Excel Volaire 390 - First Impressions

[Brerabit]

Eventually got my new boat in the water yesterday and I am so happy.
Came up to Loch Etive on Sunday and although the weather forecast was not good for Monday I was still hoping it might swing away at the last minute.
Not a chance - it just got worse.
I’ve done some daft things but as a total novice, I’m not going out in a blow-up boat when it’s gusting to F8. The wind dropped a bit towards the end of the day but only to make way for torrential rain.

Tuesday was a different matter, after a slight delay trying to scrounge anything that would substitute for the pump hose I’d left behind (schoolboy error #1) I eventually got it inflated and in the water by around 09:00. I’m running in a new 20hp Mercury so the first hour or two were quite sedate which is just as well as this is a whole new experience for me.

Got a bit of a fright when having chugged right up to the far end of the loch, I throttled right back to idle and was just taking in the view when the motor suddenly stopped. I didn’t panic, well not at first, I just thought maybe the idle needs setting a little higher, tight engine etc.. It was when I tried to restart it and the cord wouldn’t budge that I was convinced the engine had seized.
I’m guessing a lot of you have already worked out that it needs to be in neutral to start (schoolboy error #2).

After that little trauma the rest of the day, and the boat, went perfectly. As previously stated, I have no previous experience with boats so it’s difficult for me to provide either an objective or qualified opinion on the Excel Volaire 390 so all I can say is that it doesn’t seem to have any vices and in my untrained hand seems very responsive and controllable. It seems to ride almost level to the water on plane with the bow raised no more than it needs to be and also seems to be a very stable and flat ride.

I’m currently trimmed at position 2. I wanted to try other settings but I found great difficulty leaning over the back of the boat, taking the weight off the motor and then trying to remove and replace the pin without dropping it in 400ft of water. So maybe things could be improved, but I don’t know how.

As you would expect with 20hp and only one-up, there’s no problem getting onto the plane, it’s almost instant. In fact I’ll need to practise doing it a little more gradually to avoid the dramatic jump over the hump.

By the end of the day the motor was theoretically run-in, although I’ll still be treating it relatively gently for a little while longer - but it was run-in enough to give it the beans for short bursts which was very satisfying. It seems to accelerate quite rapidly to about 25mph and then take a few seconds longer to pass 26mph and then hit what seems to be its limit at 27mph. I tried three times up and down the lock and exactly the same happened every time. Perhaps with better trimming and the motor loosened up a tad that might improve but I’m more than happy especially as it seems so stable and fuss free doing it.

I was out on the loch for just over 11 hrs non-stop and by the time I got back to the beach both the tanks and me were running on empty. What I really didn’t need was for one of the launch wheels to semi-collapse on me and leave me trying to drag 100kgs of boat and motor up a stoney beach. It took me just over one hour to move it 25mtrs but all that was quickly forgotten - once I’d regained consciousness and remembered what a fantastic day I’d had.

[ChrisParish]

Excellent!
What happened to the wheel?

[Bigplumbs]

Well done and very good write up. I bet you had a huge smile on your face when you got home.

Be careful however as this boating lark can be addictive and all of a sudden you wallet keep emptying

Dennis

[chris moody]

It sounds like you had a great maiden voyage.

It's going to be really interesting comparing the T38ie, Volaire 390 and Volante SD360 later on this month, I can't wait

[Brerabit]

Just got back from Scotland.

What happened to the wheel?

Although the Volaire doesn’t have extended trim tabs to send its wheel struts through contortions, it does have what could be described as anti-splash webs in the form of triangular patches between transom and tubes, top and bottom on each side. These required the legs for the wheels to be spaced out by about 2” off the transom to clear the lower webs. Unfortunately, and I don’t know yet why, these are not holding the legs upright in fact they appear free to swivel about fifteen degrees in either direction. It’ll be clearer when I can post an image. The problem is that apart from looking drunk, if they swing outwards the top of the tyre starts rubbing on the bottom of the tubes which makes them almost impossible to rotate. Which is probably just as well as I’d be grinding sand and grit into the fabric.

But that’s just the wheels, the boat was great and fortunately the wheels didn’t cause me a problem until the end of the day.

Actually, that’s not strictly true as I now need to own up to schoolboy error #3. I was so pleased with myself when I launched it, I’d remembered to open the fuel vent, got it started and headed off tentatively down the loch that it took a little while to realise that all the splashing at the back was due to the submerged launch wheels. If you want another laugh, I then got smacked in the face by one as I’d had to lean right over the back to disengage it, only for it to then violently pivot upwards powered by buoyancy and leave a knobbly tread pattern on my forehead for a while.

But that apart Chris you’re right, I had a fantastic day and I love my new boat. I’m really looking forward to the trial as well - and I’ve now had it on good authority that you’re likely to be impressed…

[Brerabit]

I meant to add this-

What a place to have your first boating experience!

[ChrisParish]

Wow. As someone currently stuck on a night shift in a windowless room, I really wish I was somewhere as beautiful as that.

[chris moody]

I guess Paul B told you about my wheel schoolboy error @Brerabit. Awesome photo do you have any more?

[Brerabit]

Wow. As someone currently stuck on a night shift in a windowless room, I really wish I was somewhere as beautiful as that.

It really is unbelievably beautiful up there. If you haven't been Chris, I strongly recommend you put it on your list - and I know a lovely little apartment about 200 mtrs from the beach.

I guess Paul B told you about my wheel schoolboy error @Brerabit. Awesome photo do you have any more?

You do him wrong sir - he never mentioned a thing.
But now you've mentioned it, you're going to have to fess up...

Not a lot more pics - I had my hands full at the time. Although I did shoot about one minute of video in the same location from a standing start to flat out into that view. I've re-watched it and it gives me goose bumps.

[ChrisParish]

Any chance we can convince you to upload that video to YouTube and share it?