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Barnet Marine Centre Ltd
14 West Burrowfield, Welwyn Garden City.
Herts, AL7 4TW, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1707 331 389
Fax: +44 (0) 1707 331 383
E-mail info@ribs.co.uk


    Choosing an Inflatable  

The choice of inflatables under 4m from the 100's available is absolutely bewildering. Here we outline the features of each different size of craft and suggest combinations of boat and motor. However the full brochures do this much better so please contact us for the brochures that you need to help you decide which craft is right for you. The question and answer format used here should help YOU ask yourself the right questions to determine which craft best suits your use. If you wish to discuss further the most suitable craft for you please CONTACT US

FOUR OUR CURRENT SPECIAL OFFERS PLESAE CONTACT US OR VISIT THE BOAT PACKAGES SECTION OF OUR E BAY SHOP >Download the brochure with full specification details

VISIT OUR PDF DOWNLOAD PAGE FOR BROCHURE AND PRICE LISTS (WHERE AVAILABLE)

Lightweight craft, less than 15hp

Zodiac 310 / 6 hp 		  Performance craft with 10 hp +

Zodiac Cadet FR 365 / 15hp 		Performance craft with 30 hp +

Zodiac Futura / 40hp
Package Cost;
£1,000-3,500
 
Package Cost;
£2,500-6,000
Package Cost;
£4,000-10,000
Engine Range
2 - 15 hp
 
Engine Range
10 - 30 hp
Engine Range
30 - 50 hp
Guide to main Features;
 
Guide to main Features;
Guide to main Features;
Pack into boot of car
YES
 
Pack into boot of car
Large Cars YES
Pack into boot of car
Estates YES
Carried by 1 person
YES
 
Carried by 1 person
NO / Maybe!
Carried by 1 person
NO
Speed
Up to 20 mph
 
Speed
Up to 30 mph
Speed
Up to 40 mph
Suitable for Family
YES
 
Suitable for Family
YES
Suitable for Family
YES
Suitable for the Sea
In Bays etc
 
Suitable for the Sea
YES
Suitable for the Sea
YES

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Bombard AX3 / 2h

Bombard AX3 / 2hp Ideal tender or lake, canal, river boat also suitable for use in sheltered bays. Standard with slatted deck and exceptional value for money!

Avon Rover 260 / 3 hp

Avon Rover 260 / 3 hp Smallest of the Rover range, the best made boats on the market with extremely good oars & seats. Worth the extra if you want it to last a very long time! 2.6 /2.8 / 3.1 / 3.4 m craft with a choice of solid or inflatable deck.

Yamaha 310

Sun Sport ARIB 270 This range offer excellent value for money, superb build quality and great warranty BUT as wioth many of the "value" craft they will be heavier than some other more exspensive craft. Sun Sport have brough the Deep V hull previously only seen on craft 3.8 m + down to 2.3 ,m and up, these inflatable deck V hull boats are proper small sports boats.

Cadet Fastroller

Cadet Fastroller , these are Zodiac’s inflatable floored boats. They come in 240/260 /285 /325 / 365 m lengths and are very light indeed. They make taking the boat to the water very easy!

Zodiac Zoom Boats

Zodiac Solid Wood Deck Boats are excellent value and come in 260-340 m Aimed at family fun they are an ideal entry level craft. However wood deck takes 2 people to assemble where as a air deck craft just pumps up

Commonly asked questions on light weight inflatables;
What questions do I need to ask myself to help decide what I need? Aside from overall cost, important questions are;
How many people do I need to carry?
How FAST do I want to go?
How FAR do I want to go?
What type of floor do I want in the boat?
How long do I want the boat to last for?
What floor types are there? You have a choice of Nothing, just a soft bottom of boat fabric. Slatts of wood that roll up in the boat. A solid wood floor removed in panels to pack the boat up. An inflatable floor that can also stay in the boat when it is rolled up and packed away.
How quickly do these boats go? 2-5hp will give up to 8 mph, 6-8 hp will get most boats on the plane with 1/2 persons therefore speeds up to 15 mph. 10-15 hp planes most boats with 2-3 people giving speeds up to 20 mph. Obviously you have to match the right motor to the right boat to get the "best" performance.
Just how heavy are these boats and suitable motors? The exact weight is dependant on the model of boat but as a guide Inflatables up to 2.8m are typically 22/35 kgs with some 3 m craft approaching 50 kgs. 2/3.5hp motors 13/20kgs, 4/5hp 22/26kgs, 6/10 hp 38kgs These packages really do go in the boot of the car
Can I let older children operate this type of craft? YES, as long as they are responsible, wear lifejackets and you pick a motor that has a "kill switch" on a lanyard. Not all motors have this, please seek guidance from us for suitable packages.
Just how good are inflatable floors and are they tough? Inflatable floors are really tough and offer a very light weight option for a really solid floor, though costly they are probably worth it!
What is it going to cost me to get a boat on the water? Below are GUIDE prices for boat/motor, you will also need to budget circa £75.00 for 2xL/Jackets and anchor. Oars or paddles will be standard on all craft of this size. If at sea flares may be required.
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Commonly asked questions on PORTABLE performance craft;
Will craft like this fit in my car? On craft over 3.4m an estate car will be required to carry everything, particularly if you have a motor of 15 hp. & larger
How much does all this weigh, can I carry it? Boats with inflatable floors will weigh circa 30-50 kgs with solid floor versions weighing up to 45 kgs +. 15 hp motors weigh 50 kgs 25 hp from 70 kgs. These boats can readily be carried by one or two adults. A 25/30 hp is about as big as one person can carry.
How quickly do these boats go? 15 hp will give you up to 20 mph, 25 hp will, on the lighter models of boats, give up to 30 mph!
What size motor do I need to ski with? For adults at least 25hp, with lighter children 15 hp will suffice allowing skiing, the use of inflatable toys like tubes etc but keeping budget and weight under control!
Do Avon make any inflatable floored performance craft? Not really, though you can get Inflatable floors in the Rover range they do not have the "performance" of the Zodiacs.
Can I have seats in the boat. You can but they take up a lot of room, seats are either inflatable or on solid deck craft they may fit to the deck rails, often they are an extra but some craft have them as standard.
Do all performance craft have inflatable floors? No the traditional aluminium deck that removes in panels is very much alive and well. Though heavier this type of craft often comes as standard with steering and seats


Zodiac Futura Fastrollers are a superb range of boats, there are models from 3.5 - 4.7m they offer very high performance craft at amazingly low boat weights. These craft have inflatable floors and the advanced Futura hull design, these are the next craft up from the [Zodiac Cadet Fastroller] craft covered in the previous section.


Sun Sport 320 Arib The new generation of air deck performance craft all have trim tabs that are part of the air deck that stick out at the base of the transom, they are also deep V hull like the Bombard Aero 380. You need to think about the type of launching wheels you need if you go for this stle of craft

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Above is the MK III Futura / 40 hp Below is the MK III Grand Raid Zodiac, this is the heavy duty version of the same craft. In the GR / Heavy Duty range fold up inflatables go up to 5.85 m!



ABOVE: An example of what you can put an Avon W 520 through!! The “W” range of boats from Avon are probably the toughest boats on the market!

Sun Sport AL 360-390-420

Fantastic value craft and ideal for the smaller motor option.
Commonly asked questions on LARGER performance craft;
This section covers larger inflatables that need to be packed INTO a box trailer/Caravan or towed on their own trailer.
Are Inflatable floors still the best choice for this type of craft? Though you can get 4.7 m inflatable floored craft (Zodiac Futura Fastroller MK III) this size of inflatable will probably have a solid floor and thus can weigh 100 kgs plus.
How big a motor can I fit? There are pack away boats that take 40/50/60 hp but these motors at 80/100 kgs are really to heavy to readily carry, some kind of motor trolley will be required if you need to move the motor around.
How quickly do these boats go? The comparatively flat bottom of an inflatable will limit speed but with 40 hp plus 50 mph is possible. At this speed steering will be required.
Are all the craft as tough as each other? NO! The Avon Range of Commercial inflatables and the Grand Raid Zodiacs are tougher craft than a leisure weight Bombard Sports Boat for instance.
How long do these boats take to put together. Something like a Grand Raid Zodiac will take two adults about 20 minutes to assemble with another 10 minutes required to mount steering if you have it fitted.
What about cheap big boats ? Sun Sport have the AL Range of ally deck craft, these are incredible value BUT if you want to use large motors, 30 hp +, and steering etc the performance of something like the Futura Zodiac is SO MUCH BETTER !!

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Barnet Marine Centre Ltd

14 West Burrowfield, Welwyn Garden City, Herts - AL7 4TW, UK
Telephone: +44 (0) 1707 331 389 Fax: +44 (0) 1707 331 383
E-mail info@ribs.co.uk

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