Yet Anohter Noob

[Stormbringer]

Hi all,

I'm going to take a look at, and hopefully buy, my first SIB this weekend. It is a Honwave 3.2 air floor and a 5HP Honda 4 stroke to go with it. A friend of mine and I did share an Orkney Fastliner 16ft up until a few months back but the cost of keeping her at a marina coupled with the amount of use we got from her meant it made sense for us to sell up and this is how I'm funding my SIB. The idea of being able to launch from pretty much anywhere appeals to me as it gives me much greater options for fishing and for taking my daughters out for a few seal spotting trips when the weather is nice.

Thanks for all the information everyone has shared on here, I have found the forum an absolute gold mine already and have only read a handful of posts so far.

Roll on the spring!!!!
Keith

[Stormbringer]

Hi Keith and to the forum!

Where about are you based? You mention seal spotting so that has me thinking north east.

[Stormbringer]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the welcome

I'm in Folkestone, Kent. When I had the Orkney we kept her in Swale Marina, on one trip we anchored up on a mooring buoy just outside for a bit and had what seemed like a seal pup checking out what we were doing there. It floated down beside us making us think it was a rouge football going out for a float until we noticed it come back and float past again a number of times. Then it decided a more fun way of entertain not only itself but us was to swim to the bow, drive under and then resurface at the stern whilst floating away down tide on it's back. I am sure my girls would lose their minds to see it.

There are a few boats in various places down here that do seal spotting tours going by what I just looked up around the Thanet and Dover areas so I am guessing I'll be able to spot a few with the girls at some point. I have seen them from the shore a few times down Folkestone Warren and from Samphire How in Dover. It will be a good excuse for me to get out on the water as well as scoring some good dad points at the same time lol.

[Martin]

Welcome aboard Keith, Great news you"re entering the sib world.
Can i question why you"re thinking of the 5hp Honda ?

Enjoy the forum
Martin

[Golferboy]

Hi Keith from another newbie.. welcome and enjoy.

Donny

[rogerblack]

Hi Keith and

I've also got the Honwave T32 and am very pleased with it. However, if you're planning to use it on the sea as opposed to rivers or lakes, I'd question whether the 5HP will be adequate, especially if you're more than one up. Unless you really are only going to mosey around a harbour or marina at displacement speeds but if you wanted to go any further you might find yourself fighting the tide and any wind. I'm not sure if it would get you on the plane even solo in calm waters, but others on here may know for sure,

I had a 4HP Mercury from my little Compass Kudos which I have used on the T32 on the Thames but wouldn't risk going offshore, even coastal or on the Firths with it. I have a 15HP Mercury which goes very well on the T32, but I'd say a 9.9 would be fine as a minimum.

Happy to be proven wrong if anyone else on here has had the same setup though.