I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

[Nos4r2]

I've come to the conclusion that my boat isn't what I want as I'm far too much of an adrenaline junkie for her so I've decided to trade her in for a cheapish RIB of around 13'.Never owned one before, so is there anything I need to watch for?

 

[stevens]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

You should ask Boatster - he is your kind of guy (goes offshore in his tiny RIB). He is also a big fan of the Smart Tabs on it.<br /><br />See the following threads:<br /><br /> http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=012182#000001 <br /><br /> http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=012079#000029

 

[danie]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

Yes, watch out for:<br />1 A cheapish RIB. Buy a tried and tested brand.<br />2 PVC pontoons. Hyphalon (spelling?) will save you lots of pumping, repairwork, stress and eventually money.<br />3 Good drainage. Depending on the use an open transom is best.<br />4 A minimum of 3 pontoon compartments.<br />5 Dont pump too hard or leave in sun when pumped hard. The seams are manmade and just wont last.<br />6 Dont try and save on power. For an adrenaline junkie a 50 is the minimun hp or you will be so sorry for yourself.<br />7 A good full cover is a necessity. I used mine even on the water or beach when the boat was not in use.<br />Depending on the type (full inflatable or semi rigid) there are more dos and donts but the above should be a good start.

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

Thanks guys.I was thinking of an earlyish Humber, Avon or Flatacraft.I haven't got a huge budget and theft is a bit of a problem round here so something that doesn't have a huge resale value would be good (best antitheft policy being to park it next to something more expensive etc!)<br /><br />Am I wrong in any of this?<br /><br />I feel the need to go jumping off waves....

 

[Admin5]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

For your information, iboats.com (the site you are on) sells both Zodiac and Avon inflatables. Please consider us in your search:<br /><br /> http://www.iboats.com/sites/zodiac/ <br /> http://www.iboats.com/sites/avon/

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

I'd love to-but shipping to the UK would be a bit prohibitive!

 

[SeaHorse]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

Poor ride. No room inside. Very stern heavy. No storage. Expensive. Other than that, they're fine.

 

[Luna Sea]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

"Cheapish RIB's"<br /><br />That's asking for trouble. You're better off with aluminum or fiberglass if the budgets low. Inflatables don't have a very long lifespan, kind of like dog years to human years when compared to glass or aluminum, especially "cheapish" "PVC" ones. A 7 year old glass boat can be like new whereas a 7 year old inflatable is getting up there in age. I do see some older ones around but I also see plenty of them in the dumpsters. I like the ones with removable tubes, course the price of replacing them you could probably buy a complete boat. Good luck.

 

[lakelivin]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

If you're an adrenaline junkie loking for a rush, have you considered a jet boat?

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

I did consider that but to get the seakeeping abilities I want then a rib is probably the only way to go. I've now seen a couple of ex-forces ones with hypalon tubes for sale in my price range-bearing in mind when I sold my avon Redcrest inflatable dinghy (hypalon)it was 32 years old and still fine-after 28 years of use as a tender, being dragged up beaches, rocks,rolled up and tied with rope etc... Gotta sell my boat 1st though.<br /><br />Ideally I want an Avon Searider or a Humber of about 4m with about 50hp. This appears to be achievable on my budget-though I may have to get one with too small an engine on and trade the motor up. I'll probably have to convert it to centre console too as the "cheap" ones have 2 seats and a spraydeck that don't look too hot and use up a lot of room. Something like this would be absolutely ideal...

 

[Luna Sea]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

That does look like a fun one. My biggest problem in inflatables is the bouncing around with nothing to hold on to. With the steering wheel forward like that I bet it planes in about 2 seconds, assuming there's a decent engine on there. Good luck, post a pic if you find one.

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

Ok...so tonight I'm off to see/buy a 4m rib <br />identical to above-on a trailer but no steering or console. It's cheap enough that the eventual sale of my boat will kit it out like real good'un as long as it's not a total pile of $^&* to start with.<br />The guy is desperate to get rid of it as he's lost his storage and it's living in the street. If it's &%^* then I'll just walk away...<br />Fingers crossed...<br />Wish me luck!<br /><br />I'll take the camera with me and post some pics of it either way.

 

[andymach23]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

When I was waiting for my new Yam 40 for my Hardy Fishing 17, My local Yam dealer lent me a Valiant 4.9 metre with a mariner 60 2 stroke. Being used to a 20 knot semi displacement boat the rib was at first a shock, then a real buzz. It had a 2 man bench towards the back. I remember the first time I tried it with a friend. I pushed the throttle forward, the bow rose, then dropped right down, mad speed and wind blast. I couldn't believe how fast and responsive it was. It had an almost invinceable feel to it. Very reassuring. Also an absolute gift to tow launch and dock in my marina berth. It had no instruments but I did not worry to much about depths as I was always skimming the surface.<br /><br />Down side? No storage worth talking about. Absolutely no protection from the elements. On my Hardy I like the way I can potter about, do some fishing, anchor and have the cuddy deflect the wind.<br /><br />I really missed the rib but love my Hardy fishing 17. I think that I would have to have the rib as well. Maybe something a bit bigger than 4.9 would be good offshore but it was certainly adequate in Strangford Lough (Northern Ireland). I remember seeing a video advertised in Boatmart called, Small Boats Big Seas, about a round Britin rally for 4m ribs. There is also regulary ribs from the Isle of Man at my Marina which is a distance of 45 Nm. Mostly around 6m or larger.<br /><br />I have looked at Humbers web site from time to time and they have a selection of what look like demonstrators for loads off. Some with Suzuki 4 strokes. Yes, a rib with a 4-stroke would be nice.<br /><br />You've got me thinking about one now as well <br /><br />Good luck!

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

Well guess what.... I'm now the proud owner of a 4m Avon Searider... needs a centre console and engine but other than that it's in pretty good condition considering it's sat in a garage for a number of years!And it was cheap too!

 

[danie]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

Lets see the finished project.

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

Will do-she looks ok(ish) now for an old one.There's a fine spray of what looks like emulsion paint on one tube and the A-frame and console aren't bolted in at the moment-but the console is like a normal boat and I want a centre console, so off I'm gonna go off to Leeway Composites and get one of these made up in Avon Orange

<br />Gotta sell my microplus now-plenty of enquiries but no-one's shown up yet...Darn shame it doesn't have a longshaft on it or I'd use that and have the RIB on the water within a week or 2.

 

[Mercr]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

My first boat was & still is a Hutchinson Nautisport. It's a 12' hypalon 2 chamber with a plywood floor,& rigid transom - rated to 35HP . Hypalon is an offshoot of the NASA space program - spacesuit material. It's TOUGH, durable stuff! Mine is now at least 30 years old, and has only had one leak - where a packrat got into the storage bag & chewed a small hole. I'd have to give a big thumbs up for the longevity of hypalon.<br /> <br />My 15 HP SHORT SHAFT (!) tiller Seaking will bring it on plane in seconds. The 1st owner said it would pull a water skier with a 35HP. It's fun & very portable - the boat (deflated), floor, 2 pc.wood keel, motors (electic troller, too), gas & battery, vests, etc - all fit in the trunk of a small car. I can have it on the lake in about 20 minutes.<br /> <br />It's great for small water, & 4X4 access high lakes. That's why I bought it - if I could get there in my 4X4, I could go boating! Rafting stores sell a HVLP 12 volt pump that will inflate it in minutes. I've adapted folding aluminum chairs for a comfy day. Three's a crowd!<br /> <br />WARNING: Not much fun on big water in not so good weather!

 

[svdsniper]

Re: I want a RIB! Anything specific to be careful of?

Hi Mercr

I have a Hutchinson Nautisport just like yours except it is rated at 8hp outboard and i believe it is around 8-9ft and capable of supporting 4 adults. Mine is just like the one in the link below:-
http://asiatravel.it/HutchinsonNautisport/index.html

The boat in the link is the same as mine except mine has rubber tips to the sponsons as well as a rubber strake all around. Also mine has overlapped and glued seams and not the pvc weld type flange that is shown around the boat in the link. The material of my boat does feel more like a rubberised material than a plasticy pvc but i am not yet convinced that mine is actually hypalon. Also these seem to have a strange metal valve marked as a boston valve but different to any boston valve i have seen before.

Thanks

Kevin

Do you know if this is likely to be a hypalon or pvc boat?