Air floor Pressure

[Chopperbill]

Thought my air floor was pretty solid until I took out my aluminum seat frame. Never ran without it before today. The rear of the floor gets pretty wavy when going at speed. I was surprised how much up and down movement it had. The front section has a about a one foot wide piece of wood board going between the tubes under the floor and is pretty solid. The rear has no wood board. Air pressure is at max of 10 psi or 70 kpa. Afraid to put more in it. Think a piece of wood like the front would be possible? How much air do your floors take?

 

[Guest]

Sinistre has the same boat as you, He max's out his electric pump and still uses a hand pump until no more air could go in. That could be the reason you are not reaching top speed on your Saturn. This is speaking from 100% experience. Anyone tells you otherwise does not own that boat or does not know what they are talking about. (don't want to beat a dead horse but it is a fact. I put my motor on my friends air floor which we had it to 10psi and it would not even plane properly)

 

[Sea Rider]

All standard air floors do rock under a bit no matter how well they are inflated to. Air floors looses presure gradually with fluctuating outside temp, water included. What was top inflated in the morning prior to launch will not remain same, that's why you need to take along a hand pump and check it's overall pressure throughout the boating day if wanting near boating perfection. Pump it up to 12 PSI, sib should perform better.

Used to have an air floor 360 sib, was top inflated to14 PSI with gauge and a modified tire pump with proper air valve attached at extreme. Performed nice on flat calm no wind waters, still rocked under at choppy seas. it's the nature of the beast, portability and ease of inflation as opposed to deck rigidity found in wooden or alum floors.

Air floor sibs needs to have all tubes top inflated too along keel & air floor for best performance, although not that top performance as one would expect from this kind of sib.

Happy Boating

 

[Chopperbill]

Saturn says 8.7 psi recommended 10 psi max. Everything that sits on the floor in back looks like it's in an earthquake! Anyone you know have any failures using higher air pressure? I was going to stick the seat frame back in without the seat and post as it was not noticeable then. Rather leave it out. Can get aluminum floor for $300 but if I put any more money in this thing I'm going to be riding solo in the boat and every where else. LOL JUST READ THIS ON THE SATURN SITE




It is not necessary to have an air pressure
gauge to inflate Saturn boats. The boat tubes are equipped with
Safety valves that will prevent over-inflation. In general,
when you feel that boat tubes/floor are hard to the touch, and
it becomes difficult to pump any more air in, that means
that the boat is ready.

However, if you are using a high-pressure electric
air pump, please use below guidelines to avoid boat
over-inflation and consequential damage.

It is not necessary to have an air pressure
gauge to inflate Saturn boats. The boat tubes are equipped with
Safety valves that will prevent over-inflation. In general,
when you feel that boat tubes/floor are hard to the touch, and
it becomes difficult to pump any more air in, that means
that the boat is ready.

However, if you are using a high-pressure electric
air pump, please use below guidelines to avoid boat
over-inflation and consequential damage.


It is not necessary to have an air pressure
gauge to inflate Saturn boats. The boat tubes are equipped with
Safety valves that will prevent over-inflation. In general,
when you feel that boat tubes/floor are hard to the touch, and
it becomes difficult to pump any more air in, that means
that the boat is ready.

However, if you are using a high-pressure electric
air pump, please use below guidelines to avoid boat
over-inflation and consequential damage.
Then they show the air pressure chart.

 

[Chopperbill]

Sorry about the editing mess, this site still doesn't work well with my iPad

 

[Sea Rider]

If Saturn inflatables has overinflation valves not an issue if inflating with an electric pump or even a scuba tank, valve will open at specified working pressure and voil?. Personally don't like overinflation valves as you won't probably know at which PSI that valves opens up. Could be 2.60, 2.80, 3.00 psi, who knows.

Overinflation valves kind of contradicts the spirit of air floor sibs in which needs top psi to achieve deck rigidity. Could have less psi on tubes than opt due to overinflation valves and top psi on air floor. But that's Saturn design.

A sib hard to the touch not necessarily means it's inflated to its correct workinng pressure, once air valve opens at its specified psi you could literally keep pumping all day long as the valve will be kept open specially when using electric pumps which have constant air flow. Do you know at which psi those installed overinflation valve opens up ?

Most manufacturers have limited air floor sizes to 3.20 lenghts, too much client complaint and poor water performance on larger sizes. On my last air floor sib swap the air floor for alum floor, what a great performance difference, worth every cent payed for. Air floors are entry level sibs, period.

Happy Boating

 

[Chopperbill]

Rider, the only over inflation valve mine has is on the bow tube. Baffles in the side tubes keep things even. No over inflation valve in keel or floor. After reading Saturns inflation instructions I surmised that the max pressure was for using a hi pressure electric pump. Saying you just need to fill until boat is hard gave me a clue that the max pressure won't fill it. The keel always felt like a sponge at max pressure. So I filled keel to about 6 pounds before it felt hard and the floor to 12 pounds. It's possible my gauge isn't accurate any way. Hit the water, solo . It's not even the same boat I have been fighting with since last summer. Slowly rolling on throttle it planed with no effort and leveled out and rode like an ocean liner. I couldn't believe it!! Had some transome back splash so I played with the trim. Set it back another two holes and no splash! 24.5 mph with no effort! Without stingray I am thinking 2-3 more than that but it planes and rides so smooth I not messing with it for now. Was about to give up on it. THANKS EVERYONE FOR ALL YOUR HELP!

 

[Guest]

I am still dissapointed. 24mph! I am expecting 27. Put some mote air into that keel and floor and you will hit27 and

 

[Chopperbill]

I am still dissapointed. 24mph! I am expecting 27. Put some mote air into that keel and floor and you will hit27 and

Probably with no sting ray it could hit 27. So freaking happy how it's running I'm just going to enjoy for a while. Oh, got my throttle extension today. I can play more with seating position. Could reach that 27 LOL

 

[Chopperbill]

After playing with it a couple of days I found the sweet spot to sit was right on the front bench. Well I sure didn't feel comfortable sitting on that high bench using the flimsy tiller extension I bought at high speed. So the seat and frame are going back in as the seat sits lower than the tubes and feels much safer. Got an idea how to make a more solid tiller extension extension but may wait until I get back to Colo this spring. Did squeeze more speed. Max 25 mph depending on direction and condition of the river.

 

[Sinistre1]

Wish I had known you weren't getting up to "correct" pressure all along. Weimed is correct. I have the same boat. Follow the manual IF you want to be oversafe and underpressure... with accompanying underperformance!!!. I filled mine up to the pressure they suggested ONCE!!... ONCE!!! lol. It was like riding a magic carpet in a hurricane. I have since pumped every chamber until it ranged from fairly (read nearly) rigid for the tubes to rigid and just barely flexible for the keel to inflexible without great effort for the floor. I am limited by horsepower not by the boat (well besides inherent limitations of inflatables). Every bit of flex and undulation during forward motion is the enemy of speed!! I max the floor out on my bravo (12 psi) and add with the manual until I can't anymore without GREAT effort. I do the keel to 9-10 psi and the tubes to at LEAST 4 or 5 depending on feel! I POP up on plane nearly instantaneously with a carbureted 15hp... it is the one thing my boat still beats Weimed at! I was stunned by the seeming lack of performance you were having with 33% more power and extra RPM but it makes more sense now. Do yourself a favor. Up until now you have not been experiencing the true ride of your boat. fill it up once as i describe and you will see the difference

 

[Chopperbill]

Yep, you have to read between the lines. The air chart I guess means nothing. Reading their frequently asked questions they say to pump air in until it is hard or difficult to pump air in. Even with the cheap pump that came with it I could easily pump in twice what the chart says. If I had never bought a gauge I probably would be happier then than a pig in poop months ago. As it is I have been reluctant to put put on more than 7 in the keel, 12 in the floor and 3 on the tubes. Has anyone had problems pumping up to the pressures you have?Never read were some one blew up a boat. But I guess if it blows it blows cause they ain't worth a crap otherwise.

 

[Sea Rider]

Seams usually blow up with age, not when new as are factory tested to at least 5 PSI for 48 hours. 3.0 3.5 PSI for tubes once on water will perform superb, no need to pump more, if with sun will be maintained top inflated, Buy a pressure gauge, it's night/day boating difference. Pump air floor to solid rock 12 PSI,combo will perform much nicer.

Happy Boating

 

[Chopperbill]

Have gauge. Out today with seat frame back in, I'm sure it helps floor from deflecting. 3 in tubes 12 in floor 7 in keel. Ran, planed well two aboard. Running up stream on a fairly fast running river 20 mph was about it, didn't check going down stream as about 3/4 throttle was good cruising. Keel with 7 psi still feels soft compared to tubes and floor. How far can I go with the keel and still not cause a problem?

 

[Sinistre1]

I know you are reluctant to go over the recommended pressures... I WAS too. But the boat(ing) you are describing has not been my experience since after the first inflation. Any other time the boat has behaved like that has been the result (and my early warnining) of the boat having a leak somewhere. I simply refuse to launch knowing my vessel is not up to snuff. With regards to keel pressure I have gone as far as 10 psi on weakened battery bravo (not sure if it continues to make the full pressure under those conditions). I can't stress enough, for ME, the recommendeds don't even come close. I pump the keel up until it starts to feel very close to the rigidity of the floor and it takes some effort to deflect it. Am I pushing it? dunno... But I DO know it makes a ton of difference in how my boat behaves so I'd have it no other way. The boat it becomes, underinflated, is not a boat I want. In the vein of what the boat will and won't take, I've pumped up to the the pressures i'm indicating, in the heat of the summer, and had the boat out of the water for 30-40 minutes... whereupon it has hardened even more to the point i have released small amounts of pressure... and that's when I am packing it down... if getting ON the water, I let the cooling properties of the water reduce the pressures.

 

[Sea Rider]

I'd guess the keel not being flat straight as an air floor or even tube will flex a bit due to the uneven shape along water at speeed bumping right under keel no matter how top you pump it up.

Happy Boating

 

[Chopperbill]

Have to say it's twice the boat now that I've added more air. If I had to back to lower pressures I would go to something else. I'm going to put a couple of more pounds in the keel and see how it goes. As soft as it feels at 7 pounds I don't see how I can hurt anything.

 

[Chopperbill]

Put a couple of pounds more in the keel. Now I'm 9 keel, 12 floor, 3 tubes. It runs great! Planes fast and easy and rides smooth as silk on calm water. No transome back splash. New record of 25.5 mph. Bet there is a mile or two available without Stingray. Right now I'm doing nothing as I'm pretty happy. Just going to enjoy it. Can't thank you guys enough for all the help!

 

[alanfox55]

You could try some smart tabs. http://www.iboats.com/Nauticus-Smar...6047247--session_id.075509225--view_id.237635

 

[Chopperbill]

Still having some planing problems, with passengers, wobbly floor, so I called Saturn and asked about air pressures. They said to fill floor until it was difficult to put more air in and hard as as rock, then pump the keel the same way or hard as a a rock to the touch. Fill all tubes until they are hard as a rock, don't worry about putting too much in because they have a safety valve. No gauge required. If using electric pump use the chart pressure table.THEN finish off with the hand pump.
I know the keel and tubes can take a heck of a lot more air then I have been maxing out at, the floor is pretty much as full as I can pump. Feel a lot better about pumping the hell out of the hand pump now that I got it direct from the guys that sell e'm.