SPEARFISHING WITH BELLY BOAT SEVENBASS

SPEARFISHING WITH A BELLY BOAT

SEVENBASS: A NEW MEAN FOR A HIGHER SAFETY

Spearfishing is a fascinating activity that exposes us to risks not only related to the exercise itself of the athletic gesture, in other words everything that can happen from the moment you leave the surface to that in which you get back to it, but also to external and environmental ones.

In fact, despite our accuracy in checking forecasts, the sea status can change suddenly or despite the dive flag signaling a boat may not see us.

In consideration of all these circumstances, especially when you are not spearfishing near the coastline, for the time being  the mean that guarantees more safety and a certain level of comfort is unquestionably the dinghy.

The latter allows us to rest when we are tired, to rely on on-board instrumentation to facilitate our performance (GPS, fishfinder), to quickly get back to land if necessary, etc.

Obviously, as with all things in this world, there is also the downside and therefore high purchase costs (for vaguely decent second hand dinghy you have to consider a few thousand euros) and management ones (the cost of parking soon exceeds the value of the used dinghy purchased), as well as the disadvantage of having a range of action limited to the location of parking where we find a place / convenience and not being able to get in the water exactly from where we want.

The aforementioned investment often represents an insurmountable limit for many spearos and as a consequence their hunting instinct pushes them to expose themselves to risky dives (which would be better done with a dinghy) with inadequate means.

Last year we presented the project for the customized SEAC buoy with fishfinder and GPS to provide an alternative solution for those wishing to use these instruments on a very low budget (less than € 100) despite not having an inflatable boat. An efficient project from this point of view with only two points to improve, namely the reduced ability to support the user in case of fatigue and only one way of propulsion alternative to the fins.

This is why we believe that the belly boat is the natural upgrade of this project, as it completes the aforementioned gaps that the buoy leaves, thus offering a higher level of safety. Let's analyze it together in detail.

There are different sizes, materials and shapes of belly boats but the one we have chosen is the most suitable for spearfishing. it measures 180cm in length and has large tubes that guarantee excellent buoyancy and stability. Despite the size it is very light, so much  that it has shoulder straps to be able to carry it like a backpack and it gets completely inflated in exactly 5 minutes with a very common foot pump for dinghies. This brief description in itself explains the advantage it offers for accessing the water from any point.

You have a large support base so that user can lie or sit on it, despite the installation of the on-board instrumentation, leaving only the legs in the water from the knee down. it is equipped with oars and a base in the bow for the installation of a traditional trolling motor. Regarding this point, however, we are studying the installation of alternative propulsion means (always electric) to be mounted below the keel and powered by lithium batteries with very small volume and weight. We are talking about systems that can reach 5km / h for a time of 70 minutes (the aquascooter cruise speed is  on average about 4) and whose total weight (engine / battery) is about 4 kg compared to about 11 kg for the aquascooter. All this guarantees greater safety in case of fatigue, as the user has the possibility to almost completely get out of the water if necessary and an extra propulsion system as in case of engine failure (primary propulsion) there are the oars before evaluating to get back home by fins. Furthermore, it should not be underestimated that being able to sit on it offers the undeniable advantage of being more visible to others and at the same time having a better view of the surroundings.

The investment for a belly boat reaches a maximum of € 500 (for the type considered) and the related engine to be considered separately, for a total of about € 1000. If at first glance this investment may appear onerous it must be considered that it does not involve any management costs such as parking and fuel and offers great versatility allowing you to access  water from any point. Furthermore, precisely by virtue of the possibility of accessing the water from any point, it will be possible to save fuel on the distance to cover to reach the fishing spot and our range of activity can be max 5.8km (round trip) at the maximum speed.