River and canal exploration boat?
Posted: 16 Sep 2023, 09:41
Hello. I'm new here, first post.
I wanted to see some of our canals and rivers from the water side, so I got super excited when my friend said he's selling his motorised inflatable. I had some amazing days on it with the kids, we've explored the Thames from London to Windsor and seen beautiful areas that we'd never have seen otherwise.
But problems quickly showed up. The 4.3m long x 2.0m wide boat and 25hp two stroke engine is too heavy and big to pack down. It doesn't fit into the boot of a car, not even close. The floor is ply and needs to be removed each time to dry out and that means taking the engine off as well, it can't just stay on a trailer. The two stroke engine is also pretty loud, my wife finds it takes away from the boating experience. We also have issues with launching the boat. My Isuzu with the trailer becomes a "land train", so on weekends when the slipway is busy we can't even get it onto the water.
And then there's the wake. Fine at idle, and not so bad when planing, but anything in between it's hella big, way bigger than other boats, and disturbs others. Well I can't just idle my way down the river because it's a two stroke and needs to burn the oil off the plugs. And I can't plane on an urban river.
So I'm forced to sell the boat
I wanted to ask about alternatives. I'm thinking of changing to an air floor and lightweight engine that I can put into the boot of the large 4x4, maybe with one of the seats down. I usually go with my two young kids, sometimes my wife joins us. Usually on the Thames and local canals. I'd like to try a lake.
I was thinking of a Honwave v-floor with a lightweight 4 stroke? Can I get your thoughts?
In terms of planing, I hear that longer boats are better, but is there a cut off point where longer is not better? I was thinking of the 3.2m as a compromise.
The Tohatsu 6hp is nice and affordable, and at 25kg, can be hand lifted. But I hear it's planing ability is borderline. I've looked at the Selva 10hp which is the only bigger engine I can lift at 30kg. I know this engine has issues, but apparently it's got more reliable and I might take the risk to get the ability to plane.
Many thanks!
I wanted to see some of our canals and rivers from the water side, so I got super excited when my friend said he's selling his motorised inflatable. I had some amazing days on it with the kids, we've explored the Thames from London to Windsor and seen beautiful areas that we'd never have seen otherwise.
But problems quickly showed up. The 4.3m long x 2.0m wide boat and 25hp two stroke engine is too heavy and big to pack down. It doesn't fit into the boot of a car, not even close. The floor is ply and needs to be removed each time to dry out and that means taking the engine off as well, it can't just stay on a trailer. The two stroke engine is also pretty loud, my wife finds it takes away from the boating experience. We also have issues with launching the boat. My Isuzu with the trailer becomes a "land train", so on weekends when the slipway is busy we can't even get it onto the water.
And then there's the wake. Fine at idle, and not so bad when planing, but anything in between it's hella big, way bigger than other boats, and disturbs others. Well I can't just idle my way down the river because it's a two stroke and needs to burn the oil off the plugs. And I can't plane on an urban river.
So I'm forced to sell the boat
I wanted to ask about alternatives. I'm thinking of changing to an air floor and lightweight engine that I can put into the boot of the large 4x4, maybe with one of the seats down. I usually go with my two young kids, sometimes my wife joins us. Usually on the Thames and local canals. I'd like to try a lake.
I was thinking of a Honwave v-floor with a lightweight 4 stroke? Can I get your thoughts?
In terms of planing, I hear that longer boats are better, but is there a cut off point where longer is not better? I was thinking of the 3.2m as a compromise.
The Tohatsu 6hp is nice and affordable, and at 25kg, can be hand lifted. But I hear it's planing ability is borderline. I've looked at the Selva 10hp which is the only bigger engine I can lift at 30kg. I know this engine has issues, but apparently it's got more reliable and I might take the risk to get the ability to plane.
Many thanks!