In reply to Post #97
There's some teething problems with one of the hopper doors not fully opening. They are working on a software upgrade to solve it. If they can get one or two issues ironed out it will be a decent boat.
There's some teething problems with one of the hopper doors not fully opening. They are working on a software upgrade to solve it. If they can get one or two issues ironed out it will be a decent boat.
In reply to Post #104
Edit: ignore me.
Edit: ignore me.
In reply to Post #104
its wonderful the boat will be ready soon, thankyou ridgedmonkey.
its wonderful the boat will be ready soon, thankyou ridgedmonkey.
In reply to Post #106
Had my Actor plus out at the weekend. Seems well made for thr money, compact and light, remote is a bit cheap and I have to press the on/off button quite hard. Its fairly fast, so steering can be a bit twitchy but I just went half throttle and it was much easier to control, and I need to adjust the trim as its pulling a bit to one side. No issues with doors not opening as they have flashed the new software before sending out. Don't think it can be beaten for the money, overall happy for what I paid.
Had my Actor plus out at the weekend. Seems well made for thr money, compact and light, remote is a bit cheap and I have to press the on/off button quite hard. Its fairly fast, so steering can be a bit twitchy but I just went half throttle and it was much easier to control, and I need to adjust the trim as its pulling a bit to one side. No issues with doors not opening as they have flashed the new software before sending out. Don't think it can be beaten for the money, overall happy for what I paid.
In reply to Post #107
Used my Actor Plus for 24hrs from Tues . . .
Without going into minute details in general terms its def a better boat than the previous mk4i . . .the hopper is excellent and very easy to load, the boat sits well in the water and is slightly quicker than the standard actor (surprising as its a bigger, heavier boat) . . .you can also turn the day running lights off remotely which you couldn't on the previous model. Battery life is good - 24hrs with 3x rods doing multiple trips at circa 90yds and the boat battery was still registering 80% on pack up.
THE only problem IMHO however is the steering and control . . .whilst the boat runs truer than mk4i (once the yaw is corrected) in a straight line, there is a significant delay from the handset joystick to the boat/props themselves. Power is almost 'instant' and when correcting the boats 'line' its not progressive - its a delay then a hard pull left or right which is difficult to control. This was not the case on the mk4i which was very responsive/easy to use with your thumb.
Boatman UK are simply saying that new users need to 'get used to it' which is probably fair to a degree however why release a boat that's controls are a backward step over the previous model when everything else is a massive positive!
Have read some are putting rubber bands around the joystick to 'stiffen' it up and make it less twitchy (I'm going to try this myself) however this does seem daft and I'm hoping there's a software update to remedy it.
Like all things its not the end of the world (this boat is still solid for the price-point - relatively lightweight, decent battery life, decent controllable hoppers) however the steering compared to the previous model (for me) was a disappointment so something that may be worth considering if you're about to purchase . . .maybe wait for the niggles to be ironed out (Actor Plus mk2) . . .?
Used my Actor Plus for 24hrs from Tues . . .
Without going into minute details in general terms its def a better boat than the previous mk4i . . .the hopper is excellent and very easy to load, the boat sits well in the water and is slightly quicker than the standard actor (surprising as its a bigger, heavier boat) . . .you can also turn the day running lights off remotely which you couldn't on the previous model. Battery life is good - 24hrs with 3x rods doing multiple trips at circa 90yds and the boat battery was still registering 80% on pack up.
THE only problem IMHO however is the steering and control . . .whilst the boat runs truer than mk4i (once the yaw is corrected) in a straight line, there is a significant delay from the handset joystick to the boat/props themselves. Power is almost 'instant' and when correcting the boats 'line' its not progressive - its a delay then a hard pull left or right which is difficult to control. This was not the case on the mk4i which was very responsive/easy to use with your thumb.
Boatman UK are simply saying that new users need to 'get used to it' which is probably fair to a degree however why release a boat that's controls are a backward step over the previous model when everything else is a massive positive!
Have read some are putting rubber bands around the joystick to 'stiffen' it up and make it less twitchy (I'm going to try this myself) however this does seem daft and I'm hoping there's a software update to remedy it.
Like all things its not the end of the world (this boat is still solid for the price-point - relatively lightweight, decent battery life, decent controllable hoppers) however the steering compared to the previous model (for me) was a disappointment so something that may be worth considering if you're about to purchase . . .maybe wait for the niggles to be ironed out (Actor Plus mk2) . . .?
In reply to Post #108
Belch I ordered an Actor 4i 10 aH last night it's being delivered tomorrow. It's only for pike fishing, will never be putting bait out with it or carp fishing, just dead baits. They are good yes? All I hear is friends raving about them.
Belch I ordered an Actor 4i 10 aH last night it's being delivered tomorrow. It's only for pike fishing, will never be putting bait out with it or carp fishing, just dead baits. They are good yes? All I hear is friends raving about them.
In reply to Post #109
Actor mk4i is a great little boat for the money . . .not sure about the size of the hoppers for deadbaits . . .for carping this was my only beef with the boat as they are too small and therefore a bit limiting presentation wise. . .
Actor mk4i is a great little boat for the money . . .not sure about the size of the hoppers for deadbaits . . .for carping this was my only beef with the boat as they are too small and therefore a bit limiting presentation wise. . .
In reply to Post #109
Just back from a week in France with my new Actor Mk4i and cant praise it too highly, it's certainly way better then the Reapers I have used in the past, bait load is similar if not a little more in the Actor when using both hoppers. Battery life is incredible with the 10ah battery, still showing 60% by the Thursday serving three rods at about 100 yards probably due to the boat being so light and I have changed the props to aluminium ones, apparently this also helps speed and battery life, can't argue with that as it's certainly a pretty quick little boat.
Just back from a week in France with my new Actor Mk4i and cant praise it too highly, it's certainly way better then the Reapers I have used in the past, bait load is similar if not a little more in the Actor when using both hoppers. Battery life is incredible with the 10ah battery, still showing 60% by the Thursday serving three rods at about 100 yards probably due to the boat being so light and I have changed the props to aluminium ones, apparently this also helps speed and battery life, can't argue with that as it's certainly a pretty quick little boat.
In reply to Post #108
Sounds like it needs to go back to boatman uk for the software update.
There is such a thing and supposedly sorts that issue out.
Sounds like it needs to go back to boatman uk for the software update.
There is such a thing and supposedly sorts that issue out.
Thank both of you Chris and Belch. It came this morning. Should be all good for dead baits mate, even big ones. With hook points on trebles facing upwards so they don't snag when door opens and it drops. Even big dead baits can be put in pointing upwards, on one side of middle hopper I'm told. Lead on the other side of hopper with trace looped upwards over lead side. Even the back hopper would be fine for dead baits. I always have the float trailing behind boat anyway. It looks ideal for piking with. What a bit of kit for the money.
In reply to Post #113
. . .not too clever for stiff rigs tho . . .or indeed heavier leads. A 5oz flat pear will pretty much fill the central hopper. That being said I'm starting to regret flogging my little mk4i for the Plus in all honesty . . . .now looking at carptechnics SB4's!
. . .not too clever for stiff rigs tho . . .or indeed heavier leads. A 5oz flat pear will pretty much fill the central hopper. That being said I'm starting to regret flogging my little mk4i for the Plus in all honesty . . . .now looking at carptechnics SB4's!
Why the regret? I'm looking at a plus
In reply to Post #113
I dropped the rig all week from the rear hopper with no issues - makes it top loading so much simpler than reaching underneath and keeps your line away from props etc.
Seen it mentioned that they don't carry much bait, well, compared to some boats they don't but it's quite easy to get through a load of bait filling both hoppers right up, boat didn't mind and it still flew along when fully loaded.
I dropped the rig all week from the rear hopper with no issues - makes it top loading so much simpler than reaching underneath and keeps your line away from props etc.
Seen it mentioned that they don't carry much bait, well, compared to some boats they don't but it's quite easy to get through a load of bait filling both hoppers right up, boat didn't mind and it still flew along when fully loaded.
In reply to Post #114
Morning,
I've not owned the SB4, however I have owned the minimally larger SB3 for a good many years, got it with GPS and to be fair it's been bomb proof other than when I left the hand set out over night unprotected in an absolutely torrential downpour.
Happy to answer any questions on reliability, service etc, just pm me.
Cheers
Tel
Morning,
I've not owned the SB4, however I have owned the minimally larger SB3 for a good many years, got it with GPS and to be fair it's been bomb proof other than when I left the hand set out over night unprotected in an absolutely torrential downpour.
Happy to answer any questions on reliability, service etc, just pm me.
Cheers
Tel
In reply to Post #117
My sb3 is very well made . Got the pro x but no extras . Will get a bracket for a chirp when I need some more detail of the bottom
My sb3 is very well made . Got the pro x but no extras . Will get a bracket for a chirp when I need some more detail of the bottom