Soft inflatable boat - anyone got one?

Slam62 · 4 Mar 2021 at 19:02

Hello there.
I'm researching the possible purchase of a SIB, i am a complete noob. I have been looking at something like a honewave t32 with a 10hp motor or something. Mainly for pottering about in an estuary or river.
Should I be looking at registration, insurance or any other costs?

Thanks

Topdonkey · 4 Mar 2021 at 19:19

Slam62 said:
Hello there.
I'm researching the possible purchase of a SIB, i am a complete noob. I have been looking at something like a Honwave t32 with a 10hp motor or something. Mainly for pottering about in an estuary or river.
Should I be looking at registration, insurance or any other costs?

Thanks

I've got 2, an older Avon airdeck 2.8 SIB and a Zodiac active 5, 3.8M airdeck, I've got a 2.2hp ultra lightweight mercury 2 stroke engine which will power either of them, but not on the plane, and I've got a Yamaha 8HP 2 stroke outboard that is ok on the zodiac but will only slowly plane with 1 person in, 2+ and it doesnt get near planing speeds, but with the 8hp on the lightweight Avon, its very fast and a bit skittish.

The Honwave T32 is a brilliant allround choice, but I'd pair it up with a Suzuki 15hp direct injection 4 stroke engine, the 10 is the same weight as the 15 anyway, so you might as well have the little bit more power to play with, handy when punching a tide when loaded as you'll get less spray coming over the sides when on the plane in any sort of chop

The Honwave T32 paired with the Suzuki 15hp direct injection 4 stroke would be my ideal choice if I was doing it all again and would be as happy on the rivers ticking over at 5 knots as it would be doing 20 knots at sea !

I'm not sure about registration or insurance or anything as i use mine at sea in Weymouth and its covered under my bigger boats insurance, but I believe there is a river license you might need depending on the river you will be using it on

[FnG]magnolia · 4 Mar 2021 at 19:20

Can't you just hide the bodies in a forest like me everyone else does?

Slam62 · 4 Mar 2021 at 19:27

Topdonkey said:
I've got 2, an older Avon airdeck 2.8 SIB and a Zodiac active 5, 3.8M airdeck, I've got a 2.2hp ultra lightweight mercury 2 stroke engine which will power either of them, but not on the plane, and I've got a Yamaha 8HP 2 stroke outboard that is ok on the zodiac but will only slowly plane with 1 person in, 2+ and it doesnt get near planing speeds, but with the 8hp on the lightweight Avon, its very fast and a bit skittish.

The Honwave T32 is a brilliant allround choice, but I'd pair it up with a Suzuki 15hp direct injection 4 stroke engine, the 10 is the same weight as the 15 anyway, so you might as well have the little bit more power to play with, handy when punching a tide when loaded as you'll get less spray coming over the sides when on the plane in any sort of chop

The Honwave T32 paired with the Suzuki 15hp direct injection 4 stroke would be my ideal choice if I was doing it all again and would be as happy on the rivers ticking over at 5 knots as it would be doing 20 knots at sea !

I'm not sure about registration or insurance or anything as i use mine at sea in Weymouth and its covered under my bigger boats insurance, but I believe there is a river license you might need depending on the river you will be using it on

Wow thanks sounds great

Slam62 · 4 Mar 2021 at 19:27

[FnG]magnolia said:
Can't you just hide the bodies in a forest like me everyone else does?

You're going to get caught

dirtychinchilla · 4 Mar 2021 at 19:45

I've got a soft one. Not a boat though sadly.

Feek · 4 Mar 2021 at 19:56

/me moves the thread to ‘on the water’.

Oh wait....

Diddums · 4 Mar 2021 at 20:08

Needs this tbh

boat go vroom vroom

Slam62 · 4 Mar 2021 at 20:08

dirtychinchilla said:
I've got a soft one. Not a boat though sadly.

Have you got a soft bottom?

PapaLazaru · 4 Mar 2021 at 21:08

Feek said:
/me moves the thread to ‘on the water’.

Oh wait....

As an owner of four water vessels, I would like that subforum to return.

ShiWarrior · 4 Mar 2021 at 21:31

shouldn't it go under motors ?
unless of course its a paddle boat

Rannoch · 4 Mar 2021 at 21:33

[FnG]magnolia said:
Can't you just hide the bodies in a forest like me everyone else does?

Better to dump them somewhere deep. Like Loch Rannoch, has some very deep parts so I'm told

user_name · 5 Mar 2021 at 10:11

I've got a honwave T32 (airdeck) with an 8hp 2t Yamaha outboard
Again I wish I had gone for a more powerful 4t as I wanna hit the sea with it but haven't got the bottle yet haha but an 8/10hp engine will be fine for Goin up and down rivers.
Think some inland waterways require registration on and 3rd party insurance?

Angilion · 6 Mar 2021 at 05:35

[FnG]magnolia said:
Can't you just hide the bodies in a forest like me everyone else does?

A dog will find the bodies, bring part of one to its owner and then CSI will find your face by enchancing the dashcam recording of a raindrop on a windscreen that was reflecting the blurry faint image of you in the rear view mirror of a car that was passing by a mile away. I've seen TV. I know how it works.

The Funktopus · 6 Mar 2021 at 14:19

I wouldn’t buy an inflatable boat personally, they’re a let down in the end.

Angilion · 7 Mar 2021 at 06:40

The Funktopus said:
I wouldn’t buy an inflatable boat personally, they’re a let down in the end.

Quality pun. Thanks for the giggle I got from it.

englishpremier · 7 Mar 2021 at 18:41

I used to have an Excel Volante 2.7m inflatable. It's rated C so if good for use up to F6. I used in 25knt plus winds.

It would plane with one person and my 8hp 2 stroke Yamaha at a frightening 17knts at which point it feel like you were going to go back in time.

2-up it would do about 14 knts.

I changed to a 2.7m RIB eventually though as Excel was badly damaged by UV in just 2 years. The rib was smaller, and much slower, but handled better, was drier, and all round a better boat.

It's currently on my boat that is drifting somewhere in the Caribbean Sea. If you find it you can have it.

Angilion · 7 Mar 2021 at 19:02

englishpremier said:
[..] It's currently on my boat that is drifting somewhere in the Caribbean Sea. If you find it you can have it.

There's a story there - how did you lose a boat?

Jez · 7 Mar 2021 at 19:23

Angilion said:
There's a story there - how did you lose a boat?

Intrigued too, this sounds like an interesting story!

englishpremier · 7 Mar 2021 at 19:40

Angilion said:
There's a story there - how did you lose a boat?

Jez said:
Intrigued too, this sounds like an interesting story!

I was trying to beat windward from Bonaire to Sint Maartin. Tore my sails and the repairs didn't hold so had to motor, but didn't have enough fuel (it is a sail boat after all). Bad weather came earlier than forecast, which meant only making 2-3knts motoring. Trying to sail with what I had would see the boat round up into the weather.

I sent out a pan pan on 30/12 every couple of hours when I was about 80nm south of USVI, but got no response for a 24 hours. The weather was deteriorating and the boat was basically adrift. Eventually saw a ship on AIS so messaged them and asked them to relay to the US coast guard. Baked a pizza whilst I waited for the coast guard to come some 15 hours later. The plan was they would come and refuel the boat and escort me to Puerto Rico. The boat had drifted 20nm west, so was now 100nm south of PR.

They tried to and tried to refuel my boat but the sea was too rough for them to position the cutter and get a line across. During one of their attempts we noticed steering damage, which meant covering the distance to Puerto Rico was going too difficult. They couldn't tow the boat as they couldn't go less than 5-6 knots. Those speeds would have torn my boat apart going directly into the wind.

One possible option to was to try to sail downwind but Mexico and Central America was some 1000nm away. Perhaps to Dominican Republic could have been managed, but who knows, it was too rough to be messing about changing sail plans on the foredeck. The weather was set in for 5 days so waiting it out wasn't really going to help either.

So I spent NYE on the US Coastguard cutter, then got delivered to PR where I was shackled and cuffed for entering the country without a visa. They drove me to an immigration centre where I given a visa and all fees waived, then sent on my way to enjoy the US.

Pretty much lost everything I own bar what I took from the boat before leaving.

https://www.maritime-executive.com/...tanker-aid-us-coast-guard-in-rescue-of-sailor

They only managed to get my name and age wrong in the article. It also says 7' seas but they were higher than that by the time I was preparing to leave. One hit the boat beam on and ripped out the galley.