Zodiac pro 420 or X Pro 420

[Bremar]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum and your help would be appreciated.

I've coxed various ribs that weren't mine and have my powerboat 2. My son and I are going to buy a second hand 4.2m rib in next few weeks. Max we have got is £6000. And there appear to be some on eBay around that price or lower. No larger because we are based in Salcombe and that is their max size for a tender classification.

My question is which one of the above ribs is best. the zodiac has deep V fibreglass hull and takes 7 persons max 50hp. The X pro you appear to be able to get as a fibreglass or aluminium hull ( but I don't know if it's deep V or not)

So does anyone have a view on which is the best Rib to buy the Zodiac or Xpro and Alluminium or fibreglass

Thanks Bremar.

[Capt _A]

Stick with the fiberglass hull.

[spartacus]

Welcome to the forum Bremar.

I used to have the Zodiac 7-man pro (renamed 420). It's a great RIB at this size. Few things to be aware of. Zodiac say it will take 7 people, but I think the maximum we had on board were 3 adults and 2 kids and that was just about right.

The tubes are Strongan Duotex (Zodiac's brand of PVC). They also slide on a rail on the hull of the boat which is secured at the bow and at the transom. Cleaning is relatively easy when you deflate. No reason to remove the tubes, but new tube set is available but it's damned expensive.

It's a mid V hull not a deep V so will slap in the rough stuff. You can add 25 litres of fuel under the console and another 25 litres in the rear bench seat.

I used to run mine with a Yamaha 40hp 2-stroke and even managed to squeeze a Tohatsu 3.5 auxiliary engine on as a back-up. 50hp would be nice (max hp rating) but the majority I've seen are 40hp.

The 7-man pro used to have a bow roller which was handy for anchor retrieval. The new boats have moved to a grab handle instead. Up front there's a bow locker, fine for storage of ropes and anchor. You can get a bow cushion which adds another seat for low speed cruising.

Zodiac have a pretty extensive accessory list, but be warned, they know how to charge.

Trailer wise, it sits really well on an Indespension set up, and tows very easily.

This is on boatsandoutboards just now. Nice example: https://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/...c-pro-7/210475

[Bremar]

Thanks for the replies and particularly the detail in your Spartacus.
Does anyone know about reliability of the x pro compared to zodiac. Otherwise we think we will go down the more tried and tested tout of the zodiac.

We looked on line at the rib spotted on boats and outboards. The ribs we have previously coxed have all had jockey seats. Last weekend we tried one with the bench seat arrangement. Even in slightly lumpy water it wasn’t comfortable and we are quite used to fairly rough stuff, so although the one on the link seems ok I now think we will definitely want a jockey seat. Roller coaster trailer would also be a preference too.
Thanks

[Bremar]

Hi thanks for the advise chaps. I have bought a Zodiac 420. 2007. It has evidently come with one of the last Yamaha 40hp 2 strokes. Long shaft. Electric start autolube Power tilt and trim. But I can’t find any match for it’s model number on line. I have printed a Yamaha owners manual pdf for the 40 50 hp 2 stroke US version as that’s the only one I can find.
The model is a 40 YETO.( note not a V it is a Y) 68PK. 1001350. It says it’s a 2006 but model 07. Not due at this i ute about how to do pictures. Thanks in advance.
Does anyone have any link or knowledge of this motor. As google has failed me.