honwave vair floor

[steve1]

have been looking at honwave 3.2 m sib with a air v floor. what advantages are there over aluminium or air floor for fishing? not taking weight into consideration.I
was really inpresed with the look of the 3.2

Steve

[nala]

There is one thing i have noticed they stop a bit quicker on the water...

In relation to a rigid hull,which planes a bit further on stopping..

Depending on how much gear you carry on board,the air floor is susceptible to puncturing just like any other...

The sib i had was just rubber floor with slats to fit inside to strengthen it.A bit fiddly to get them sorted and in place.

It was ok,but i had to be careful with any sharp object which would create a hole....even using a grip lead.

The air floor sib can be packed into a valise,and put in the boot of the car,the aluminium would remain rigid meaning it would have to be transported on the roof..or a trailer.

They will also fit fully inflated into a transit van.....but this will increase the wear and tear.

It's for your preference whether you prefer an aluminium/fibreglass or air hull,it's where you intend to launch and use it can be a factor...how much punishment it's going to get.

I'd prefer the aluminium or more so the fibre glass floor/hull....same as their larger cousins,the RIBS hull will float even when the sponsons have been deflated.....

There are polyethylene/plastic boats on the market,now they'll take a bashing but slightly heavier and will take upto a 15hp..! And it flies with one person on board..

[esoxuk]

The honwave aluminium floors are fiddly to fit and remove normally, but in cold winter conditions I bet it will be a bugger. I sold mine because of this and the sheer space it took up in the car, the floor panels are almost as bulky as the SIB body
Yes you will be more susceptible to punctures from sharp objects but that's something that can be managed and to be fair the inflatable floors are made of a much more sturdy material than the tubes.
My SIB is around 8 years old, is well used and has one patch on the floor section. I don't know how it happened as it was there when I bought it so realistically one hole over that length of time seems reasonable to me.

[steve1]

thanks for your answers. was looking at a v air floor would, 1 need special wheel brackets as trim flaps looking to obstruct the ones fitted to standard air floor .

cheers Steve

[philpot]

Hi Steve, I had the the Honwave 3.8 V air floor and sold it.

The issue with the Honwave is that the floor is a fixed item so the weight off the water is a handful to pick up along with the size as they don't fold down anywhere near as compact as a removable flat air floor or aluminium floor. You are correct that all extended air floors have to have the special cranked launching wheels which are at least twice the price of standard wheels, they are also only available with small wheels ( I think mine were a touch smaller than a C-Tug wheel ).

The hull shape is good on the water but it requires the boat to be launched and then the air pressure checked again after about 10-15 mins because the pressure will drop and once this happens the boat performance goes off along with the general handling depending on the size of the engine.

Pro's and con's
Pro's
Fast to get ready for the water compared to an aluminium floor. Much lighter to move around on the beach once fully inflated. Deeper interior depth due to the hull shape.
Con's
not a rigid as an aluminium floor. Easier to damage the floor skin with more serious effects if out on the water.

Remember the time it takes to get an aluminium floor sib ready for the water in warm sunny weather, well double that for cold winter days when your hands are frozen. The air floor sibs offer a great deal to anyone who wants a fold up boat with fast get ready time and deflation pack away time but there is always a compromise to be made. I stand up while lure fishing for pike in a flat air floor sib with no problem at all so while it doesn't offer me the rigidity of an aluminium floor sib, it does the job very well.

Be careful when you launch and recover the sib and it will give years of service. Take a look at a flat air floor sib before you make up your mind.

Phil

[steve1]

Hi Phil am definitely leaning towards removable air floor . Do honwave do one. still havent made my mind up which make yet but do like the honwave cheers Steve ,

[philpot]

Honwave do not make a flat/removable air floor. Take a look at the Excel sib I have and the Trans-e that Zebra has. there is a review on both in this section. I will say that if I were to consider a honwave again, it would be the 3.2 but they take a hell of a lot of space in the car so a trailer is a better bet but for me, I didn't want to rely on a trailer along with a bulky thing to have in the garden. Just to give you an idea, my 3.8 took most of the Passat estate boot space leaving little room for my outboard and that was with the back seat down. They MUST have a Bravo type pump to deflate them or you are faced with a HUGE package to even get in the car.

Phil