4.5m Rib/Inflatable Advice Please

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Morning all... Hope you're all enjoying this spectacular summer.

Looking for some advice on RIB or decent inflatable purchase.

I'm more of a sailor, but lately we've been borrowing a friend's RIB to tootle round the harbours and creeks of Devon/Cornwall with the family (2 young kids, plus a friend's son) and we've loved it. Thing is that the borrowed RIB isn't always available.

So, my friend and I want to buy a RIB or decent inflatable with something along the lines of a 40-75hp motor. We'd like to transport ~6 adults outside the harbour and up to 8/9 in the harbour in calm conditions.

We've been looking at things like the Zodiac Pro RIB and Zodiac Futura... I'm easy over console or tiller steering, we just want something safe, reliable and tough. LOA probably somewhere around 4.5m. We have somewhere to store it on a trailer, but the idea of being able to strip down the Futura is appealing for making a bit more space.

Budget is in the order of £6k, so we're looking at something a few years old, obviously.

Anyone got any tips and advice? Anyone bought similar? Any boats, years, models to avoid?

Thanks in advance...
 
I used to have a zodiac futura mk 2 with a 50 hp yamaha 2 stroke, it was a great boat with the constraints i had ,ie i had nowhere to keep a rigid boat,so needed something that would pack down. If i didnt need to have something that would fold away then a real rib would have been far better.

Having said all that it was reliable ,solid,fast and great fun, probably a bit small for what you need though. It was fine for 4 adults , 6 at a real push,but it wouldnt plane with 6 on board, you wouldnt fit more than 6 on.
 
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Have a look at the Avon Searider 5.4, within budget, old but good and proper sea boat too
4.5 sounds too small for your requirements.
Surf the net there plenty out there
Sites like 'Find a Fishing boat' Boatshed' etc etc.
The condition of the tubes and the engine are Paramount
Good Luck!
 
Agreed that a ~4.5m rib is too small. I have used Ribcraft 5.85 and a Redbay 6.1 and they're excellent boats but accommodating 6 people is even a push on these, the preferred configuration is 4 x Jockey seats or 2 x jockeys and a bench seat so you're going to have to seat people on the tubes which is not ideal. In addition the two mentioned are probably over your budget - RIB's are pricey.

How about a hard boat, you mention tootleing in harbours and creeks, you may not require a RIB. Such boats can be cheaper and provide more options for seating. In open boats RIBs will always provide superior seakeeping in my book however.
 
The inflatable isn't for a tender... it's for a standalone boat to tow around and have some fun with.

The 4.5m is based on something like a tiller controlled Futura Mk3, which will easily fit the passengers we expect from time to time. Should point out, for fishing etc, it'll be a max of 2 rods, so no crush there.

I like the idea of the Futura, as we can get the console steering and also it looks great for handling and seakeeping.

Budget is slightly flexible, but this won't be used on a weekly basis, so we are loathe to go mad.
 
Just to be clear, the futura is a Soft Inflatable Boat or SIB, not a RIB. They are obviously made for a purpose but performance and seakeeping wise they wont hold a candle to a proper hard bottom RIB. The point of a SIB is that you can deflate it for storage / transport but you are unlikely to do this because of the time required to inflate a 4.5m one and the corresponding size of the required engine which at 30-50hp will require a couple of burly blokes to move. So you have to keep your SIB on a trailer, so you may well have bought a RIB anyway.

The suggestion of a Avon Searider 5.4 is probably the best option with regards to size and budget. My club run them as safety boats and they offer incredible seakeeping for their size and they perform well with a modest outboard (60-90hp). I have driven one with a large number of people in it in a harbour setting and while it did it safely, it was a pig to handle and wash would splash over the tubes etc. although it was almost certainly far superior to a SIB in this regard and no worse than any other RIB of similar size. There is a 4.7m Avon which has similar capabilities in a smaller package but they are a bit rarer than the 5.4. Ribcraft also do a 4.8 which has good seakeeping and is a good bit wider than the Avon.
 
Thanks... What attracts me to the `futura is the reviews I've seen. I know it's a SIB, but from what I've read, they are about as good as SIBs get??

An Avon Searider looks good though... If we can get one that doesn't look ancient, we can spend a bit tarting it up. I'd like a small bench or bow seat, as sometimes we'll have 2-3 yr old aboard, and I always think it's easier for mum to sit with the tot between her legs.

Anyone have an idea of the costs of retubing a 5.4m or 4.7m searider?
 
Retubing is expensive, £3.5-4.5k. However some companies will service or overhaul tubes which can yield great results. If you are looking at older ribs make sure that the tube material is hypalon, not PVC. You don't want an old PVC tubed boat (most bombards, Zodiacs, Apex etc. are PVC). All Avon and Ribcraft are generally hypalon. Other brands include Ribeye, Cobra, Humber but there are others.

You won't get an Avon Searider with an original bow locker and I would question the safety of having anyone forward on a bouncy open boat. Far better to have a seat aft like an aftermarket bench seat.

For the money I think this is a nice boat http://www.rib.net/forum/f21/avon-searider-sr4-7mts-60hp-and-3hp-and-trailer-79088.html
rib.net is a good resource too.
 
Another vote here for the Avon. I had a 4m. Re-tubed in hypalon at a cost of £3.5k from Henshaw. The bigger, the better. The more power, weight and deadrise the better. I’d never have a soft hull.
 
We had a couple of Avon Seariders in my sailing club over 20 years ago.
IIRC, the Searider has a water compartment in its keel that drains when it goes on the plane.
This feature makes it very stable at low speeds - hence the use as a rescue boat.
 
OK, I've discussed with my pal and we're pretty sold on the Searider now... the flooding hull will be good for our fishing exploits, and the general availability of them seems pretty good.

Looks like we're going to wait until the end of the season now and try to pick up a bargain that someone doesn't want to have to store over winter, as neither of us will be doing much ribbing over the school holidays. (That's sailing time!)

We either like the idea of getting one that's been retubed (like the blue one, posted above) or one that's got bust tubes and get it redone to meet our needs by a professional.
 
Seariders are great. Somewhat agricultural but their seakeeping ability will always endear them to me. The build quality is great, it really is but there are a few things to remember about buying traditional build RIB's:

- The transoms, floors and internal stringer systems are ply encapsulated in fiberglass. Transoms in particular can rot. This is mainly due to holes being drilled to mount outboards and not sealed properly afterwards. A soggy transom is an obvious safety issue.
- We spoke about tubes, I would personally buy on condition of tubes, engine and trailer. Original tubes can be fine. I have a 1984 4m Searider with perfect original grey tubes. As I said before tubes can be refurbished. Also tubes that deflate can often be leaky valves which is an easy fix. UV damage however cannot be fixed, this pertains especially to dark colours. Many get around this by placing treadmaster wear patches over UV damage which is a great solution. You can paint tubes with special paint but I think it looks terrible.
- Early seariders had low consoles which I find uncomfortable. Later 5.4's had taller ones which were much better. A console change is a great way to improve a searider but it can be pricey.
- Tubes, engine and trailer are the expensive parts. I actually wouldn't worry about the condition of the hull too much as you would be amazed by what can be done to refurbish these. Low tech construction has its benefits. Search on rib.net for searider refurbishment projects and see what some of the guys over there do, some have now made it their profession.
http://www.rib.net/forum/f8/1978-avon-searider-5-4-restoration-47971.html
 
KDee said:
Have a look at this one....it’s a great package.
https://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/Ribs-Other-for-sale/zodiac-pro-500/222607.
Click to expand...

That looks to be a nice boat alright. A few observations however. Tube material looks to be pvc which is true for most leisure Zodiacs. Some zodiacs have an issue where the tubes delaminate due to UV degradation. They need to be covered when not in use. In saying that the tubes look great on that example. The bench seat and console are more leisure focused than a traditional jockey seat. I would expect that boat to be stern heavy in a chop. Those zodiacs have a medium vee hull aft which makes them easy to power but hard riding. I would be suspicious of a johnson engine but the ad says it’s a rebadged suzuki which is probably a good thing. Overall a nice boat for inshore use, probably limited for offshore compared to a sea rider, but that might be okay for your intended use.
 
Anyone got any experience of the Avon Adventure? The 450 appears to be up our street... Wondering what the handling is like compared to the Searider.

We had looked at that exact Zodiac PRO 500, but put off by the PVC (we believe) tubes.
 
The avon adventures and not to be compared to Seariders. They have a medium vee hull (similar to zodiac - not a bad thing, depends on usage) but are also reportedly a bit lightly built, some suffering crazing on the hull. The tubes will be hypalon however. Could be an option if the price and condition was right, a fair weather RIB.
 
Ferris said:
The avon adventures and not to be compared to Seariders. They have a medium vee hull (similar to zodiac - not a bad thing, depends on usage) but are also reportedly a bit lightly built, some suffering crazing on the hull. The tubes will be hypalon however. Could be an option if the price and condition was right, a fair weather RIB.
Click to expand...

Not all of them... Avon did make an "Adventure SR4.7" which was an SR4.7 with leisure style tubes. If I remember correctly, these boats were available with white hulls and the option of white, blue or orange tubes.
 
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