Zodiac pro 15 man and suzuki df115?

AKBronco2 · 26 November 2011, 22:52

I'm looking at a possible upgrade to the 18' Achilles SU I have now but looking to do some longer range trips this coming summer. Local dealer has a zodiac pro 15 man on the lot that they can't get rid of. Brand new but a 2007 model with a df115. They offered me what I thought was a decent deal but not sure what something like this would normally go for. Put over 1000 miles on my achilles in 2.5 months and worked flawlessly the way I had it setup other than being slightly underpowered. My options are repowering the Achilles again this coming year or goin with this new rib. Mostly worried about resale on the rib as there aren't a lot of people running the zodiacs around here. Mostly naiads. Any thoughts or insight would be much appreciated.

Pikey Dave · 27 November 2011, 15:03

That boat with that engine will be a slug. That's why it's still there & they can't sell it. If you think that you're underpowered now with your current setup................!

IndyR1 · 27 November 2011, 17:19

The 15 man Zodiac is 6.3m and on their site 115hp is the recommended maximum with the actual boat maximum being 150hp, this is the same as specified on the Ribquest site for their 6.3m too.
On the otherhand if you wanted a boat that can really take a lot of power the Humber Ocean Pro 6.3m can take 200hp!
Thats a hell of a lot of power on a 6.3m rib

AKBronco2 · 27 November 2011, 20:11

The reason it is still for sale is the market isn't there for ribs here. Asking price was 39000$ originally. I can get it for much much less. The boat only weighs 1000lbs empty which is pretty close to what my Achilles weighs with gear. I wouldn't think a 115 on it would be underpowered. Running wot up here usually isn't an option especially with the weather the way it is. So anything more than about 25-30kts isn't useful.

AKBronco2 · 27 November 2011, 20:14

It is next to impossible to find ribs up here bigger than 5m and I wouldn't be happy with a 5m for my extended range trips.

Pikey Dave · 27 November 2011, 20:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndyR1

The 15 man Zodiac is 6.3m and on their site 115hp is the recommended maximum with the actual boat maximum being 150hp, this is the same as specified on the Ribquest site for their 6.3m too.
On the otherhand if you wanted a boat that can really take a lot of power the Humber Ocean Pro 6.3m can take 200hp!
Thats a hell of a lot of power on a 6.3m rib

Nah! RC 585 with 175 Evinrude

IndyR1 · 28 November 2011, 13:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Nah! RC 585 with 175 Evinrude

Ain't that spec'd for 150 max?

Agree though, if it's got an engine, you've nover got too much power

Notice most boats transom limits are often higher than the weight of outboard that matches their max power rating. Guess you're in that camp or you over the transome weight too

Si.

cgoing · 28 November 2011, 13:29

I know you mentioned the boat you are looking for has a Suzuki power plant. However as a referance there is performance data available for the Pro 15 man on Yamaha's website under performance bulletions. Go under 4 stroke, 115hp and up, select inflatables and then Zodiac. you will find the performance data for a number of Zodiac models. The performance differance should not be huge between the Yamaha and the Suzuki. Just as a quick referance a friend of mine has the older version of the boat, a 16man with a 90hp Yamaha, and he is gettng around 38mph out of it with the wife and two kids on board.

AKBronco2 · 28 November 2011, 18:52

My Achilles originally had a 115 mercury on it. Only rated to 90. For a sib it really hauled. Really interested in this zodiac. Just need to check on price comparisons for similar boats.

AKBronco2 · 28 November 2011, 19:15

Fuel consumption numbers with the 115 and the 150 really aren't that good. 9.1 gph at 5500. Must be propped for rpms. I wanted the 115 tohatsu or new df140 on it but I don't think they are going to budge from the package.

Pikey Dave · 28 November 2011, 19:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndyR1

Ain't that spec'd for 150 max?

Agree though, if it's got an engine, you've nover got too much power

Notice most boats transom limits are often higher than the weight of outboard that matches their max power rating. Guess you're in that camp or you over the transome weight too

Si.

Originally It was going to be a 135, but then I realised that the 135/150/175 all shared the same block & the weights were identical. The price difference was £500 between the 135 & 175, I contacted Ribcraft & my insurance company & all were cool with it.

The insurance were more concerned with top speed rather than HP, which imho is how it should be.

Pikey Dave · 28 November 2011, 19:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKBronco2

Fuel consumption numbers with the 115 and the 150 really aren't that good. 9.1 gph at 5500. Must be propped for rpms. I wanted the 115 tohatsu or new df140 on it but I don't think they are going to budge from the package.

I'd like to bet that a bigger engine would be better on fuel, the RC585 mentioned above did 4.5gph (imperial, proper, gallons not prissy little US ones

) at 30kn@ 3750rpm

AKBronco2 · 28 November 2011, 20:19

They have the 150 listed at 27.2mph at 3500 rpms and 5.8gph. Looks much better although specs go to 6000rpms. 13x19 prop. Same 6000rpm redline for 115.