Tornado 5.8 vs. Zodiac PRO Man 15 ....

jeilsoe · 22 June 2007, 19:06

Howdy Folks :-)

I'm a newbee here, so treat me well....

Our diving club in Denmark are planning on buying either a Tornado 5,8 or a Zodiac Pro Man 15 as they are in the same financial range.... but we really dont have any hands-on experience with theese boats. We have tried them both, but unfortunately weather was too perfect.... should have been testing in rough sea.

Zodiac: 6,3m Rib, New Sharc duotex material.... somekind of PU coating. 150hp Evinrude Etek

Tornado: PU Ribs,Heavy duty material + all the extras...tripplestreak..you name it.... 150hp Yamaha

Any of your guys got experience with either of theese boats ?

Tims Osprey · 22 June 2007, 22:02

The tornado gets my vote without any doubts, especially if its going to be used for diving, the tornado has a better sea going hull than the zodiac as well. The zodiac is a nice boat but will not cope with a big sea as well as the tornado, even though its half a metre longer, the Etec 150 is a very nice engine but so is the 150 yammy, so tornado 100%.

Biggles · 22 June 2007, 22:39

No personal experience but Tornado gets my vote from what I've seen of them and Zodiacs.

If it was a few years old I'd think twice because of the tubes but new no problem.

And Yam IMHO is better than E Tec.

ashbypower · 22 June 2007, 22:43

Tornado every time for me, however if talking new then I would not like to comment as Tornado's are now being built in China!

Biggles · 22 June 2007, 23:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashbypower

Tornado every time for me, however if talking new then I would not like to comment as Tornado's are now being built in China!

Must admit didn't know they were Chinese now.

Tims Osprey · 22 June 2007, 23:12

I have had a couple of tornado's a 4.8 and a 5.3 they are very well behaved ribs in a lumpy sea, i remember taking the 4.8 out into the Bristol channel with 10 ft swells and the boat performance belied its size, we all got wet be we were having fun and never felt in any danger whatsoever, Most of the time i could manage planing speed, only coming off the biggest swells would force me to back off the throttle, incredible.

Biggles · 22 June 2007, 23:34

i like Benc's boat. That is one extra special looking boat.

jeilsoe · 23 June 2007, 07:11

hi guys

thx for the ansvers.... got more though. :-)

Both boats are new, and for the production of Tornado in china...do you suspect that there is a problem with quality ?

Shouldnt Zodiacs built-in fuel tanks under the deck give more stability than the tornado, as the tornado will have 120litre above deck...?

=> Biggles: How about them tubes....an you elaborate on that... do one material deterrior more over time than the other ? Since both materials are some kund of PU covering they should be equally good ...or..?

What makes the hull better sea going ? Doesnt both hulls have deep V-shape... or is one deeper than the other ?

Tims Osprey · 23 June 2007, 11:11

I can't understand why a 5.8 metre craft would not have an under deck fuel tank? and the fact there moving to china doesn't look good, i'm sure the Chinese will do a good job manufacturing them but it would make buying a new one less appealing to me. If new then surely you have other craft in the same price range to choose from.

oilrig · 22 July 2007, 16:39

got a tornado 5.8 + 135 merc and drive it in any weather condition. Jump waves with it. All still in one piece.

Biggles · 22 July 2007, 16:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeilsoe

=> Biggles: How about them tubes....an you elaborate on that... do one material deterrior more over time than the other ? Since both materials are some kund of PU covering they should be equally good ...or..?

If they are both a similar material then its not an issue.

Hypalon is percieved to be the best material for tubes. I wasn't too sure of the make up of the Zodiac.

NR.

SJHooper · 09 September 2007, 19:05

Get the Zodiac I tested a number of Ribs and the Zodiac is a better built boat and handles very well Ive just bought a new pro open with a 90 e tec engine and love it

Ian Shaw · 10 September 2007, 14:31

The PU materials currently used by Tornado are improved versions of their original PU material, and have been used for several years with excellent feed-back on performance and durability.
All UK/European manufactures using PU, except Zodiac, use equivalent grade materials.
There are other PU materials on the market, used extensively in the USA.
The Zodiac PU material, as far as I'm aware, is of a different design, and might not be as good. If anyone has technical details I can comment in depth.
The view that Hypalon is better is contentious to say the least and there is much evidence to the contrary - see RIB International June/July 2007 for details. Not to say that Hypalon isn't very good of course. However, it is interesting that Zodiac are using PU for their largest RIBs.