• Welcome to the DeeperBlue.com Forums, the largest online community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing. To gain full access to the DeeperBlue.com Forums you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:

    • Join over 44,280+ fellow diving enthusiasts from around the world on this forum
    • Participate in and browse from over 516,210+ posts.
    • Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
    • Post your own photos or view from 7,441+ user submitted images.
    • All this and much more...

    You can gain access to all this absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!

Advice on inflatables & outboards

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

Before I upgraded to my Seagull, I had a 15hp Mariner Marathon on the back of my 3.4 Avon. Stupidly fast with just me in it, but still quick with three people and kit. The motor weighed bugger all in comparison to the new 4 strokes.
 
Chris the 4 strokes are fairly heavy but when you only lifting from the car to the transom it really doesnt matter and with launch wheels on its easy.

Bro loving the pics mate shame about the sib falling apart 80 quid was a bargain
 

The boat is a Europa Sport - Europa Sport RIBs and Inflatable Boats - it's actually a very nice little boat, designed in the UK. I've spoken to one of the guys at Europa, he told me that they used to sell a lot of HonWave (Honda) boats which were great but ran into troubles after about 3 years of use. They redesigned the HonWave to produce their own range which were meant to be more robust.

Their range is super light, all boats around 34kg if I remember correctly - I'd love one of their 3.2 meter inflatable hull, air deck boats. It's got a rigid floor section and is apparently really good.

My bargaining down to £80 was mainly based on the fact that 1) it wasn't the boat advertised, 2) it was muddy (river use), 3) the pump was busted and 4) I couldn't inflate the air deck because there was a hole in it so I didn't know that it would actually inflate.

Jonny250 said:
nice pics Bros
Click to expand...

Cheers matey, that was back in June - pretty much the boat's only journey this season.

scottwilson said:
Bro loving the pics mate shame about the sib falling apart 80 quid was a bargain
Click to expand...

It hasn't fallen apart mate, it just had a little puncture - I think quite a few of our troubles we had (planing, wobbly floor etc) were caused by not having the air deck inflated fully enough - we had not idea how solid to make it and we couldn't add more air once we were down as we'd got boat yard to fill it for us.

Ronnie said:
Hello sailor!
Click to expand...

Glad you like it Ronnie - the hat was a little present from DaffydRees
 
Last edited by a moderator:
One more thing Terry, if you want to go light, get a 2 stroke. My 15hp weighs 32kg which is almost 20kg lighter than the equivalent 4 stroke.
 
I second that bro the 2 strokes are far lighter than 4 strokes.

Those air decs need to be rock hard otherwise they a nightmare. You ask trelawny about that
 
Terry I had a Avon 3.4 with a 15hp 2 stroke on. It had launching wheels. I could launch it most places. I sold the 3.4 to Chris (Trelawney) I bought a new Avon 3.4. Great boat and well made. It can be rowed with normal paddles not like most of the new type inflatables. Get the biggest boat you can handle on your own. Same with the engine. I thought once I would take my dads 6hp which made it lighter for me to launch with. Bad idea,the boat was so slow I got cold between dives. My new 3.4 been in the garage 5 years now without seeing the sea. Spoilt now I have the C-ski
 
Lots of helpful advice, but it is easy to get to drawn in to bigger, faster = better , which to some extent is true , from my understanding 2 strokes are no longer available (new ) and if I have an outfit that is a struggle then I may well be put off using it which defeats the purpose really !! I do not need to cover great distances quickly , but some sites are quite laborious to get to in my kayak , it's always nice to hear from others experience though !
 
Theres no shortage of 2 stroke parts on the mainland terry so buying a 2nd hand 2 stroke is not a bad idea. A small inflatable fully loaded with all the spearo gear plus anchor and all the other gumpf that comes with boating powered by a small engine in a good tide will be like piggy backing on a fat kid at an all u can eat buffet.... you will be going no where

The current at teignmouth for example is insane when its running and approaching the slipway you'll be glad for the extra throttle.
.you more than welcome to come out on mine to get a better idea of whats available
 
Cheers Scott , I would welcome any chance for a trip out in your boat ! Does it have a rigid floor ? Yes the current can be mad at Teignmouth , I have been in and out in my kayak a few times , but you just have to "go with the flow" as they say , or get out and drag/carry it through the worst bits !! Terry...
 
Great how about Polly steps tomorrow around 5pm. With 2 in my boat it will be the same as 1 up with a 6hp.
 
Owning a two stroke is a bit like eating a mullet to me!
Stinky things that pass out a lot of s..t & can be killed really easy!

Four strokes are getting lighter & closing the weight difference but the reliability, clean operation & most importantly to me, the slow running capability make a F/S a much better long term buy.

Personly I think the most important decision is more about a roof rack rig or a trailer rig.. if you can store a trailer boat rig everything changes.
Motor weight becomes far less significant but a ridged boat make one hell of a difference!
Small V hull ally boats or polythene boats are virtually indestructible & oh so much more capable than a soft floor rubber duck!
Of course that is not to say a small inflatable & 2/S is not any good, as thousands of folk have great fun with such rigs it just that if I had the choice I would much prefer a hard boat & 4/S combination.

I would also say that I am really surprised Jet Skis are so rarely considered?
 
Foxfish , I have used 2 stroke chainsaws for most of my life and they are absolutely superb for reliability , virtually no maintenance apart from cleaning , and they are also ( believe it or not ) available with catalytic converters !! which really amuses some people when you say a chainsaw is good for the environment . But you are right they are bloody noisy , costly to run , and unless I buy second hand not really an option and would definately prefer a 4 stroke but power to weight ratio is substantial !! Terry...
 
Hi Terry, certainly not out to ague in any way but chainsaws are not used at sea!
I am a fan of two stoke motor bikes myself & love the roar of modern fuel injection two stroke outboard motors!
My main gripe with the small carburettor two strokes comes from their tendency to oil up spark plugs due to slow running or prolonged tick over.
 
Reactions: fcallagy
Boats use an awful lot of petrol - 4Stroke outboards use a bit less than 2stroke.

What usually kills outboards is the combination of steel and aluminium which seizes fastners. Once you can't take them apart without shearing all the bolts, it's time for a new one.
 
scottwilson said:
Its an inflatble airdeck mate. Are you free most evenings?
Click to expand...

Run Terry! Escape while you can! I speak from experience from being Scotts boat bitch.
Tip: Take your own pump. The one Scott provides you to use is rubbish.
 
Apologies in advance for thread jacking, but recently found a picture of myself driving the boat to school in the 1970's. 25HP Johnson on the back of a 13' Dell Quay dory - that was the family's main mode of transport at the time:

 
Reactions: Mr. X
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…