blocking up an avon searider??

[camargue]

All avon seariders, as far as I know, have got automatically filling hulls. This is to give the boat a better sitting position in the water, and for more stability. There are two small holes in the bow, and a large hole in the transom to empty out at speed. This is all very good until we are looking for fast acceleration (e.g. when we are waterskiing and wakeboarding).
Has any body found a way of blocking up the three holes this that is cheap and reasonably easy to change, even if it has to be taken out of the water on the trailer to do so?

 

[wooslehunter]

This is a common mod I believe. I've heard of kits being available - start with Avon.

It may be a good idea to try to find someone with a modified boat and ask what it's like. You will lose the good low/zero speed stability that the flooding hull gives.

 

[cameronke]

Howzabout trying a heavy duty tape such as duct tape or gaffa tape to test the concept and see how you like it. What size of Sea rider do you have and what size of engine? I once had a 4 meter with a 60HP mariner and this was a serious hooligan machine!!! Spent more time in the air than on the water

 

[camargue]

mine was a four metre with a 40hp susuki, but the engine siezed. took it to a local marine workshop who said it looked as though the boat had been sunk as there was apparently salt water in the engine?? insurance company would not pay up. How the hell is a rib with fully inflated tubes with a bilge pump gunna sink??????????

i am looking for a newish 30/35hp honda four stroke- add in the 'mby wanted page'

p.s. was your rib a newish one? If not the reason it was probably a 'huligan machine' was because it is only meant for a maximum of 50hp????

 

[MADFISH]

My father in law did this to his. Two bungs in the front and a large bung in the back. It is much cheaper to make or have made your own bungs as avons are expensive.

It did work. Suprisingly it didn't appear to affect stability very much at all. It made us wonder why Avon bothered with the holes in the first place! I believe the reason for the stability is that Avon Searider hulls are heavy compared to modern ribs so will always make a good stable platform.

Hope this helps!

 

[pete]

We used to use a 4 mtr Searider for diving with a 40 hp engine and we used to struggle getting on the plane the boat sat very low at the transom because of the heavy dive kit but we also found the boyancy tanks fitted under the floor were made from thin plastic or fibre glass I cant remember which (they can be seen through the rear drain hole ) were split and leaking (may be this was the cause of the low transom )so we cut hatches in the boats floor over each tank and filled them with closed cell foam we blocked up the front holes and fitted a brass flange over the rear hole with a drain tap in it,
the mod was worth doing for us
.
good luck
Pete

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[cameronke]

Nope
T`was an old one. I had heard that the max rating was 50 but what the. Acceleration was superb for ski biscuits etc and it started chine walking at full throttle unless you trimmed the bow down. Couldn`t get it insured

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