Hi, I'm a new boy on here, I normally frequent SCUBA diving forums, so be gentle with me eh?
I'm currently running a 14ft inflatable (not a RHIB) with a 30HP short-shaft Yamaha 2-stroke. Loading with myself and up to 2 other fully kitted divers (ie 6 tanks, 3 weightbelts etc) varies between 240 and 360Kgs or between 1/4 and 1/3 of a ton.
In smooth waters, this is fine, however when running into a bit of a chop and relatively small waves/swell, it's almost impossible to get her up on the plane, which makes for some very tedious journeys and uses lots of fuel - always seems to be the return trip too, at the end of the day when we are feeling tired and emotional. It's obviously borderline because with two divers and their gear, she goes like a rat up a drain.
At first I thought about fitting hydrofoils on the motor, similar to what I had on my old Aluminium Quintrex (Australian make) but with the weight I'm carrying for diving, I'm concerned that this will put too much strain on the top of the transom and the outboard mountings, so I reckon trim tabs would be a better idea.
I'm looking at Smart Tabs or these fellers from Allinflatables.com. I am attracted to the Smart Tabs for the fact that they are self-adjusting and I like the look of the Allinflatables version because they look simpler with less to go wrong and they'd appear to have some flexibility built into them too, being PVC; it's a hard choice.
So which would be a better bet for me or is there something else, even better that I'm not yet aware of?
Richard
I'm currently running a 14ft inflatable (not a RHIB) with a 30HP short-shaft Yamaha 2-stroke. Loading with myself and up to 2 other fully kitted divers (ie 6 tanks, 3 weightbelts etc) varies between 240 and 360Kgs or between 1/4 and 1/3 of a ton.
In smooth waters, this is fine, however when running into a bit of a chop and relatively small waves/swell, it's almost impossible to get her up on the plane, which makes for some very tedious journeys and uses lots of fuel - always seems to be the return trip too, at the end of the day when we are feeling tired and emotional. It's obviously borderline because with two divers and their gear, she goes like a rat up a drain.
At first I thought about fitting hydrofoils on the motor, similar to what I had on my old Aluminium Quintrex (Australian make) but with the weight I'm carrying for diving, I'm concerned that this will put too much strain on the top of the transom and the outboard mountings, so I reckon trim tabs would be a better idea.
I'm looking at Smart Tabs or these fellers from Allinflatables.com. I am attracted to the Smart Tabs for the fact that they are self-adjusting and I like the look of the Allinflatables version because they look simpler with less to go wrong and they'd appear to have some flexibility built into them too, being PVC; it's a hard choice.
So which would be a better bet for me or is there something else, even better that I'm not yet aware of?
Richard
Last edited:
