boats are simply screwed into the plastic gunwales without any backing plates, and it doesn't take much force to pull them out on well used boats!
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30 December 2024, 21:02
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#5
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Member
Country: UK - Wales
Town: Newport
Make: Elling KB 350
Length: 3m +
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 269
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Quote:
Originally Posted by paulbrown22
Poly on here has run a FunYak (I think) for many years so might have some good input.
The decent poly boats are fairly indestructible, although as above some are more suited to sea than others which are more inland oriented/flat bottomed.
In my experience with sailing schools often the fixings need some attention/modifications, especially the cleats, which on some boats are simply screwed into the plastic gunwales without any backing plates, and it doesn't take much force to pull them out on well used boats!
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what shape hulls are better? chimes etc? only had a sib for a season and still learning
Thanks
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30 December 2024, 23:09
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#6
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Member
Country: UK - England
Town: Nottinghamshire
Boat name: Wakey
Make: Tornado
Length: 5m +
Engine: Mariner 75 2 stroke
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 599
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Whaley 435 with a 25-30hp outboard on the back. Simple safe, plenty of storage and seating and unsinkable, plus zero paintwork or gelcoat to damage.
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31 December 2024, 00:44
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#7
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Member
Country: Australia
Town: Dalmeny
Make: zodiac
Length: 5m +
Engine: outboard
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 1,259
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Polycraft are sold here in Aus. I looked at buying one years ago but was put off after speaking with a few people that owned them. They will normally require more hp than similar aluminium or fibreglass boats. One my daughter's boss owned had a 115 mercury on a boat of around 5m. Not that this big but the performance wasn't that special considering.
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31 December 2024, 12:49
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#8
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Member
Country: UK - Wales
Town: Newport
Make: Elling KB 350
Length: 3m +
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 269
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Thanks
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31 December 2024, 12:51
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#9
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Member
Country: UK - Wales
Town: Newport
Make: Elling KB 350
Length: 3m +
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 269
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fastasfox
Whaley 435 with a 25-30hp outboard on the back. Simple safe, plenty of storage and seating and unsinkable, plus zero paintwork or gelcoat to damage.
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Looking at a 435 and a new slightly smaller one thats new out.
435 looks the best at the moment.
Only concern with some Whaley models people raising height of outboard etc which seams a pain and also changing props.
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31 December 2024, 17:17
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#10
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RIBnet admin team
Country: UK - Scotland
Boat name: imposter
Make: FunYak
Length: 3m +
Engine: Tohatsu 30HP
MMSI: 235089819
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,635
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Quote:
Originally Posted by paulbrown22
Poly on here has run a FunYak (I think) for many years so might have some good input.
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I did but no longer do which is why I'm less frequently around. It is however still going strong approaching 20 yrs after I first bought it.
When I bought the FunYak the range of manufacturers in this space was fairly narrow, at that time MacBoats (from NZ) had a dealership near me - those boats were quite nice but pricey so I set out to find something cheaper. Since then half a dozen firms have produced similar boats - some probably improve on the idea. Without doubt they are as JonP alludes to heavier than a directly equivalent fibreglass or aluminium rib. From very unscientific testing they seem to be roughly able to achieve the same or slightly better speed than a SIB with a soft draggy floor of the same length and power. But then hull shape is a trade off versus comfort, power, etc so it would be wrong to assume all boats made from HDPE are going to be equivalent.
You need to see one and really see if you can fit 3 people in it - that will depend on the model, the seat layout etc. Don't take the official spec for granted - that's how many before you might get a safety issue not a practical usage question. If you go centre console beware they take a lot of space and are a fairly significant part of the overall cost. Make sure you look at where cables / pipes go, and think about fuel tank and battery storage - they are heavy and vulnerable. If I was buying another one I'd be paying more attention to drainage arrangements - like elephant trunks - depending on the design it may not be simple to drill big holes as an after thought. Paul's comments about hardware fixings are right - anything which is just self-tapped into the plastic will work loose over time. Expect to see anything important fitted into brass inserts that were moulded in, rubber sealed rivnuts, or carefully designed in to allow through bolting. Look carefully at any storage - does it drain or just fill up with water?
Pick your colour carefully. Red's still seem to fade to pink very quickly. I went for a white with grey speckle - which obviously was good from a fading perspective but not so good for showing the dirt.
Some brands seem to think filling the hull void with foam is a good idea. I'm sceptical about that.
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31 December 2024, 18:49
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#11
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Member
Country: UK - Wales
Town: Newport
Make: Elling KB 350
Length: 3m +
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 269
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31 December 2024, 18:50
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#12
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Member
Country: UK - Wales
Town: Newport
Make: Elling KB 350
Length: 3m +
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 269
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No foam and places to secure rod holders etc..
Only thinking of console for trimming and people saying 30 is awkward to hand start...
Thoughts
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31 December 2024, 21:35
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#13
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Member
Country: UK - England
Town: Poole
Boat name: El Mono
Make: Ribtec 9M
Length: 9m +
Engine: Yanmar 315/Bravo III
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 906
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Notebook
what shape hulls are better? chimes etc? only had a sib for a season and still learning
Thanks
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The most V-shaped hull possible is generally best for handling a sea state, but does depend on any chines, spray rails, tube/topside arrangement, etc.
Most of my experience is with Rigiflex/Jaffa tiller steer types in sailing clubs, which are generally more flat water boats and get very wet in any waves/bumps. I personally wouldn't be massively keen on taking one of those far out in a coastal environment as I prefer to stay dry, and the self bailing arrangements are pretty inadequate/non-existent.
Definitely worth trying to speak to some folks using these types of craft in coastal environments to see which ones are more suited to your usage. I haven't yet been on one, but the Smartwave linked above seems to almost be a slightly newer generation of poly boat aimed at solving some of the common problems with the previous crop and trying to be more like a RIB/GRP boat.
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Yesterday, 10:08
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#14
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Member
Country: UK - Wales
Make: RC585
Length: 5m +
Engine: 140
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 94
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Poole Boat Hire rent out plastic boats, I think polyurethene but not sure:
https://www.pooleboathire.co.uk/our-boats/
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Yesterday, 11:06
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#15
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Member
Country: UK - Scotland
Town: Edinburgh
Length: 5m +
Join Date: Dec 2024
Posts: 3
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There was a range being sold on the excel stand at the Southampton Boat Show this year. They looked quite good
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Today, 08:53
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#16
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RIBnet admin team
Country: UK - Scotland
Boat name: imposter
Make: FunYak
Length: 3m +
Engine: Tohatsu 30HP
MMSI: 235089819
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,635
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I’ve hand started 30HP with no big issues (I suspect you can get electric start with tiller on some brands?). You can probably get tiller steer with trim on the tiller now? Not that I’m trying to dissuade you from a centre console - for me it’s a much more comfortable place to sit, is more intuitive for other people you want to let helm, and provides space for instruments, storage etc. BUT they do take up quite a bit of deck real estate - I was never a fisherman so not sure, but suspect three people all fishing would appreciate that space.
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Today, 08:56
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#17
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RIBnet admin team
Country: UK - Scotland
Boat name: imposter
Make: FunYak
Length: 3m +
Engine: Tohatsu 30HP
MMSI: 235089819
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,635
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scrambler
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Those are rotomoulded high density polyethylene the same as the other boats the OP is considering.
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Today, 09:16
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#18
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Trade member
Country: UK - England
Town: Farndon, Newark
Make: Rebel
Length: 5m +
Engine: Outboard, P, 115
Join Date: Dec 2024
Posts: 28
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Hi. We sell Bulldog Boats. They are made from HDPE. These are incredibly strong. They are fabricated rather than rota moulded. They are also hand built in the UK. They start at 3m upto 14.5m and have a number of designs including a RHIB. We have sold a good number of these boats to the UK and abroad. Definitely worth having a look.
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