Excel Volaire RD 390 - Pictures and keel jumping

[harrison]

Hi Ross,

Nothing wrong with Barnet Marine as far as I know. Purchased a good few items from them over the years including a couple of sibs various motors, and my current rib. One of the largest Mercury dealers in the UK and usually keen pricing.

Hey if you like black tubes go for it. Yes, they will get a tad warmer when on the rare occasions the sun comes out, so do need to be a little more wary of pressure increases than light coloured tubes. Not perceived a major problem though in our temperate climes. Also the Excels are all fitted as standard with prv’s, which gives a bit extra peace of mind when moored up and enjoying a beer in the midday sun.

[Brerabit]

It’s a fact @Ross-L that dark surfaces will absorb more heat than light ones but that doesn’t make pale tubes immune from heat soak and as a large part of the T38 is navy blue, it’s starting to become a moot point. Also as @harrison said, all 4 chambers have a pressure relief valves. I did notice it stiffening up a bit when I left it out in the garden all afternoon but I suspect if it was on water that would probably be mitigated.

I think Excel can do the Volaire in a number of colours including grey, navy and red to order but at the moment the only UK stock is black. I’ve grown to really like the black but I know its not for everyone.

[harrison]

Also as @harrison said, all 4 chambers have a pressure relief valves.

Hmm, not quite.

Excel fit prv’s to the front tube chamber only plus one for the floor. Theory is if front chamber prv blows then the baffles will flex forwards effectively reducing/equalising pressure in the rear compartments.

PS: Honwaves are a bleedin pain having dark blue rear sponsons....get far hotter than the light grey front section. Only mitigating factor is the rear sponsons sit lower so more contact area with water.

[Ross-L]

Yeah I thought the heat wouldn't be an issue esp with those relief valves, it might even be a benefit making the material softer for when you're folding it up
Hope to be posting pictures of mine in the coming weeks if all goes to plan.

Ross

[harrison]

Hey Ross,

I wouldn’t go as far to say heat isn’t an issue at all. Light or dark tubes will require some management throughout the day if hot and sunny, particularly if boat is out of the water.

Just bear in mind dark tubes will require that bit more attention than light ones to Solar gain....all manageable though.

[Brerabit]

Harrison is absolutely right, the rear tubes don’t have their own PRV’s instead relying on a large bulbous internal baffle between the side tubes and the bow. Not only does this enable some equalisation across all three tubes but any pressure reduction in the bow tub if its PRV operates, will be transferred to the side tubes equally.

But as @harrison said all inflatables are going to be affected by heat soak increasing the air volume and consequently the pressure. It just means that on those rare occasions when it gets ‘scorchio’ in the UK (and marginally rarer in Scotland) you might have to let a bit more air out of a dark one than a light one - which might amount to your finger on the valve for a second or two longer.

If you do go for it, I’m sure you’ll be as pleased as I am with mine.
The only proviso I would add is that choosing and fitting launch wheels to the Volaire has been nearly as much of a pain as it is on the Honwaves but fortunately for you I've broken through the pain barrier and think I've got it licked. The hardwood spacers that were fitted to mine to miss the anti-splash webs, aren’t working as well as I’d like and I’m just sorting out some solid aluminium spacers which I’m pretty confident will sort it. As soon as I’ve done that I’ll post it on here and give the details to Excel but it will be basically a couple of slabs of Ebay aluminium bar, ordered to length and then drilled with two 10mm holes so nothing too challenging. On the plus side, once securely mounted the click-in leg mounts are much easier to use with no separate fiddly pins to locate or lose and being only slightly cranked, the legs are very stable.

[chris moody]

It's a shame there is only one PRV, if fitted I'd prefer one per chamber. I guess the workaround is to inflate the bow chamber to half pressure, then bring the rear chambers up to the same pressure. Then inflate the bow to full pressure, following on with the rear chambers. That way you know the baffles are fully towards the stern. Then you have the maximum baffle travel if the aft chambers do go over pressure in the heat.

It will be interesting to see if the aluminium spacers rectify the wheel mounting issue. Just a thought, could the anti splash webs be trimmed down in size at all?

[Brerabit]

I’ve been tempted to trim the outer edge of the lower webs but resisted it so far. I think I need to hang out over the back and see how much work they’re actually doing before I do.

The current spacers are 50x50mm hardwood but I’ve ordered 50x37mm aluminium as I know there’s at least that much give in the fabric. If it turns out there’s scope for further reduction, I’ll post it for the next fabricator’s benefit.

[chris moody]

It’s strange. Transom wheels are an amazingly clever idea, allowing you to easily beach your Sib for a lunchtime stop. But none of the manufacturers seem to be able to make them work properly.

[harrison]

Zodiac made/make ridiculously expensive but very robust transom wheels for the Aerotec/Futura/Commando boats. Have to unbolt to raise so bit of a faff to use...and with pre installed fixings at top and bottom of transom indestructible no less. Most aftermarket wheels fail due to fixings far to close together vertically...just incapable to resist the turning moments exerted over rough terrain/soft sand.
Also not helped by boat manufacturers adding extended trim tabs, splash flaps etc etc. Non of which are needed if motor height/ trim set correctly.

Zodiac Z61110 transom wheels