Valiant DR 490 and 40 HP ETEC

[two stroke mick]

Hello there. I am new to thing so please bear with me. I am looking at a valiant DR 490 powered by a 40 HP ETEC can any one advise as to this combination of rib and engine. I am planning to use the boat for days out with the family. The boat may also be used for diving with 4 divers

[walruz]

If you are wanting to get 4 divers + kit and push it along I would look at another 10 or preferably 20 HP.


Just my feelings

Ian

[two stroke mick]

Will this rib not get onto the plan with 4 divers and a 40 hp Etec?

[prairie tuber]

Why a 40 hp E-tec, considering that the 60 hp E-tec weighs no more than the 40?

Before buying any inflatable, I'd also confirm what type of fabric is used for the tubeset, and who the actual manufacturer of that fabric is. Generally hypalon will have a much longer life expectancy than PVC (and costs more), but recently there has been some very poor quality hypalon appearing on the market. Orca Pennell pretty much sets the standard for high quality hypalon fabric in different weights. It is better to pay a little more for a high quality hypalon tubeset (thicker is also better, such as the Orca 866) from the get-go, since retubing a RIB can easily account for an additional 50% of the cost of a bare RIB.

Here are the specs on Orca's fabrics - You'll notice that the 1670 dtx weight Orca 866 is much stronger and far more tear resistant than the 1100 dtx weight Orca 828;

http://www.pennel.fr/Pages/orca_fab_prod_spec.htm

Paul Tilley is the fabric/tubeset guru on this board. http://www.tidel.biz/inflatablemanufacturer.php

[ian parkes]

I have just sold my Valiant 490 , and i don't think a 40 is enough power on one of these if you have any load .

the boat will take up to 80 hp. Mine had a suzuki Df70 and was fine , I often felt that maybe a lighter engine with almost the same power would have been worth a try .

having just had a go on a boat with 75 etec i think that would be the engine to really make the Valiant exiting .

[ian parkes]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

Why a 40 hp E-tec, considering that the 60 hp E-tec weighs no more than the 40?

Before buying any inflatable, I'd also confirm what type of fabric is used for the tubeset, and who the actual manufacturer of that fabric is. Generally hypalon will have a much longer life expectancy than PVC (and costs more), but recently there has been some very poor quality hypalon appearing on the market. Orca Pennell pretty much sets the standard for high quality hypalon fabric in different weights. It is better to pay a little more for a high quality hypalon tubeset (thicker is also better, such as the Orca 866) from the get-go, since retubing a RIB can easily account for an additional 50% of the cost of a bare RIB.

Here are the specs on Orca's fabrics - You'll notice that the 1670 dtx weight Orca 866 is much stronger and far more tear resistant than the 1100 dtx weight Orca 828;

http://www.pennel.fr/Pages/orca_fab_prod_spec.htm

Paul Tilley is the fabric/tubeset guru on this board. http://www.tidel.biz/inflatablemanufacturer.php

All i can say is that My valiant was 7 years old and the tubes were like new . i think PVC fabrics may have got a bad name from some cheapie manufacturers , as you say there are also some poor quality hypalon tubes about .
certainly valiant and zodiac don't seem to have any issues with tube material quality . Iam pretty sure both give a 5 year warranty anyway

[Douglas]

The 40,50 and 60 Etec's are heavy. The Honda 4 strokes are 10kg lighter and will give much better economy and be quieter. Suzi and Yamaha 4 strokes are same weight as Etec.

Just sold a 50hp Etec not greatly impressed. When I bought it I believed the salesman hype and that the two stroke would be an advantage. In practice Etecs use loads more fuel than 4 strokes. Would suggest go 4 stroke every time.

Doug.

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by Douglas

The 40,50 and 60 Etec's are heavy. The Honda 4 strokes are 10kg lighter and will give much better economy and be quieter. Suzi and Yamaha 4 strokes are same weight as Etec.

Just sold a 50hp Etec not greatly impressed. When I bought it I believed the salesman hype and that the two stroke would be an advantage. In practice Etecs use loads more fuel than 4 strokes. Would suggest go 4 stroke every time.

Doug.

Interesting. I thought those 60 hp etecs were supposed to be the cat's pajamas. Must be the marketing hype. The fellow I bought my 40 hp Yamaha carb'd 2 stroke from sold it to me because he was replacing it with a 40 hp Honda. He found that with the Honda, his boat was a fair bit slower than with the Yamaha, however it was much quieter and more fuel efficient.

I'm not sure if the new direct injection 2 strokes at the mid power ranges provide provide much of an advantage over the carb'd 2 strokes or the 4 strokes. Based on the info I've read from the data sheets put out by Tohatsu/Nissan, the new 50 hp TLDI uses a mere 4% less fuel at WOT than it's carbureted predecessor. Hardly worth the whopping 33% increase in weight, not including the additional weight of a battery that is required to run the TLDI.

[ian parkes]

people don't seem to do their homework with outboards . The 40 honda is same as the 50 , so why buy the 40 .
The etec doesn't seem to be worth having in less than 75hp and even that is the same as a 90 . the small ones are heavy , maybe its the american market as all thier sales comparisons are done on the 75hp and above the small ones don't seem to get a mention . The vidios are certainly entertaining to watch on the web site , just hope the claims are true.

Iam yet to be convinced by the fuel economy of the etec but the power to wieght ratio is certainly noticable .

[Daniel TD5]

don't post much but i had two valiants a v450 and a dr 450
the 490 has more tube than deck so is not much bigger boat

the v450 had a 40 hp mariner two stroke
the dr450 had a 50 hp mercury two stroke

i would say the 50 hp was a very well suited size don't forget slip under power has vailant have a very flat rear end and tent two slip with high hp on the back

dan

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by ian parkes

people don't seem to do their homework with outboards . The 40 honda is same as the 50 , so why buy the 40 .

Because the boat might only be rated for a maximum of 40 hp, and the owner wants to keep it legal.

[ian parkes]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

Because the boat might only be rated for a maximum of 40 hp, and the owner wants to keep it legal.

Yes fair enough i didn't think of that . It seems Crazy to me though they rate the max HP but not always the wieght of the engine ,

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by ian parkes

Yes fair enough i didn't think of that . It seems Crazy to me though they rate the max HP but not always the wieght of the engine ,

Agreed - they should have both.