Zodiac cadet 340 or Merc ocean runner 340 for 50%??

ups · 07 July 2019, 08:28

Hi folks,

I live in germany cologne and Are into buying a New dinghi rib as a fun Tender for Our holidays in the mediterranen next week.

I have narrowed my choice down to thd ocean runner 340 which Costs 2150uero here and the zodiac cadet 340 which is 4050(!).

Now...i am a very active rib driver. I do this for 40 years now. And i like a the stuff you shouldnt do...

Big swell... Jumping... High speed With Too many hp on the transom...Steering of course With tiller only!!

Anyway... I do not Find any reliable technical data or Informationen That i can decide on If the cadet price might be Worth it.

Are here any experts who can enlighten me...
Is the cadet superior in terms of Hull Form for heavy chop... Or transom strength or build quality in total?

Kind regards
Ralph

ups · 08 July 2019, 10:54

Hi Guys,

I appreciate no getting a response instead of many non-sense replies :-)

without deeper technical insights my thoughts are going into the direction of:

If I can get the cadet second hand for the same price as the OC new, I ll take the cadet, because the major depreciation is allready done and I will not loose as much money as with a new merc?

Anybody saying "yes" to this?

jeffstevens763@g · 08 July 2019, 11:23

have a look on this site it might have the info you need UPS

Ron Hale Marine Ltd - Zodiac Cadet 350 Alu

Fenlander · 08 July 2019, 12:15

UPS welcome to the forum and sorry not many replies.

You ask a difficult question as small RIBs like you mention with fairly shallow V hulls are meant really for light tender and leisure use so it would be difficult to advise on your heavy chop wave jumping use with an over size outboard.

I would not base my decision of the old vs new aspect rather look at both in dealers to see which has the best quality of construction strength and also looking at their hull shapes for the best ride.

ups · 08 July 2019, 13:36

thank you for trying to help.

I figured out (by reading and comparing pictures very carefully) that the zodiac cadet has a hull comparable to the brig boats. and brig states on their website that they feature a deep v for better performance in waves.

The ocean runner has the usual medium v. the boat is wider inside and a bit lighter, but the cadet seems to be the one to go if you are looking for a boat that stresses the crew the least in bad weather.

because I allready own a wooden keel grand 460 (with lots of space) I think I will go for the cadet to use it on the other end of the weather scale :-)