Small craft for Guernsey

[portinfer]

I was interested by Mart's recent post about those Mac boats > Mac Boats

How about some of the smaller ones ?

This one took my fancy for small and compact (calm days out from the shore) :
Mac Attack : Marine Revolution. Mac Boat Products/ Mac 360 series Page

One up from a kayak but down from a larger boat ? Any good or too small ?!

Cheers
Ed

 

[Pastor]

Or there's boats for spearos SEMIRRÍGIDAS OMER

 

[abusingelves]

personally if i was getting a water craft, and going any bigger than a kayak, i'd get a decent RIB. good all weather, and they have a great range. and i've heard they're kind of FASTTTT................

was looking on ebay there lately, and some ok ribs are going fairly cheaply. that said you wouldn't get a 25o HP engine with that.

 

[foxfish]

The problem with ribs from the Guernsey mans perspective revolve around a few issues.
We have tiny narrow lanes to drive around on, not at all suitable for towing a boat on.
Rib float tubes soon deteriorate in the sun wind & general outdoor conditions we get when the boat is kept on a mooring.
We go fishing with hooks, we set long lines with lots of hooks & we go diving with sharp spears & carry gaffs on board.

 

[portinfer]

Yeah sort of thinking light easy to use boat for short distances - 'superdinghy stylee' but lighter. maybe I need to find a nice carbon/kevlar superdinghy = or find someone with a mold.... Can't think who has one !

 

[Marwan]

aaahh my favourite topic..ill keep my mouth shut ill leave you with this though...i got a 4.2m RIB with 40 HP still to be delivered mid arpil..
those mac boats look the part definitely..

 

[loops]

Hi guys l have a 6.5mtr tornado with a 200hp on the back.... l use this for diving the outside heads of jsy and around herm and gsy.. l also have the use of a 3mtr avon rib which has a hard bottom.... we use this many for going up the gutters and in lagoons on jsy`s south-east coast.... which is simmilar to your west....to me ribs are the best boats for spearfishing from..

 

[portinfer]

I guess my criteria are that it needs to be able to be dumped in a small gareden and man-handled by just two people (ie light). Not sure how light the mac boats are ?

 

[foxfish]

This one weighs 100 kg Marine Revolution. Smartwave AV3500
This one 105kg Pioner 12 - Ideal for rowing, roller wheel, drain bung - Pioner Boats
Ally boats = planning hull 109kg displacement 84kg Linder Aluminium boats from OSM in Cornwall UK
However if you want really light 31kg A Folding Foldable Portable Fishing Boat And Dinghy By Porta-Bote Portabote Porta-Boat Portaboat Foldboat * Portabot
PS ED I have a potabote in my back garden.

 

[Marwan]

I guess my criteria are that it needs to be able to be dumped in a small gareden and man-handled by just two people (ie light). Not sure how light the mac boats are ?

i think both the RIB and these mac boats can be easily handled by one person, as long as you are launching from a slip and not from the beach on soft sand..i used to have 4.8m rib with 60HP that i was launching from the slip all by myself, you dont need a 4x4 either..if the mac boats were available for me here i would have given them serious consideration, they basically resolve the downsides of the RIB ( puncture prone, sunlight damage etc...)without being much heavier...would be a good choice for spearfishing..

 

[KWM]

Note all of the comments with interest, but none of the other boats seem to be as easy to get in or out of as one with inflatable tubes, which sit low in the water when not moving.

Kev

 

[loops]

thats depends on the hull design....alot of the new ribs(over 6m) have there tubes out of the water. this reduces drag etc.. the down side to ribs are the handles, from experince they can rip your suit...

 

[foxfish]

This one weight 115kg & gives 30 knots with a 25hp Marine Revolution. Mac Boat Products/ Mac 360 series Page
In Eds case he lives below the high tide mark about 50mts from the beach! so I am not sure how he plans on getting the boat back & forwards from the sea? It is not just the boats weight that is a concern but the boat & motor combined weight.
I had great fun in my potabote & found it easy to drive down the beach with in on my roof rack, build the boat on the shore line & put the 5hp motor on the back.

 

[loops]

if he wants to be really lazy, l have seen a 5mtr rib which has 3 hydraulic wheels which can be lowered and it can be driven like a car....

 

[Magpie]

One of our lot has been on that wheeled rib, I seem to remember a picture a year or two back of it driving up the beach in herm for a wedding reception or something.

Ed, as your cars knackered you could kill two birds with one stone:

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DUKW]DUKW - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

[Andy.Round]

Here you go last year 4th August how could I forget :inlove

At £30k a pop a bit expensive though and high maintenance because its all hydraulic pumps run off a separate engine.

I used to have a 6m rib was OK but prefer what I have now it has a boarding ladder at the stern with a gate so very easy to get on and off. I have a small inflatable tender with a 2.5hp which I have used to go out to the prosperity (on a calm Day)

 

[Jonny250]

There's some ducks on Jersey now - 1 in operation so far and another on the way - castle tours i think... pretty cool, but maybe not so good for Portinfer!
if you know a good alu welder then i can draw up a kit for an ally boat which you could get cnc cut. here's one i drew earlier - it could do with at least 1 more bench seat and a transom platform, but is quite functional and carries reserve buoyancy, so can take a swamping...:
The Marine Revolution boats are good too.

 

[portinfer]

Nah Tom think I'll pass on that one !
John - PM sent re music - passed on your details - expect a call when he is back - may not suit you...
As for the ali boat - nice idea ! like Mart's in a way. Can you draw up smaller boats ?

Cheers
Ed

 

[glowworm]

I have been spearfishing from a DUKW as the guy who used to own Portland Oceaneering had one.I'm pretty sure there was a picture on the Dorset forum which i will try and find.

A real bugger to get back in afterwards and truth be known a bit slow.

 

[Jonny250]

Can you draw up smaller boats ?

yes, can do, but there's not much boat left then ;-) more importantly, if you use alu for less than say 3.5m the plating is relatively heavy for the size - welding less than 4mm alu is very hard as it distorts alot. this is where the plastic boats come in to their own..
you could make a small plywood/glass boat from the same type of kit - cheaper, easier & lighter.