F-Ribs And Sibs - Inflatable Boat Community

Hi all, hope your all well and staying safe in these unknown times. I eventually got my boat out of the bag and after a bit of manhandling managed to get it round my back garden to begin the clock for timing me to give some idea of what i have in store to come, first off i have to say its is a bit heavy for me but the use of my sons 2 wheel trolley was perfect to get it from car to house... but i may have to rethink the fold away option and go the trailer route as time goes on... it did take me the best part 1 hour to assemble but i would say that will come down after today's trial, i went the paperwork that came with boat but there are s few short cuts i could take now i've done it and will try those next time. I wont get my new Suzuki 20hp until this lock down all over and the dealer is open once again. But i rigged up my power box and the canopy to see how it all looked. Nice looking piece of kit i have to say and will post images of the first outing once that comes round. Stay safe folks and enjoy the time ashore for now.

Awesome !!!
Great to see so many images of it at different stages, How did the floor battle go ??

There's one thing i'll say for excel, they certainly seem to know how to build a good strong boat. I've seen many oldies over the years and they withstand whhatever gets chucked at them.

Looking good Golferboy

Martin

Hi Martin yes the floor went pretty easily after i deflated it more.. instruction booklet says 30% inflate then put in floor panels 1 and 5 the 234.. but needed to deflate the tubes more to achieve this. then after that paragraph the book said deflate fully...lol maybe that should be earlier in booklet lol but eventually it went in with ease.. and the side stringers too, as said it took approx a hour so i do hope to trim that time though not a race but i'm not as young as was and time and manhandling may eventually put me off. so will see if this does not go awfully well then i will get a trailer.
Thanks for the kind words.
Appreciated.

That's a REALLY nice looking bit of kit there …

I've been trying push my local Maritime volunteer service to get one as back up for the old D class they currently have !

I thin kit was about 2010 I got my first excel - and really rated I then - they seem to be the up & coming ' go to ' SIB manufacturer ..

I was talking on Friday re 20hps for the coming year and he was convinced the new 20hp merc is a shade lighter than the Suzuki ? may not be important - but something I'll check out just for my own knowledge

Roll on when you can the engine & get on the water

PeterM wrote: ↑

27 Apr 2020, 09:57

he was convinced the new 20hp merc is a shade lighter than the Suzuki ? may not be important - but something I'll check out just for my own knowledge

Any one who chooses a Merc/Mariner over the Suzi based purely on weight is going to be mighty disappointed.

Tohatsu 15/20 efi’s circa 43kg
Suzuki DF15/20 efi’s circa 44kg
Mercury 15/20 efi’s circa 47.5kg
Mariner 15/20 efi’s circa 47.5kg
Note; all weights lightest model in range.

We've had these discussions a thousand times over lol, Harrison has hit the nail "Bang On The Head" with the weights, Never mind what the dealers and manufacturers pretend they weigh.. the figures posted by harrison indicate the weight of the outboard with the tiller on (Nice try naughty manufaturer!)

We all say the same, once you hit that 40kg limit, every gram counts...

Martin

lol.. not so much the 40kg limit as to more my own nowadays..lol im in process if making a trolley for the Engine as well so there's no need for carrying it... (I hope )

Stay safe folks.

Yep
. spot on 're weights.... I'll have to have double check where I saw those numbers for the merc.... apologies

Been looking at the new merc auto trim system and got confused!

The merc is definitely heavier than the suzuki.

It is nice to see the boat blown up dad rather than sitting on my patio!