how safe is a good 8ft rib in coastal areas of the ocean ?

[Lund_bC]

I have been plowing around the Georgia straight on the east side of Vancouver island all last summer, mostly i run about 6kms each way to a small island from the Mainland, now this area is not like the true west coast, it's generally calmer, amost lake like..

well, I do have a little radio, I wear a mustang survival suit when alone.. never had a problem, careful about the weather..

well, it's what i can afford, i got all my minuture saftey gear, I enjoy put putting around, as long as i can catch a crab or two..

anyways, what is your thoughts about the saftey of these on the ocean, i have yet to be caught of gaurd by weather as i am pretty carefull, I can pretty much always see other boats and stuff.. but how much can an 8ft dingy take, for some reason i feel safter in this than a 15ft glass boat from the 70's with no floatation, but maybe I am wrong.

I will upgrade boats sometime, but for now i think i will keep pushing this dingy around the sunshine coast in BC .. it seems safe for calm days.

 

[zurk]

Re: how safe is a good 8ft rib in coastal areas of the ocean ?

8ft will take everything you can throw at it but you wont survive. it will likely flip in a storm and pitch pole you in. dont take the risk. minimum for the strait would be a 16ft new with two engines and a cuddy cabin low on the deck with self baling.
you get 10-12 footer waves on the strait in a storm.

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: how safe is a good 8ft rib in coastal areas of the ocean ?

Bit small for heading out from coast, specially if weather changes suddenly. Which brand HP are you using to power that 8 footer ?

Happy Boating

 

[Lund_bC]

Re: how safe is a good 8ft rib in coastal areas of the ocean ?

8ft will take everything you can throw at it but you wont survive. it will likely flip in a storm and pitch pole you in. dont take the risk. minimum for the strait would be a 16ft new with two engines and a cuddy cabin low on the deck with self baling.
you get 10-12 footer waves on the strait in a storm.

Hi Zurk _ I hear you ! I would love to be able to afford such a boat.. but i am not talking going very far, on any given day in the summer you will have 100 people in Kayaks, an 8ft rib with marine radio, gps phone, mustang survival suit, you are much much safer than any of the 100 people of all types going around in Kayaks, you do of course have to take care out there and really understand the weather,

but i am still wondering how much a small rib can safely take

 

[Lund_bC]

Re: how safe is a good 8ft rib in coastal areas of the ocean ?

Bit small for heading out from coast, specially if weather changes suddenly. Which brand HP are you using to power that 8 footer ?

Happy Boating

Got a Nissian 8hp, generally going about 1-3 kms from the land at any given time, really as long as the water and wind is calm, i could easily row the boat back if the motor died.

 

[ronaldj]

Re: how safe is a good 8ft rib in coastal areas of the ocean ?

Is this protected water?