14' RIB for diving Inland Lakes in Wisconsin???

[ican]

I have no intention of taking anything smaller than 18" with a 150hp engine out on Lake Michigan, but I would like a fair sized and inexpensive RIB for hitting some very cool dives in Inland Wisconsin waters. I'm looking at this 14.1' Aquos Zodiac Boat for a few reasons.

• I plan to dive only with my son once he's certified for Open Water this spring, and I'll be getting my AOW card around the same time as he gets his OW.
• I would like an easy to manage, easy to transport boat that I can slap on a 10hp motor - or a 30hp motor for a bigger lake - and pack in the back of my truck when the day is done.
• I don't have a trailer, and this thing has it's own wheels.... not that I'd tow it on the freeway, but again, it's easy to control when inflated.
• My dad or my girlfriend will likely be sitting in the boat while my son and I dive, and this size seems like it would be comfortable enough for someone to lounge in while divers are in the water.
• I don't intend to ever have more than 4 divers, and the boat is rated for 12 passengers, so I figure 4 divers, a driver, and gear should still fit, even if we have to head back to shore between dives for new tanks.

So outside of the points I've mentioned, have I missed anything? I'm newish to diving (halfway done with AOW and it's Winter,) but not new to boating. I know what I'm doing on the water, and if I could get away with it, I would paddle my little John Boat out to dives, but I need a little more space and stability than my current 12' boat offers. I realize there's a similar post for using one of these on the Great Lakes, but I would only use this in calm inland waters, and very wide and smooth flowing rivers in Wisconsin. Do you guys think it is sufficient for what I plan to do? Anything beyond what I've listed here for general uses, I would definitely charter a guided dive and a boat... we just want to explore the lakes we would be fishing in anyway.

 

[They call me Tater]

I would try diving some inland lakes before I made an investment. The diving may not be as cool as you imagine....but some are decent no doubt.

 

[ican]

I would try diving some inland lakes before I made an investment. The diving may not be as cool as you imagine....but some are decent no doubt.

I live in Milwaukee, so I have about 100 lakes within an hour drive of me. I was planning to get a new boat anyway to replace the 12' Aluminum John Boat I have, since I haven't taken the thing down from the side of the garage in 2 years. Having a boat I can literally throw in the back of my truck as soon as the ice melts will remove any excuses I might have had before for skipping a day of fishing - and now, of diving. I'm just wondering if the boat I linked is sufficient for 2-4 divers and a driver with gear, as I already know it's big enough for 3 fishermen with gear, since my current boat is big enough for 3 of us.

 

[Katch]

2 divers with gear will barely get me up on plane in my 11' with a 20hp 2-stroke. You would likely want a bigger motor for a 14 footer. A small RIB is nice though, because it easily fits on a jet ski trailer. I have no trouble towing it on the freeway with my Jeep Wrangler.

Getting in/out of the RIB is easy. Out is a no-brainer, but the trick to getting in is: Remove your weights while still in the water and toss them inside the boat; then remove your BC and clip it to a rope you already have trailing from the boat. With fins on, one kick should easily slide you over the tube into the boat. I also keep a short rope ladder over the rail just in case, but I find that very difficult to use without someone hauling me in.

Just don't take it in the Great Lakes. (I didn't even suggest I would and I got flamed in the other thread)

 

[KD8NPB]

Aquos are junk.

I would HIGHLY advise purchasing a used Zodiac / Avon product. You will find quite a few of them in the Great Lakes region for sale.

My FC470 is type C inshore rated (Force 6 winds , up to 2 meter swells). If you purchased a boat like a Zodiac Futura, Classic, Grand Raid, Avon WB, Achilles SU or SK, Mercury HD series...something like those lines, most of those boats are type C rated as well.

The larger RIBs, such as the Zodiac Pro Open 650 are type B rated (Force 8 winds , up to 4 meter swells)

 

[tekkydiver]

I have no intention of taking anything smaller than 18" with a 150hp engine out on Lake Michigan, but I would like a fair sized and inexpensive RIB for hitting some very cool dives in Inland Wisconsin waters. I'm looking at this 14.1' Aquos Zodiac Boat for a few reasons.

• I plan to dive only with my son once he's certified for Open Water this spring, and I'll be getting my AOW card around the same time as he gets his OW.
• I would like an easy to manage, easy to transport boat that I can slap on a 10hp motor - or a 30hp motor for a bigger lake - and pack in the back of my truck when the day is done.
• I don't have a trailer, and this thing has it's own wheels.... not that I'd tow it on the freeway, but again, it's easy to control when inflated.
• My dad or my girlfriend will likely be sitting in the boat while my son and I dive, and this size seems like it would be comfortable enough for someone to lounge in while divers are in the water.
• I don't intend to ever have more than 4 divers, and the boat is rated for 12 passengers, so I figure 4 divers, a driver, and gear should still fit, even if we have to head back to shore between dives for new tanks.

So outside of the points I've mentioned, have I missed anything? I'm newish to diving (halfway done with AOW and it's Winter,) but not new to boating. I know what I'm doing on the water, and if I could get away with it, I would paddle my little John Boat out to dives, but I need a little more space and stability than my current 12' boat offers. I realize there's a similar post for using one of these on the Great Lakes, but I would only use this in calm inland waters, and very wide and smooth flowing rivers in Wisconsin. Do you guys think it is sufficient for what I plan to do? Anything beyond what I've listed here for general uses, I would definitely charter a guided dive and a boat... we just want to explore the lakes we would be fishing in anyway.

Four divers, gear and a driver on a 14' zodiac? You need to think this through a bit more.

 

[Brandon]

Four divers, gear and a driver on a 14' zodiac? You need to think this through a bit more.

I can put 3 divers in doubles on my 14' Achilles SG-140 with a 20hp Honda 4-stroke... but we go about 8mph in calm seas because the boat is too heavy to plane. With two divers in doubles, I can get 18mph out of her in calm seas, but fall back down to 10mph in anything more than 2' seas. I'm not satisfied with this setup one bit; but it is better than not having a boat.

I knew that I'd be underpowered with this combination, the biggest challenge is that I don't have my boat on a trailer (storage issues) and needed to have everything man portable. There are significant weight differences between 20, 30, 40 and 50hp outboards - IMHO, anything bigger than a 20 is no longer one man portable. If I had a trailer, I'd have a 40hp outboard on my boat, and I'd be pretty satisfied with that setup and would expect to hit 20mph with three divers.

As it stands right now, we don't run more than 2 hours travel time each direction (about 15 miles), and I'll only run that far when the weather is good. It does make for a long day, and I prefer to stay within 5-10 miles. Don't think we've found all the close dive sites yet anyway.

I'll upgrade eventually, but when I consider the cost of obtaining a new 40hp motor and a trailer, I'd rather just sell my current inflatable and put the money towards a new (used) boat. Something a lot like a Zodiac Pro Open 650 with around 130hp on the rear end. That's probably the realistic minimum for 4 divers unless you're able to dive within a couple miles of your launching point or dive solely in lakes.

-B

 

[rjack321]

• I don't intend to ever have more than 4 divers, and the boat is rated for 12 passengers, so I figure 4 divers, a driver, and gear should still fit, even if we have to head back to shore between dives for new tanks.

a 14ft inflatable is not going to plane with 4 divers and cold water weight and gear aboard. That's a 3 diver boat, max.

Ignore that capacity plate, it will float ~1600lbs (12 people) but that's about all it will do.

Get the 30hp, but you'll find that setting up and breaking down a boat like this is a pain and takes a significant amount of effort to take it out. You might consider a small trailer.