inflatable for sea fishing?

MarcinG

Hi.

I have 17 feet lake boat which i used on sea near greystones few times last year. It is quite safe (fought with big waves few times) but very unpractical to launch and sluggish with 6HP engine - but know from friends that adding even 15HP engine isn't much of improvement). So got an idea of selling lake boat and buying inflatable of 13-15feet with 10-15HP engine. Theory behind:
it will be way way faster, easier to launch (thinking of keeping it inflated on light, flat bed trailer and even try to push it around by hand as in Dublin area i know only 1 slip way which doesn't dry on low water.
In lake boat i would only dare to go out if wind is at 10-15km/h avg with some gusts up to 20? and even so i would keep close to shore.
Can I expect a inflatable to be steadier on the sea? (i faced big waves once in lake boat and couldn't go any faster than idle) what would be recommended size of inflatable and outboard to fish around shore? (south of dublin, wicklow maybe as far as waterford)?

Jim from Cork

I spend a lot of time fishing from my inflatable. I used have a SIB but now fish from a small 3.5m RIB (My real boat is a Warrior 175!). You are correct in your assumptions, fast, easy to launch etc.
It will be certainly steadier when stationary. Most inflatables are fine sea keepers when you get used to them. The only real pain is when a chop come up that is big...it is hard to keep the boat on the plane and in the water without going slow and then there is the potential to ship some water or be uncomfortable.
All told a great way fish.

There's few more clips here as well as the one below
http://www.youtube.com/user/JimfromCork/videos?view=0&flow=grid

MarcinG

Jim from Cork wrote: »

I spend a lot of time fishing from my inflatable. I used have a SIB but now fish from a small 3.5m RIB (My real boat is a Warrior 175!). You are correct in your assumptions, fast, easy to launch etc.

Was it you video on you tube with pollocks and cod (had similar name with soft plastics in title - i watched it good few times some time ago)? If so it was one of my inspirations
I tried to move around 4m SIP with 25HP outboard on it - light as feather comparing to lake boat..

The only real pain is when a chop come up that is big...it is hard to keep the boat on the plane and in the water without going slow and then there is the potential to ship some water or be uncomfortable.

i've seen some people in inflatables (can't tell what type - they were far away)
and they were literally skipping over waves - looks way safer than with my lake boat - at around 6ft waves i couldn't do any faster than idle and boat was drifting sideways on every wave - almost have to change my underpants once i finally made it back to port - from bray to greystones took me 3h !!!
I'm not trying to do anything stupid but want to be able to go out in wind 20km/h+ without bigger problem (no great fishing in such conditions but i'm thinkung only in terms of returning safe to port if weather change without warrning).

Jim from Cork

Yes that would have been my clip too!
I find my RIB very safe in poor weather. As I said, the problem is that you have to slow down...but if the weather is bad there is nothing else to do. A 4M SIB or RIB with a 25hp motor will handle bigger sea than my 3.5.

MarcinG

Jim from Cork wrote: »

Yes that would have been my clip too!

nice job

I find my RIB very safe in poor weather. As I said, the problem is that you have to slow down...but if the weather is bad there is nothing else to do. A 4M SIB or RIB with a 25hp motor will handle bigger sea than my 3.5.

[/quote]

i'm trying to fit in budget of around 2k ?
so ribs are out of reach (i don't want to buy second hand so are zodiacs and other good brands). My first option is kolibri km400d (@ around 1k) i need room for trailer, outboard etc..
maybe km450d as not much more expensive, but bigger SIB negates many of pros of it and requires bigger engine (not good for trolling @ lakes as i may be camping for bank holiday weekend somewhere and don't want to carry too much petrol). my guess 4m SIB with 10 hp should be ok (as you said you can not go too fast in bad weather anyway and i'm not racing but fishing
and if it is not good enough maybe 15hp.
I looked at 4m SIB with 25HP outboard today in marine next to me and it looks light enough to try to launch it in 2 without wet slipway available.

PS. there is 1 more interesting model from Poland it is 3.6m and has greatly reinforced bottom (like thick rubber coat) which is theoretically designed to handle coral reefs and sharp rocks - it may come handy for single man launching over beach.

all have C class and i hope this is good enough.

Jim from Cork

All sounds good!
There are some good deals to be got on Done Deal etc. many of the SIBS/RIBS are in good condition.

One thing....If buying a SIB an aluminium floor is the best option.

MarcinG

Jim from Cork wrote: »

All sounds good!
There are some good deals to be got on Done Deal etc. many of the SIBS/RIBS are in good condition.

One thing....If buying a SIB an aluminium floor is the best option.

Yes only type of floor i'm considering is solid as i don't plan to fold it at all (i'm fishing all year long). if it comes to RIBs friend of mine told me that it isn't uncommon for brand new rib (zodiacs) to go faulty - and on new one i'm at least covered. many inflatables on adverts etc are 3.2m and around which is way to small and on the other hand you have 5k+ ribs which are just insane to buy for odd day of fishing. funny enough guy selling those reinforced inflatables in poland recommended me to get at least 25hp outboard for it (3.6m!) as i described load in neighborhood of 250-300kg. First i need to sell my lake boat to see what kind of money will i have (i also thought of selling boat alone - it should be sufficient to buy SIB and run it with 6HP till i get funds to buy something better
Thank you for all help.

MarcinG

just watching you videos - your rib looks bit small for 2 tall people and gear. i wish to know lotto numbers..

Flysfisher

What is a SIB?

MarcinG

Soft Inflatable Boat and Rigid Inflatable Boat my guess.

Jim from Cork

MarcinG wrote: »

Soft Inflatable Boat and Rigid Inflatable Boat my guess.

Yes defines hull type.
RIB - rigid hul
SIB - soft hull - most do have an air filled keel.

MarcinG

hi there. As i didn't buy anything just yet i have few more questions. I have 2 options to consider:
1 4m inflatable (i was thinking about kolibri km400d - @around 1K euro 4m length it can take about 700kg of load
2 4m rib (zebec) - @around 2k euro but it seems to have less room inside and slightly sloppy deck (inflatable is flat which looks better in terms of using deck space)

inflatable is slightly longer and wider inside (10cm each direction which gives you enough room for lets say fuel tank), has higher capacity (700kg where rib has 600) and it is nearly 20kg heavier (which means it would be steadier - few friends are complaining about light aluminum boats for being very "nervous").
and it will take bigger outboard (30KW where rib will take max of 22KW) and by all these means inflatable looks better choice (+ inflatable will fit to a car where rib won't and it is twice cheaper too!)
What would be an advantage of buying rib? I know that i can possibly buy a bigger or better rib etc. but i'm on rather tight budget.

Jim from Cork

Every boat is a compromise.... there is no ideal boat (unless those lotto numbers come up...). Each has advantages and disadvantages.
The 4m Rib will be a better all round sea keeping boat than the 4m Inflatable. The inflatable will be capable though. The Rib will be faster for the same HP motor.
There is a nice feeling about having a solid hull rather than a soft hull that can get cut up on beaches etc.
It really comes down to your circumstances....all things being equal I would prefer a RIB (I have had both).

MarcinG

thanks. As more important are euro notes i decided ot to waste them and i'm going for zodiac inflatable (typhoon 420) i hope it will be better choice than noname one (rib will have to wait ;( Thank you very much for your help.

MarcinG

As usual i finally got something else. Honda 3.8m honwave airfloor sib. (t38 ie2) (nearly new with warranty etc). floor is rather solid (bounces slightly but i can use it standing no problem and i'm 110kg) and as it relatively fast (30+kmh on calm day with load up to 300kg with 15hp engine) and as it if superb for rivers and calm weather. "But..." when it comes to chop it is all over the shop. Everything bounces up and down it is hard to keep all gear and own ass inside. And i think it has nothing to do with actual rigidity of the hull but more with little weight of the craft so it is just skipping over waves rather than cut them. maybe without gear and with fuel tank attached to boat you could try to go fast but at present in chop it is actually no faster than lake boat was with 6hp outboard. Now here is a question: what makes boat better in such conditions? rigidity/shape of hull or it has more to do with its weight (so it sits deeper in water)? is there any point in messing around with different rib/small open boat designs or just rather stick to inflatable (and calm weather) / collect money for warrior type boat?