TravlnMan
Recruit
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2010
- Messages
- 2
I am new to the forums as this is my first posting but have been looking at the ibotas forums for months now. I have owned SIB's for over 30 years but never been involved in a forum so found this site very cool.
I currently have a 1989 Zodiac C310 with a 15HP Mercury but wanted to get something a bit bigger for fishing with my sons. I did a lot of investigation into inflatables, so much so that there is likely none that I am not familiar with. In June I found the SIB that fit my need perfectly. It is a 12.5' Dive/Rescue from JP Marine in San Diego, California (www.jpmarine.com). I spoke with the owner Josh who has been super to work with. Like many inflatables today it was manufactured in Korea. Josh has the boats private labeled and built to his specifications which includes 1.2mm Hypertex PVC tubes, 1.5mm Hypertex PVC hull. Josh also designed the boat to have an extra layer of the 1.5 mm Hypertex PVC under the tubes which gives a 3.0 mm for contact in the sand / surface. The boat also has a very thick run strake along the keel and under the transom for added durability.
The boat has 1/2" aluminum floors, 20" tubes is rated for 1,599 LBS. and has the U.S. Coast Guard compliance on the registration plate. The boat came with two aluminum bench seats, bow storage bag, two oar sets (one set of standard one-piece aluminum poled /plastic paddle oars that attach to the inside of the boat and one set of two-piece aluminum poled /plastic paddle oars that store in the side mount storage bag), a foot pump, repair kit and two very nice carrying / storage bags (one for the SIB and one for the floor panels). I got allof this for $2,195.00!
Once the boat was delivered I started my mods! Although I use the forward bench seat (with cushion and seat bag I also purchased from JP Marine) when I have more than two passengers I chose to not use the rear bench and puchased two Swivel-Eze base mount aluminum adjustable seat pedestals and Tempress folding boat seats. I used stainless steel hardware to mount the pedestals to the aluminum floor panels. Each pedestal uses 6 bolts and with my 225 lbs. doesn't move at all. I also added the required rod holders for my many hours I will spend trout fishing on the river.
As for the motor. I will let you know that I started with the desire to operate with my 15HP Merc and although the boat only weighs 167 LB. the added lenght and weight versus my old 10',2" Zodiac the motor strained to to go over 15 MPH and has to be run at full throttle all of the time to stay on plane. Fortunaltly for me I was able to get one heck of a deal on a new, in the crate Yamaha 25HP, 2-stroke outboard. This motor is AWESOME! It jumps out of the hole and gets on plane quickly. It really gives me the low end torque and top end speed that I want for this boat and at only 104 LB. I can remove and store it. The new 4-stoke engines weigh over 150 LB. and are beasts to carry.
I am considering Smart Tabs to assist in getting the boat on plane fastest when carrying the family but hope that they too can assist in providing added stability and ride control at higher speeds. I contacted Naticus and they said that they will improve the ride and stability but would like to hear from others that use these trim tabs for their first-hand knowledge on their effect on ride control and stability. If others feel that the hydrofoil that attaches to the anticavitation plate is better for ride stability please chime in!
So without further ado, here are the pics...
I currently have a 1989 Zodiac C310 with a 15HP Mercury but wanted to get something a bit bigger for fishing with my sons. I did a lot of investigation into inflatables, so much so that there is likely none that I am not familiar with. In June I found the SIB that fit my need perfectly. It is a 12.5' Dive/Rescue from JP Marine in San Diego, California (www.jpmarine.com). I spoke with the owner Josh who has been super to work with. Like many inflatables today it was manufactured in Korea. Josh has the boats private labeled and built to his specifications which includes 1.2mm Hypertex PVC tubes, 1.5mm Hypertex PVC hull. Josh also designed the boat to have an extra layer of the 1.5 mm Hypertex PVC under the tubes which gives a 3.0 mm for contact in the sand / surface. The boat also has a very thick run strake along the keel and under the transom for added durability.
The boat has 1/2" aluminum floors, 20" tubes is rated for 1,599 LBS. and has the U.S. Coast Guard compliance on the registration plate. The boat came with two aluminum bench seats, bow storage bag, two oar sets (one set of standard one-piece aluminum poled /plastic paddle oars that attach to the inside of the boat and one set of two-piece aluminum poled /plastic paddle oars that store in the side mount storage bag), a foot pump, repair kit and two very nice carrying / storage bags (one for the SIB and one for the floor panels). I got allof this for $2,195.00!
Once the boat was delivered I started my mods! Although I use the forward bench seat (with cushion and seat bag I also purchased from JP Marine) when I have more than two passengers I chose to not use the rear bench and puchased two Swivel-Eze base mount aluminum adjustable seat pedestals and Tempress folding boat seats. I used stainless steel hardware to mount the pedestals to the aluminum floor panels. Each pedestal uses 6 bolts and with my 225 lbs. doesn't move at all. I also added the required rod holders for my many hours I will spend trout fishing on the river.
As for the motor. I will let you know that I started with the desire to operate with my 15HP Merc and although the boat only weighs 167 LB. the added lenght and weight versus my old 10',2" Zodiac the motor strained to to go over 15 MPH and has to be run at full throttle all of the time to stay on plane. Fortunaltly for me I was able to get one heck of a deal on a new, in the crate Yamaha 25HP, 2-stroke outboard. This motor is AWESOME! It jumps out of the hole and gets on plane quickly. It really gives me the low end torque and top end speed that I want for this boat and at only 104 LB. I can remove and store it. The new 4-stoke engines weigh over 150 LB. and are beasts to carry.
I am considering Smart Tabs to assist in getting the boat on plane fastest when carrying the family but hope that they too can assist in providing added stability and ride control at higher speeds. I contacted Naticus and they said that they will improve the ride and stability but would like to hear from others that use these trim tabs for their first-hand knowledge on their effect on ride control and stability. If others feel that the hydrofoil that attaches to the anticavitation plate is better for ride stability please chime in!
So without further ado, here are the pics...
