F-Ribs And Sibs - Inflatable Boat Community

Hi everyone,

I'm glad to have found this forum. I am just getting into boating and recently found an inflatable boat at my local Costco store. The boat is made by Bestway and is called Mirovia Hydroforce. It is about 3.3m and has 4 metal floorboards with 2 x ~0.9m bench seats. It sat in my garage unused for a few months until I recently acquired a 9.9hp 4 stroke Honda engine. Last week we took the boat out for a tour along the Florida gulf coast beaches and had lots of fun. Now I am interested in outfitting this boat for Florida gulf coast shoreline fishing.

In terms of accessories, today I installed Seamax 16" transom wheels which are very sturdy. I have a new Seamax bench bag for the back bench as well. I've ordered some additional small d-rings and some 2 step glue to install inside the boat so we can strap cooler somewhere on the boat. I also ordered a couple of additional handles to install for passengers to hold on easily. I'm planning to keep live bait in bucket and pull alongside. On order I have some RIBports from Railblaza which are peel and stick and I am planning to attach rod holders.

Any other recommendations for must have gear?

One thing we have had trouble with is pulling the boat out of the ramp after being out in the ocean. The boat has what I think is called a self bailing drain plug but the water does not drain out quickly at the ramp. Any advice here? Should I install another drain plug next to the current one that I can just pull to let the water out quickly?

Also, in case we get stuck out at night I was thinking of ordering another RIBport with battery light from Railblaza but perhaps there is a better or easier solution to consider here?

As I consider upgrades to my new boat (my wife calls it a raft), I'm trying to keep in mind that whatever I add needs to fold easily.

Any advice? I'm really just getting started but I'm so excited at the prospect of having a fishing vessel that I can store easily in the corner of my garage next to small outboard engine stand and throw bag and engine in the back of my minivan to take out whenever I want. I don't have an easy place to store a trailer so this is the best solution for me.

Hi and to the forum!

I have seen those boats in Costco here in the UK and they looked like a bargain. Is it this one? It sounds like you have got a pretty good idea of what you want to do with your boat.
I’m not sure I follow you with the live bait - are you saying that you would keep the bucket in the sea and pull it alongside? If so then the drag from this would be utterly monsterous! A better idea would be to convert a cooler and use a 12v pump to slowly circulate sea water through it. The cooler will also double as a seat (and a cooler when not carrying bait!)

With regards to getting the boat up the slip - two recommendations:

• Move the heavy stuff to the back
• Get yourself some padded straps (the kind they use for kite flying) and attach these to the little metal handle under the bow. You won’t believe how much difference they make!

I don’t know anything about lighting etc, so I will let someone else chime in now!

Chris

Great recommendations. Thank you!!

Welcome aboard! From the same side of the pond. What part of Florida?

I've never had that much issue with water in my boat. I wonder why you take on and retain so much? Definitely sounds like the drain plugs are working correctly. Are they reversed?

Hi Speedra, Welcome aboard

The Railblaza gear is top top, I use it myself. The rod holders should be fine using the 3M VHB pads, but do make sure you prepare the area correctly to maximise the adhesion.
The Railblaza lights are expensive but are a superb thing, several different version available to suit your needs..
The all white or tri colour are readily available on the internet.
Alternative cheaper lighting could be available if you were to look at installing a battery for powering devices, but that starts adding more weight, time and makes the launching process a little longer.. that’s why I don’t have that sort of gear fitted.

Hydroforce boats pop up in conversation every now and again, at first I think many classed them more as toys rather than a decent inflatable for adult use, They’ve got a small following of late and are growing in popularity.
I’m not too sure of the pvc strength or build quality, time will tell us that no doubt.

Chris has highlighted some great ideas/mods,

As 9-R quotes, I’ve actually seen images of a drain bung installed the wrong way around, if you can take a picture of the possible offending part we can help advise better. I’m guessing it’ll be the flappy flat rubber inner valve with an end cap.

Enjoy the forum

Martin

Thanks to everyone for the great advice. We are having a great time with the boat. I’m finding that as I add more gear/bags/coolers etc, the boat is not planing as well with our family of 5 on board. We have a 9.9hp Honda 4 stroke with about 225kg total person weight among our Motley Crew. With good distribution it gets very close but not quite. Does anyone have experience with adding a hydrofoil above the engine propeller? Does this help? Are there any downsides to adding the hydrofoil? Does hydrofoil make it more difficult to use at slow speeds or in shallow water?

A hydrofoil can slow you down a little as it adds more drag - however the benefits often outweigh the downsides.
I have a cut down hydrofoil on my 9.9 and it helps to prevent ventilation (air getting sucked into the prop).
Many people on here have tried them and some swear by them.
I suspect that your real problem is lack of power for the hull shape. My old 3.2m zodiac with a plywood floor and 9.9hp would only just plane with 225kg in it, but my Honwave airfloor planes no problem with that weight.

A decent hydrofoil will help keep a boat on the plane at lower speeds, but- As ChrisParish says "I suspect that your real problem is lack of power" to assist it onto the plane.
With the sort of weight you're pushing, you really could do with a slightly larger outboard. If i've got the correct info, the boat is plated to a 11.2 kw max power outboard, which in old money is a 15hp.
Perhaps worth trying to borrow an outboard around 15hp and see if that gets you the result you're aiming for.

Just for info.. I used to run a Stingray Junior on my honwave T38ie with a 15hp Suzuki 4stroke... What a difference it made

Martin

Hi & welcome to the forum, you’ve got yourself in the right place for your questions.
I’ve done a bit of fishing down tampa on charter boats as we used to go quite often & you have some weird & wonderful fish down there, some of them so ugly even I wouldn’t touch them & some of them the skipper would shout don’t touch that thing & he would get them off the hook with thick gloves on. And don’t forget them greatwhites, so maybe some armour for the boat & don’t forget your umbrella, you don’t want to get burnt.

Get what we call over here "A Landing Net" You dont need to touch the fish while getting em in, and it makes life easier, especially if its a decent size ! If there are 2 of ya fishing, try to put rod holders on one side at the front, and the other side at the back, helps casting. Bait and cooler for catches in the middle, along with your landing net. Poss think about putting landing net in a rod holder, fixed on your cooler box so both can access.

Chris is right, keep everything, inc bait, in ya boat ! You could try to add some baffles inside the cooler to stop it all sloshing about, as I know over there, what we call a cooler you call a sandwich box , in USA everything is bigger !