zodiac or avon??

[ralf1]

Thinking of buying either a zodiac yachtline de luxe 340 or the equivalent avon with probably 25 hp outboard as a tender,unfortunately due to a sudden back injury my trip to london/excel is now off /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif,
So does anyone have any preference between these or has anyone priced these at the show or elsewhere (even nearly new)as i wanted to do deal at the show,thanks in advance

 

[MiskinDriver]

Rats - was at the show today and could have provided info had I been looking. I did look at inflatables - I too need a new tender, though smaller than the one you are looking at. I was quite taken with the RibEye. Nice construction and just 'looked right'. Not sure how prices compare though.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Both are top makes but from personal experience I'd go for an Avon, the quality just isn't matched by any other manufacturer imho. I've had the same Avon rib for well over 10 years, and it was 10 years old when I bought it, and it would still be in an almost as new condition if it hadn't been vandalised. And it's been well used. Just can't fault it.
From memory Barnet marine are the people to speak to if you want to buy new.

 

[hlb]

Avon without doubt, but twice the price of others. I can see my 15? year old avon, coming back into service, when my new ones knackered.

 

[Chris_d]

Avon's are made out of Hyperblon /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif spelling! , anyway it lasts forever. Not sure what Zociac are made of? and I thought they are actualy owned by the same company, could be wrong. But anyway Avons cost 2-3 times more but are massively better than the cheap PVC things you can buy for a few hundred.
Couple of years ago, Avon stuck a 40year old infaltable on their stand at the SIBS to demonstrate its quality, most people just walked past it assuming it was a brand new one.

 

[Nick_H]

Did the same comparison myself earlier this year. The Avon is generally considered the better quality, there are some stories of Zodiacs falling apart after a few years, whereas Avons seem to go on forever.

None the less, I chose the Zodiac, as there are some advantages. First off, it takes a short shaft outboard whereas the Avon takes a long shaft, which makes the Avon longer if you plan to store it on the bathing platform of a bigger boat with the outboard tilted up. Also the transom on the Zodiac is further forward, which exaggerates the above.

Secondly, the Zodiac can take a heavier outboard, as it has more moulded in support for the transom, there is a kick at the aft end of the hull to lift the rear end underway, and as mentioned above the transom is further forward, so more surrounding tube to support the weight of the outboard at rest. This is only really relevant if you want to put a 4 stroke on, as 2 stroke 25/30 hp outboards are quite light.

Where the Avon scores is, it has a better (deeper) hull, and a longer hull (the flip side of the transom being further aft), so will be nicer in small chop. It's also easier to fit a centre console, as the Zodiac has a recess for the fuel tank which gets in the way.

So, my advice:

If you want to store it on the bathing platform of a bigger boat go with the Zodiac

If you want to keep it on a trailer to use as a fun boat, go with the Avon

Outboard wise, if you want to water ski i'd fit a 30hp 2 stroke Tohatsu to either, if you just want a fast runabout, then the 20 hp Yamaha or Honda 4 stroke, and if you want a 4 stroke you can ski behind, then the Honda 30hp on the Zodiac. 25hp will be very borderline for adults to ski behind

Hope that all makes some kind of sense

(By the way, I may have a brand new Avon 3.4m, grey tubes, for sale)

 

[Nick_H]

Actually, forget all of the above, i'm talking about the standard Yachtline RIB, and the deluxe is different

 

[captainalex]

I think the smaller Zodiac's are still PVC although the larger ones are now using this stuff http://www.zodiacsharc.com/. Zodiac often offer decent show discounts which continue until the end of Jan ( i think that's still the case).

Might be worth asking over on Rib.net as well

 

[DAKA]

My experience of Avon has been poor.

The hyperlon perished( cracked ), I didnt own from new so could have been cleaned with petrol ?????????? but still put me off.

I bought a Valiant (same material as Zodiac) at the same time my cruising buddy bought an Avon, both were subject to twin Volvos , mine was hung on the back for a few more miles but did the same more or less.

The Avon was tatty after 2 years.

My valiant looked good until I sold it 5/6 years old.

I now have a Zodiac (3 seasons) and it is as new, I dont have Volvos to soot it up but I still have to clean it sometimes when being rafted next to old boats, the soot does not impregnate the Zodiac/Valiant material the same as the soot gets into the Hyperlon.

Look around the marina and the Avons are always blacker with soot and the owners change them more frequently.


The 40 year old Avon which I saw at Moodys 2/3 years ago had not been left outside and had not been exposed to any diesel soot.

My old sailing club had an inside dinghy park, the Avons ones were 60% deflated, the Valiant/Zodiac were always fully inflated.
Avon (hyperlon) is slightly porous and will deflate over a few months.

 

[gjgm]

just been trotting about tonight.. and actually Honda tenders looked pretty good, and the tender/engine deals very good.Just an idea !!

 

[henryf]

Just to throw a curve ball into the mix. We are looking for a new tender and I was blown away by the Pacific Marine range of aluminum hull ribs. Lighter than the standard ribs (they shouldn`t be but they are ! They also have a lovely keel on them and feel strudy with a solid floor throughout, so no worrying where you put your feet. Just doing the maths to see if we can fit one on the boat.

Their website : http://www.southern-pacific.co.uk/about_us.html

No connection with the company - they just seemed a realy good bit of kit and very well put together.

Henry

 

[rickp]

Have you tried getting one? The lady importing them before has stopped and a new importer was supposedly taking over - but despite me leaving details - has never contacted me....

Rick

 

[Nick_H]

AB inflatables also do aluminium hulled small ribs, and are available in Europe

web page

 

[henryf]

Well they had a decent sized stand at excel with boats on it. If they haven`t got back to you then give them another call. They may have forgotten you or may have been busy getting ready for the show?

When you say you left details how did you do that ?

 

[rickp]

With the original importer to pass on. Didn't see the stand at Excel - did you get details?

Rick

 

[rickp]

Ahh, looks like its Stream Marine. Thanks Henry!

Rick

 

[henryf]

A bit harsh to moan that someone doesn`t want to sell you a boat when you haven`t actually spoken to them !!

Their stand was quite close to the Guinness area and they seemed a lovely bunch.

Their phone number is 0845 500 0808 and they are based in Colchester.

edited to add : They are called Pacific Marine. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Henry

 

[DAKA]

I once owned an aluminium speed boat, the hull dented very easily and the paint would crack off.

It didnt leak (apart from the pot rivets) but it didnt take many dents to make it look like a heap.

If these aluminium floors react the same to dents from rocky shores, dropping on the pontoon, outboard , oars etc then I would expect the floor at least to age quickly.

As a work boat aluminium is a fair choice but as a tender I do not think it is durable .

 

[henryf]

There are no rivets in these tenders, they were a welded construction and not thin sheet. They also seemed fairly sturdy. You`d have to be going some to dent them - the floor didn`t move when I stepped in and I`m 15 stone.

Certainly I`d rather chance my arm with their aluminum hull against an inflatable one, or even for that matter a fiberglass one which will be quite a bit heavier.

At 27 (from memory) kgs the boat would be light enough to lift out manually and pop on chocks on the bathing platform. A 4hp engine stored in the lazarette would push it along nicely. Just got to measure up the bathing platform to see what will fit.

Henry /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Nick_H]

Not sure 27kgs will be that easy to lift out manually, will definitely need 2 people, and even then will be a strain. I used to lift in and out a 12kg round tail tender, and i wouldn't want anything much heavier on my own.

Not sure of the physics, but I think surface tension or something adds to the effective weight lifting off water, plus of course you're a bit outstretched so you have leverage to content with as well. May be worth considering snap davits, or some of the budget twin-arm davits, then you can leave the outboard on as well?