At the beginning of last season I discovered that there is a small leak in the airfloor of my Honwave T38 and I decided that a replacement is in order.
With lockdowns etc and the work on our dory style boat, the process of replacing the Honwave had taken rather longer than I would have liked.
I was perusing eBay one day when I stumbled across an Aerotec 380 for £500. One day remaining and no bids.
Ever since I first saw pictures of one I have been keen on the Aerotec and deeply lamented the fact that it was out of production. They feature a deep V inflatable floor which runs the length of the boat, rather than the ‘V at the front - flat at the back’ approach of the Honwave.
With my local water being the Solent (the stretch of water between the UK mainland and the Isle of Wight) I wanted something which would handle the chop nicely, as the tides produce some nasty pyramid shaped waves, and I figured the Aerotec would fit the bill.
So I kept an eye on the auction and put a bid in at the end. I bid £640. I lost. Miffed was I.
A day later I got a second chance email from the seller, offering it me for my top bid of £640. Most pleased was I!
A slight wrinkle - the boat was up near Newcastle and collection only; a good 300+ miles away. Thankfully my retired parents live near Sheffield and they offered to go and collect it for me.
- Collection Day
I brought it back and inflated it in the back garden.
The boat is a 2014 ex-display unit, purchased from Pennine Marine. The original owner has had a number of engines mounted on it and over time has modified the transom several times - the final modification being to return it to stock height and add a stainless steel reinforcement plate to it.
- Reinforced transom
Also - the addition of the steel sheets made the transom too wide and my engine would not fit. Most vexing.
I removed the plywood plate from the rear of the transom for the purpose of being able to run the boat today and I will replace it with a thinner one.
This morning my cousin and I (who have been bubbled throughout lockdown) headed down to Baiter in Poole for the maiden.
- Ready to Go
After some time to warm up the engine I opened the taps. We popped up onto the plane easily and the boat tracked straight as a die. Then I looked at the transom and saw water pouring in over the back from the spray hitting the leg
It is a common problem with the Aerotec that you get a lot of splashing at the rear. This appears to be caused by a combination of the profile at the trailing edge of the transom and the height of the engine. There is a wonderful drawing of the problem which was posted on the other channel, and if the original poster reads this maybe they could post it here (hint
)A bit of experimenting with boat loading and speed and I found that if I kept the speed down to about 14 knots we could cruise quite happily without emptying the harbour into the bilge!
- Swanage from the Sea
- Beached at Swanage
From there we popped across the bay to Bournemouth Pier before returning to Baiter.
- Approaching Bournemouth
The Honwave is about 3 to 4 knots faster, given the same engine and prop. I might be able to close that gap if I raise the engine a bit - we will have to see.
The Aerotec feels smaller, as it is narrower and more pointed, but it feels more “planted” than the Honwave.
The Aerotec turns like no sib I have ever come across. Tight and direct - no slipping sidewards - almost like a rigid hull.
In light chop and crossing wakes the Aerotec beats the Honwave hands down. It doesn’t slap like the Honwave does. This is entirely down to the hull shape.
There isn’t as much leg room in the Aerotec. Because it is narrower and the edges of the floor are angled up I cannot sit on the tube and put my legs out straight.
Didn’t stop me grinning like a fool though!
- Happy Monkey
Watch this space!
